I indicated in my last article that we would look at some non-drug ways to deal with autoimmune disorders. Before we dive into that lets take a look at something that I have spoken about many times in the past, the gut. As Hippocrates was quoted as saying in 4th century, “All disease begins in the gut”. Why would he say that? And wow did he hit the nail on the head.

Our guts or our gastrointestinal tract, are really outside of our body. Think of a tube running through the middle of our body from our mouths to our backside. They are in our body but not really in our body. Think of it as being similar to our skin however several things make it rather unique.

The lining of our gut is only 1 cell thick. These tightly packed cells are what protects us from a sewer system. We absorb nutrients through this lining, which is designed to absorb 1, 2 and 3 chain amino acids through and in between these cells. If our gut is not healthy, we can develop leaky or hyper-permiable gut ,which are gaps in the tightly packed cells that line the gut.

As I had indicated in my last article, if our bodies detect something that is foreign, it creates an inflammatory response. If larger chain amino acids or proteins are absorbed and distributed throughout our bodies, the natural response will be inflammation.

This response is not an anaphylactic response similar to a person with a peanut allergy whose airways close off and they could die from coming in contact with the allergen. The reaction is more low level and is harder to pin down. I like to pick on gluten because it is easy these days as many people prefer a gluten free diet. I personally choose that because I find my knees to be less achy when I don’t eat gluten.

If you eat gluten, or potentially any food, every day, and you have a leaky gut, those proteins being absorbed and your body looks at it as foreign creating an inflammatory. How would you know you had a gluten issue? The same can be said about a microbe, a toxin or any food.

The closest thing we will come to for a cure is to pinpoint the thing that is causing the inflammation and avoid it. In the case of a leaky gut, fixing the gut and taking care of that natural defense mechanism.

Fixing the gut can be done with the use of products like probiotics, glutamine, aloe vera and colostrum. Keep in mind that once we fix the gut, we need to take care of it. That goes back to many tenants of the Magnificent 7: Eat, Drink, Sleep, Move, Think, Talk and Poop right. For many, this will be an overhaul of the way they live and will not be easy but then again not feeling well for the rest of your life is not easy either.

I hope you found this information helpful. Stop by the pharmacy for more information on leaky gut and how to fix it . Until next time, be vigilant about your health!!