Did you know that up to 70% of your immune system resides in your digestive tract?  In addition, an unhealthy digestive tract may play a role many of the chronic diseases Americans suffer from today.  An old Ayurvedic Proverb states, “When diet is wrong medicine is of no use, when diet is correct medicine is of no need.”  Truer words have never been written because what you eat determines the health of your digestive system and the health of your digestive tract plays a huge role on your total health.

The healthy gut is made up of trillions of bacteria called “flora” that assist in the digestive process among other things.  When you truly begin to study the digestive system and the impact it has on total health it can be a bit over whelming.  A healthy digestive tract protects the body from infection, regulates metabolism, and promotes immune health.  However, an unhealthy digestive system does just the opposite and is increasingly being linked to many of the chronic and autoimmune diseases plaguing America’s health.

The digestive system is designed to be a highly selective closed system.  This means the digestive tract contains and maintains sensors that should only allow useful nutrients to exit the intestinal walls and enter the blood stream.  However, research is telling us that certain foods and medicines increase the intestinal wall permeability allowing foreign matter to enter the blood stream and cause the immune system to act causing inflammation and potentially disease states.  This increased permeability is often referred to as “leaky gut syndrome.”

While the medical community does not fully understand the causes or cures for leaky gut syndrome, they do know that certain things have the potential to improve and cause dysfunction in the digestive tract.  The below information has the potential to improve your digestive tract and health.  In the case of medications mentioned we do not suggest you stop using the medication but do encourage you to do some research and have a conversation with your doctor about possible alternatives.

1. Eliminate or reduce refined and processed foods in your diet. Many of these foods contain chemicals that have the potential to damage the intestinal lining.
2. Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kim chi, and yogurt or learn how to make your own fermented vegetables. Fermented foods increase the good bacteria in your gut and work exponentially better than probiotics.
3. However, if fermented food is not an option probiotics is the next best choice and will also increase good bacteria in the digestive tract increasing the health of the digestive system.
4. Eliminate or greatly reduce refined sugar in your diet. Sugar can cause an overgrowth in yeast which is linked to increased permeability in the intestinal lining.
5. Eat foods high in fermentable fiber like sweet potato, yams and yucca.
6. Eliminate or decrease gluten in your diet. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and is linked to causing damage to the lining of the intestines.
7. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) have the potential to damage the lining of your intestines and cause leaky gut.
8. Increase the amount of Vitamin D in your diet by getting out in the sun or eating more eggs.
9. Increase the amount of zinc in your diet, eating pumpkin seed, dark chocolate, and ribs.
10. Decrease stress. Make a worry list and determine everything that’s causing stress in your life.  Take care of the things that can be solved easily and develop a plan for those things that will take time.
11. Antibiotics can kill off too many good bacteria causing a shift in the good/bad ratio causing dysfunction within the digestive tract. Fermented foods and/or probiotics are needed reverse damage done by antibiotics.

If you would like more fitness and health information to include a FREE Super Foods e-book go to http://forms.aweber.com/form/68/1724902468.htm

In November 2012, I woke up with a sore throat and made an appointment with my family physician.  After a few tests, the doctor came in the exam room and said I tested positive for strep throat, but she was more concerned with my blood pressure.  She requested I monitor my blood pressure and come back in a few weeks to discuss medication if it remained high.

I left her office thinking, “I’m 41 years old, and I’m not ready to be placed on a medication for the rest of my life.”  I went straight home, got on my laptop and started doing research on blood pressure.  After several hours of reading, I concluded that my diet was the culprit and it had to change.

One of the first articles I read hit me hardest.  I loved soda and the article stated the caramel coloring in soda was linked to hypertension (not to mention all the sugar in soda).  It was clear–soda had to go, and I quit that day and replaced the habit with the anti-inflammatory green tea.  As I continued my research, I started seeing a continuous theme that I followed.  The theme was anti-inflammatory foods and how adding these foods to my diet could change my health.  So I embarked on an experiment that changed my life.

Although the FDA has not evaluated all of the reported benefits of so-called anti-inflammatory foods, I started adding many of these foods to my palate, and my blood pressure started going down and lots of other things improved as well.  My seasonal allergies disappeared; I haven’t taken an over-the-counter allergy medication since I changed my diet.  I lost the mental fog that plagued me; I think more clearly and have more energy.  I went for my annual physical in August 2013, and my cholesterol and triglyceride numbers were great, but best of all, my blood pressure had normalized without medication.

I’m a realist, and I know myself.  I knew it would be hard to eliminate everything processed from my diet, but I made a decision I could limit processed and high-sugar foods.  I still eat pizza and have the occasional cheeseburger and chocolate brownie, but I added lots of great whole foods and spices to my diet and the change has been nothing short of miraculous.

Anti-inflammatory foods are delicious and possess tons of benefits, so many benefits I can’t fit them all into this article.  I started eating fruits like blueberries and blackberries; they contain anthocyanin a nutrient with tremendous health benefits and they taste great when mixed with strawberries in smoothies.  I also added red grapes to my diet—they contain resveratrol which some nutritionists consider a potent natural phenol in food.  Some even refer to it as a “reverse it all” due to the health damage it may possibly reverse.

Vegetables I started eating were carrots and sweet potatoes–they have anti-inflammatory qualities and are packed with the antioxidant beta carotene.  Another potent vegetable I eat is broccoli—a food that some studies suggest lowers blood pressure and boost testosterone in men.  I added fat-rich foods also to my diet like olives, extra virgin olive oil, avocado, ground flax seed and almond—they may reduce compounds that increases inflammation in the body.

Proteins like wild salmon and tuna provide vital protein while packing a huge dose of omega-3 fatty acids.  If fish is not a common food in your diet,  add a fish oil or krill oil supplement.  Whole eggs are another health food loaded with protein and one of the only foods that contain natural occurring vitamin D.

Probably the most important additions I made were actually spices.  Turmeric—an anti-everything food used heavily in India—has been compared with ibuprofen in studies as an active anti-inflammatory agent.  Cinnamon and ginger are two other spices that have been reported to pack a huge anti-inflammatory punch and could even act as natural antibiotics and antifungal agents.

In my own case study, anti-inflammatory foods have changed my health.  I recommend adding the fruits, vegetables, proteins, fats  and spices in this article to your own diet.  They’re all natural foods with nearly zero negative side effects.  After all what do you have to lose—high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or even cancer?

**Too much turmeric can cause intestinal issues and can cause uterine contractions in pregnant women.  Do your own research on how much to use and talk to your physician before using it if your pregnant.

If you’re interested in getting fit and learning how to eat better call or text me at 501-607-4974.  We offer 30 minute fitness classes that concentrate on strength training and short bouts of aerobic exercise.