Go With Your Gut Feeling

Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarrhea…this is the list of issues that a swig of Pepto-Bismol is said to relieve. Pepto isn’t the only over-the-counter drug to help us with our stomach issues, though. We have Alka-Seltzer, Tums, Maalox, and many more. Each of these has been created to help us get around the discomfort we seem to find ourselves in after eating. But what about eating should lead to discomfort?

The prevalence of gut and digestive issues is alarming, but most people fail to realize just how important gut health really is. We load up on junk food, wash down some Pepto and bam, we’re good to go. But Pepto and these other antacids are only treating a symptom, not the cause. This is like putting a t-shirt over the warning light in your car: it makes the light go away, but it doesn’t keep your engine from blowing up.

Your Digestion: The Gatekeeper

To address the issues of upset stomach, heartburn, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, etc., we must first understand the role of the digestive system. Our guts have the unique and vital role of allowing in the nutrients we need to survive, while blocking harmful substances.  When you stomach is not happy, it is not asking for you to ADD something on top to shut it up. It is telling you that what you just ate was not a good choice. It is telling you that something about your last meal was poisonous. It’s telling you that you need to change something about your diet or else things are going to start getting much worse. But what do we do? We ignore it, cover it up, and just keep going as if we know more than our bodies.

Unfortunately, after consistent exposure to toxins, your digestive system will start breaking down. It will react poorly to most meals, but will not give you a clear signs that it is failing. Other issues start popping up, though. Acne, allergies, arthritis, memory loss, hair loss, dry skin, bone de-mineralization, ear infections, and just getting the everyday cold more than you used to. You see, your body depends on a strong, decisive gut to prevent anything harmful from entering the body. But once it starts breaking down, the great wall that once protected us can no longer function. Toxins of all kinds can start making their way in, and this can manifest itself in very different ways in different people. The one commonality: poor diet.

It’s In the Food

Now here’s the hard part. What exactly is a poor diet? What was once bad for us is now good, and what was good before is now bad. There is no consistency in what our health care professionals tell us, so we are stuck.  While I cannot say that we know exactly what leads to digestive issues in all people, there are a few things that have been commonly shown to play a role in many of the health concerns listed above.

The foremost culprit of gut irritation is dairy. Most people have some level of sensitivity to milk and milk products, especially as they age. We have specific enzymes in our bodies when we are young that help us digest milk sugar (lactose), but as we age, we stop producing this enzyme. Add to this that casein, a type of protein in milk, is also difficult for us to digest, and you now have two major gut issues with dairy.

The second most common issue is gluten. This is a protein found in wheat and other cereal grains such as barley, and rye. Again, gluten can be very difficult to digest, therefore leading to irritation of the gut. While “gluten-free” is becoming a trend, we must also remember that gluten-free does not mean healthy. Besides the fact that these products are often loaded up with sugar, preservatives, and other undesirable ingredients, we must also recognize that other grains, such as corn, rice, oats, and millet actually have similar proteins to gluten. While these have not been as highly associated with health issues to date, there are still some people that have a hard time with even these.

The third group actually includes a number of items, but all for the same reason. Beans (especially soybeans), nuts, and seeds all have high concentrations of yet another irritating protein, lectin. In high quantities, these items can also become a problem. The good news is that if you find the sprouted versions of these items, you will have greatly decreased the lectin amount in each. Cooking can also help, but sprouting is really the best.

What To Do

As you can see, there are a number of food items that may cause issues. If you do have a concern about your diet having a negative effect on your gut health, don’t worry about cutting EVERYTHING OUT. The best way to determine what may or may not be an issue is to take out one thing at a time for 2-4 weeks, then reintroduce it. If you feel better after your time away from it, then just keep it out and try cutting out one more item. If you don’t feel any different, reintroduce the item in 2-4 weeks and see how you react. If you react poorly, keep it out of your diet and try the next item. As you see, our goal is to discover not only whether you feel better, but also if you react poorly once your body has had a break from constant exposure.

Through this method, many people have found relief from not only digestive issues, but also many of the other issues we discussed earlier. Auto-immune disorders, joint issues, inflammatory issues, and more can all be traced back to gut health. So, work on the cause, not the symptom, and see if you can start living in better health today!