ANTIBIOTICS, GUT HEALTH, AND GLUTEN SENSITIVITYIn my series on gluten, we have learned that GLUTEN INTOLERANCE is one of the most serious (and ignored) health problems facing Americans today. We have also learned about a few of the reasons that people today face an increasingly difficult situation as far as gluten is concerned (HERE). Today we will delve into some of the things that are known to trigger Gluten Sensitivity / Intolerance --- as well as full-blown Celiac Disease. Interestingly enough, some of these same things can actually be triggered by Gluten Sensitivity --- creating the proverbial "chicken or egg" question. Although there are probably a number of triggers that we are yet unaware of, we will stick with what we know from Scientific Research.
According to a recent article in Science Daily, Americans continue ruin their health with ANTIBIOTICS. Although the treating medical community seems to be doing little about this crisis, the scientific research community as well as the mainstream media is starting to take the ball and run with it. A few of the things that are most heavily associated with Gluten Sensitivity include antibiotics. ANTIBIOTICS: Is there any country on the planet that uses more antibiotics that the United States? Nope; and it's not even close! Antibiotics, when used properly, are a stop-gap measure to prevent people from dying of bacterial infections. Instead, they have become so common place that they are frequently little more than a placebo given to placate demanding patients --- something to be taken for every sniffle, sneeze, or cough (real or imagined). They are also improperly handed out like candy for viral infections (HERE). I have spent a fair amount of time on this blog talking about some of the dangers associated with antibiotic use / abuse, as well as the fact that 80% of your entire immune system is found in the gut --- a large percentage of that being made up of "good bacteria" (HERE). Now the research is starting to prove that antibiotic-induced DYSBIOSIS is a major cause of Gluten Sensitivity. Does anyone recall what was said oinn FRIDAY'S BLOG ENTRY? The prestigious medical journal Diabetes recently had to say this about Type I Diabetes, "There is a growing body of evidence that diet may play a role in the development of Type 1 Diabetes, through influencing gut flora [bacteria], intestinal permeability [Leaky Gut Syndrome], and immune function in the gut; wheat in particular has been shown to have a connection to the development of Type 1 Diabetes, although the relationship is poorly understood." The really scary thing is that the same things are being said about numerous other AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES as well. A 2005 Swedish study noted this when they said "There is a difference in the metabolic activity of intestinal microbial flora in children with Celiac Disease compared to that in Healthy Controls." Again, there are abundant studies on this phenomenon. YESTERDAY'S POST was all about showing you how to find them. CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTIONS: This one is probably more related to antibiotics than your doctor cares to admit. Because a whopping 80% of your entire Immune System is found in your gut / digestive tract (SEE HERE), and because antibiotics kill bacteria, and not viruses; every time you take an antibiotic, you are weakening your body's ability to fight viral infections --- by far the most common kind of microbial infection. Is this a big deal? Absolutely, considering that when you get sick, there is about a 90% chance that the pathogen will be a virus ---- not a bacteria. Here is one example from a 1994 study published by the Department of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin "A 12 amino acid sequence from the adenovirus [a very common virus that causes upper respiratory infections, among other things] 12 E1B protein is homologous at the protein level with a similar 12-mer derived from the wheat protein A-gliadin. It has been suggested that exposure to Ad 12 could sensitize individuals to gliadins with resultant gluten sensitive enteropathy." In plain English, proteins from viruses are strangely similar to gliadin (one of the two proteins that makes up gluten). Exposure to said virus can cause Gluten Sensitivity. PARASITES, YEAST, & FUNGUS: Yes, I know this sounds crazy. We live in America where everything is clean. We don't get PARASITES or fungal infections. Wrong! Parasites and fungal / YEAST INFECTIONS are actually common --- especially in people who have had lots of...... you guessed it; antibiotics. There are specialized immune cells that line the small intestine called immunocytes. These immune cells produce secretory IgA, a critical component of the thin, healthy mucous that is makes up the first line of immune defense. The inflammation produced in individuals that are Gluten Sensitive destroys these cells, which in turn opens the door to intestinal infections of all sorts. This lowered immune defense is referred to as depressed secretory IgA, and can result in many other food reactions as well. This is because secretory IgA also helps the body process food antigens. Be aware that while Gluten