This is arguably the most important part of healing naturally, so learn why:
Think about this. All day, you eat mouthfuls of bacteria, viruses, chemicals, and plants that need to be modified by the body to make it safe and usable. The gut absorbs the good and gets rid of the rest. That’s the goal anyway. The acid barrier fries as much of the living bacteria as possible. Then bile and the enzymes in the small intestines break it down and we absorb fuel.
[info]About 1% of our body weight (so 15ish pounds) is bacteria.[/info]
They should be in a symbiotic relationship with us. They help us digest and prevent the bad stuff from living there. In that context, imagine the gut as literally the front line for the immune system. That’s where the biggest battle is. Most of our immune tissue is located right there on the front line. So what happens if the immune army looks out and sees armies of bugs that don’t belong? It sends a message back to everyone: get ready for a fight. That means increase inflammatory mechanisms.
[error]What does that look like? Fatigue (for rest), mucus (for protection), bowel changes, skin flares, joint pain, even changes in thoughts and behaviors. And just think about that.[/error]
We have all had the flu and had a hopeless feeling so intense that we thought it might not get better. That feeling is chemical and it’s measurable. It’s all part of how we force ourselves to rest. Name literally just about anything and ask if it’s made worse by having the wrong 15 pounds of bugs living off of your food. The answer is probably yes. And think about that. Those good bugs, our allies, live off our food. A natural human diet. Just real food. Plants. Animals. Nuts. Eggs. The basics. Throw anything else in there, and now you’re feeding stuff that doesn’t naturally live in a human. You can take a probiotic, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still feeding the enemy and breeding big beastly armies. The only way to successfully repopulate is this:
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- Kill
- Starve
- Replace
- Feed
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If medications like hormones, steroids, excessive antibiotics are in the mix, you need help. If you’re missing major functions of digestion (stomach acid, gallbladder, less than one bowel movement daily), you need help. But here’s the basic 10 week strategy:
[tip]Kill:
Take a strong antimicrobial herb [/tip]
[tip]Starve:
Eliminate simple carbs and sugar as much as humanly possible, even fruit. One or two fruits per day is fine [/tip]
[tip]Replace:
A good probiotic has 20 billion living organisms and more than one strain[/tip]
[tip]Feed:
Eat plants. That’s what the good guys eat. Eat food that will rot if you leave it out. If bacteria in your kitchen won’t eat it, the good guys in the probiotic cap probably think it’s gross, too. [/tip]
What about all those diets that say no olives, mushrooms, vinegar, etc.?? Let’s be real. I’ve done with hundreds of people. The problem isn’t olives. It’s super processed food that our friendly guys can’t eat, antibiotics, sugary alcohol, steroid hormones, and simply a lifetime of people not eating people food. 10 weeks on this plan, in the absence of the med history or missing piece of digestion, is all you need to reset. How strict to you have to be after? Depends on how healthy you want to be. Deciding how that looks based on your needs is usually a one on one convo with me. If you’re more complicated, you might need help beyond what I can do here, but it’s still very doable!