Sensitivity causes INFLAMMATION that cause the above mentioned infections of the gut; the antibiotics prescribed to people kill off a significant percentage of the good bacteria. As bad bacteria gain a foothold in the gut, it further opens the doors for good bacteria to be crowded out altogether. Is this a problem in America? Ask Dr. Martin Blaser MD. In a PREVIOUS BLOG POST, I reported his research stating that antibiotic abuse was causing the extinction of certain types of good bacteria (normal gut flora). When this happens, you create an environment where the bad guys push the good guys out and take over ---- permanently! For example, in a normal person, about 10,000,000 Salmonella must be ingested in order to cause disease. However, when that person's gut is "sterile" (all or most of the good bacteria have been killed off because of antibiotics), the same disease can be produced by as few as 10 Salmonella. This dramatic difference is simply due to competition. If you do not have friendly bacteria in your gut (and elsewhere), you will have problems. For a little taste of what good bacteria do in your body, CLICK HERE. INFLAMMATION: The chemicals that we refer to collectively as "inflammation" (prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, cytokines, chemokines, certain enzymes, kinnins, histamines, eicosanoids, substance P, TNF's, Il's, and dozens of others) are being touted by the medical community as the primary cause of a whole host of physical ailments. Let me repeat that. INFLAMMATION is a (probably "the") primary causal factor in numerous disease processes. It is not that Inflammation is a bad thing in and of itself. These chemicals that make up "inflammation" are actually part of your normal immune system function. In the correct amounts, these chemicals are crucial to insuring a proper immune system response to various attacks or injuries to your body. However, as they become increasingly elevated throughout the body, they drive the body's Immune System Response to higher and higher levels, causing scads of major health problems. This is because Chronic (long term) Inflammation is characterized by a cycle of destruction and healing in the affected tissue ---- at the same time --- over and over and over again! And yes, Gluten is a major cause of inflammation as well ---- particularly of the gut and the BRAIN / NERVOUS SYSTEM. Some of the other problems that Inflammation is known to cause includes;
TOO MANY BAD FATS / NOT ENOUGH GOOD FATS: Too many people are scared to death of dietary fat (HERE), and those who aren't, typically consume way too many TRANS FATS. Unfortunately for these people, they are not getting enough Omega-3's and other healthy fats into their diets. THE BOTTOM LINE: The bottom line is that although there are many potential triggers out there, antibiotics are a huge factor in the declining health of our nation. The American Society for Microbiology recently published research describing the relationship / interactions between the intestinal micro-flora (good bacteria) and the host. Their Conclusion? "Antibiotics profoundly disrupt intestinal homeostasis" (equilibrium). The authors prefaced this conclusion with this remark, "Intestinal microbes help us digest our food, provide us with vitamins that we cannot make on our own, and protect us from microbes that make us sick, amongst other things". In another major study, researchers examined over 2,000 molecules normally present in feces ---- before and after the administration of antibiotics. The "after antibiotics" group showed some frankly, freaky results;
"First, our work shows that the unnecessary use of antibiotics has deleterious effects on human health that were previously unappreciated." Although we spend more on healthcare as a nation and per capita than any other country on the planet; we really don't have as much to show for it as one would assume. Although we are managing to keep our population alive longer, we are a people plagued by Autoimmune Diseases (SEE HERE) ---- most of which the medical community has no answer for other than prescribing more immuno-suppressive cortico-steroids ---- or other drugs that are even harsher. If you are looking for real answers to problems that are plaguing millions upon millions of other Americans, I suggest you start at ENDOGUT. Endogut has loads of information about the very topics that you have read about in this series. You can also go to PubMed to view over 150 studies pertaining to both gluten and antibiotics.
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GLUTEN SENSITIVITY AND AUTOIMMUNITY If you are convinced (even a little bit) that Gluten could be as big a heath problem as anything facing Americans today, it would be nice to have some scientific evidence to back it up --- especially when talking with your doctor about your condition. Is this evidence out there? If you have been following this blog series thus far, you already know that yes, the studies are out there ---- BY THE THOUSANDS! I was actually going to list studies here, but there are simply too many of them ---- way too many. However, what I will do today is pick a topic. You can do the same thing with any topic of your choice.
Because HASHIMOTO'S THYROIDITIS is arguably the most common major AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE in America (10% of the population), we will use it as today's example. Firstly, notice that Hashimoto's is, as just mentioned, an Autoimmune Disease. Remember also that if you have an Autoimmune Condition of any sort, you have a better than 90% chance of being Gluten Intolerant (HERE for PubMed's "Gluten / Autoimmunity" ---- 700 studies). Now let's narrow down our search to "Gluten / Thyroid". We only find 135 studies to wade through here. Now let's look specifically at the 7 studies under "GLUTEN / THYROID / HASHIMOTO'S THYROIDITIS". Because there are actually many more studies than this (no single database carries them all), we can also look on other databases, as well as the web. Thyroid problems? I would strongly suggest that you read Datis Kharrazian's Thyroid Book on the matter (it's a ten dollar paperback). The brilliant Kharrazian is a board-certified CARRICK-TRAINED Functional Neurologist, and is the world's foremost expert on managing Thyroid Problems from a Functional Medicine point of view. You can also visit the website of Dr. Aristo Vojdani, possibly the world's preeminent immunological expert --- whose specialty happens to be Food Sensitivities --- most specifically GLUTEN INTOLERANCE. The truth of the matter is that knowledge is power. If a doctor diagnoses you with problem X, you need to make yourself an expert on problem X. Never blindly trust what any doctor tells you (self included) without first checking it against current scientific research. If your doctor tries telling you that "Gluten Free" is a MERE FAD with no evidence to back up the link between AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES & GLUTEN, find another doctor! Better yet, get tested to see if you are Gluten Sensitive and whether or not it's throwing your Immune System out of balance, and into a state of Autoimmunity. A SMALL TASTE OF THE GLUTEN RESEARCH In one major study, authors suggested that treating Celiac Disease with a gluten-free diet can lessen the risk of developing autoimmune thyroid disease. In this study, a group of researchers from Italy compared the incidence of Celiac Disease and autoimmune hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) in so-called "healthy people", with the incidence of Celiac Disease in a group of "sick patients" (cancer and heart disease) with non-autoimmune thyroid disease. The prevalence of Celiac Disease in the thyroid disease group was "significantly greater than in both healthy and sick control groups". Although they stated that genetic and environmental factors could be to blame, they added "it is possible that the association between Celiac Disease and autoimmunity in untreated Celiac patients is caused by gluten intake." Other studies have shown that organ-specific antibodies (these indicate that the body's white blood cells are attacking specific organs, glands or tissues, such as the thyroid gland) disappear after three to six months on a gluten-free diet. Their startling conclusion was that it's possible that "undiagnosed Celiac Disease can cause other [autoimmune] disorders by switching on some as yet unknown immunological mechanism." The study was published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences in February 2000. Too bad your doctor has not gotten around to reading this 11 year old research yet. WHAT ABOUT TESTING? Interestingly enough, the Italian research team suggested that all autoimmune thyroid disease patients with Graves or Hashimoto's could benefit from being screened for Gluten Sensitivity. However, the medical community has (not surprisingly) balked at this suggestion. In a 2006 statement, the American Gastroenterological Association Institute, noted that patients with autoimmune thyroid disease are at higher risk for Celiac, but added that "there is no compelling rationale for the routine screening of patients with thyroid disease for Celiac Disease in the absence of symptoms suggesting or compatible with Celiac Disease." There isn't? Go back and re-read the first part of this blog entry! The evidence is overwhelming. However.......... Stop for a moment and think. Because Autoimmune Diseases are so rampant in America, it would make good fiscal (and humanitarian) sense for our medical community to not only to educate patients about the potential pitfalls of gluten, but to screen people with Autoimmune Diseases as well. In fact, in light of what we have learned in this five part series, a suggestion that everyone be screened for Gluten Sensitivity would not seem too out of line. Will this ever happen? Doubtful. Think about YESTERDAY'S COLUMN, Ivy League Professor, Dr. Peter Green's research (HERE), and the monster numbers of Americans with Autoimmune Disease (at least 1 in 5 --- probably more like 1 in 2). If even half of these people's health issues could be managed simply by removing gluten from the diet, think about the tens of billions in lost revenue that would be facing Drug Companies and the Medical Industry. Is it any wonder your doctor has not talked to you about gluten yet? GLUTEN SENSITIVITY AND AUTOIMMUNITY |
DIET SODA CAUSES OBESITY
Researchers looked at questionnaires and medical records for 1,177 patients who began enrolling in the study in 1979. All had weights considered either normal or overweight, but not obese. The volunteers were asked how many soft drinks per day they usually drank and whether they drank regular or diet -- or a combination of each, and then followed up with them over the next 26 years.
Not surprisingly, researchers found that drinking any soda -- regular or diet -- was linked to a higher risk of becoming overweight. But when the researchers adjusted the data to account for differences in age, sex and ethnicity, they found that regular soft drinks had significantly less connection with serious weight gain than did diet soda. The idea that diet sodas can lead to weight gain isn't new. Last year, a group from Purdue University found that when rats were fed the Aspartame equivalent of a diet soda, they ate more high-calorie food afterward than did rats fed the same amount of a drink sweetened with high-calorie sweetener.
“They may be free of calories but not of consequences,” Dr. Helen Hazuda, professor of medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in a written statement. “These results suggest that – amidst the national drive to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks – policies which would promote the consumption of DSDs (diet soft drinks) may have unintended deleterious effects.”
As your waist size grows, so do your health risks such as DIABETES, heart disease, CANCER, and a whole host of other health-related problems. Stay tuned for tomorrow's column to find out how / why diet sodas make you fat.
The recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, being made public recently, will not come as a surprise to cancer specialists. The assumption has always been that finding cancer early is always a good thing. "Not so", said Dr. Virginia Moyer of the Baylor College of Medicine, who heads the task force. "We have put a huge amount of time, effort and energy into PSA screening and that time, effort and energy, that passion, should be going into finding a better test instead of using a test that doesn't work."
The task force analyzed all the previous research on this subject, including five major studies, to evaluate whether routine screening reduces deaths from prostate cancer. The conclusion: There's little if any mortality benefit. "But there is harm from routine screening: impotence, incontinence, infections, even death that can come from the biopsies, surgery and radiation." One study estimated that 40% of the men whose prostate cancer was caught through a PSA test had tumors too slow-growing to ever be a threat.
Another Dirty Little Secret of America's Medical Community
However, the most shocking results of the study found that people on the long-acting inhalers were four to six times more likely to die of an asthma attack than those on placebo (which, by the way, was itself a less potent medication and not a true placebo. In other words, the placebo was not really a placebo. If a true placebo were used, the results would probably have been far more dramatic). Use inhalers to treat you or your child's asthma, and you double your chances ending up in the hospital, while multiplying your chances of ending up in a pine box. Gulp!
"What we have here is a drug that increases the number of people who will die from the disease it is treating," said lead author Shelley Salpeter of Stanford University. "The long-acting bronchodilators can help reduce symptoms for many people, but we think the price in terms of serious side effects and deaths is unacceptable."
The analysis, published in a 2006 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that these drugs should be taken off the market. "The use of long-acting [bronchodilators] could be associated with a clinically significant number of unnecessary hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and deaths each year," the authors wrote. "Black box warnings on the labeling for these agents clearly outline the increased risk for asthma-related deaths associated with their use, but these warnings have not changed prescribing practices of physicians."
One of the long-lasting bronchodilators is Advair, made by GLAXOSMITHKLINE. It brings in several billion dollars a year for the company, making it the nation's fifth biggest-selling drug (nearly four million patients a year use it), according to IMS Health, which tracks health data. In the new analysis, the authors estimated that Advair "may be responsible for as many as 4,000 of the 5,000 asthma-related deaths each year in the United States." If this does not freak you out just a little bit, nothing will!
An FDA advisory panel meeting was held to discuss whether these drugs should be taken off the market. Although the panel concluded that they should not, one result of the meeting was a demand for stronger language in the black-box warning. They came up with an Advisory Warning that says: "Even though LABAs decrease the frequency of asthma episodes, these medicines may make asthma episodes more severe when they occur. . . . LABAs should not be the first medicine used to treat asthma. LABAs should be added to the asthma treatment plan only if other medicines do not control asthma, including the use of low-or-medium dose corticosteroids." I could write a book on corticosteroids, but needless to say, they are no less dangerous an option for asthma than the LABA's! When are people going to learn? As long as Big Pharma has something to say about it; never!
If you want to understand how to deal with ASTHMA naturally, you have to understand two simple principles: INFLAMMATION & CHIROPRACTIC. Otherwise you will be at the mercy of the Drug Companies, and the deadly products they continue to push via your doctor.
WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
ASTHMA MEDS CAN BE DEADLY!
- Number of non-institutionalized adults who currently have asthma: 17.5 million
- Percent of non-institutionalized adults who currently have asthma: 7.7
- Number of children who currently have asthma: 7.0 million
- Percent of children who currently have asthma: 9.4%
- Number of visits (to physician offices, hospital outpatient and emergency departments) with asthma as primary diagnosis: 17.0 million
- Number of discharges with asthma as first-listed diagnosis: 456,000
- Average length of stay: 3.4 days
- Number of deaths: 3,447
This statistic on asthma-related deaths is too low. If you stick around for tomorrow's column, you will see that. I have seen the death stats for American Asthma put at almost 10,000 a year. Asthma is the chronic INFLAMMATORY disease of the airways, and is characterized by recurring symptoms, broncho-spasm, and subsequent airway obstruction. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. How is it typically dealt with? Inhalers. How should it be dealt with? That one is easy --- firstly with DIET, and CHIROPRACTIC!
Because ASTHMA is based on INFLAMMATION, it is largely a disease of lifestyle. Because Chiropractic Adjustments affect both the nerves that control breathing, as well as the part of brainstem that regulate respiration, asthma can often times be effectively managed with methods that are actually safe. Is chiropractic safer than inhalers? You will have to come back tomorrow to answer this question, but suffice it to say that the scientific studies on CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA, are overwhelmingly supportive of its safety record as well as its effectiveness. But how? It all comes back to the NERVE SYSTEM.
When vertebrate get misaligned, or loose their normal ability to move freely on each other, bad things happen. One of these is nerve interference. Irritate a nerve, and irritate wherever that nerve goes. I cannot tell you how many children (and adults) with asthma, I have successfully treated over the years. And for those whose cases are more severe; there may be an underlying issue that requires testing. The bottom line? You do not want your child on inhalers, if they can be helped by more conservative (non-deadly means). Oh, you mean to tell me that you had not heard that Asthma Inhalers can be deadly? You'll have to stick around for tomorrow's column in order to learn that MOST (the studies say 80%) of the deaths attributed to Asthma are actually caused not by the asthma itself, but by the inhalers.
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How on earth can you effectively treat something whose cause is completely unknown? The best their method of treatment can hope to achieve is some temporary symptomatic relief. Most doctors will tell you that since no one knows what causes Fibro, symptomatic relief is their one and only treatment goal. This is unfortunate because most of the drugs used to treat Fibromyalgia (particularly anti-inflammation medications) can actually make things worse by contributing to something called LEAKY GUT SYNDROME.
If you really want to learn more about Fibromyalgia, you absolutely must learn what Adrenal Fatigue is. This is because Adrenal Fatigue was, for decades, the clinical name of the group of symptoms that we today call Fibromyalgia. Without understanding Adrenal Fatigue, you have no hope of conquering Fibromyalgia ---- no matter what your doctor tells you! To visit my new website on the twin topics of Fibromyalgia and Adrenal Fatigue; DESTROY FIBROMYALGIA.
ETHIOPIAN FLAG
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, SIDNEY
CROSBY, AND DR. CARRICK
When I heard that one of my all-time favorite magazines, Sports Illustrated was going to carry an article on Crosby's Post-Concussion Treatment by world famous Chiropractic Neurologist, and pioneer in Functional Neurology, DR. TED CARRICK, I could hardly wait to read it. Dr. Carrick is one of the most brilliant men on the planet --- period! His creation and development of Functional Neurology is changing the landscape of healthcare --- both alternative and mainstream. The article is short, and could actually be viewed as two separate articles; the first being Crosby's excellent experience with Dr. Carrick's treatment protocol, the second being the medical community's "dogging" both Carrick and Functional Neurology as unscientific.
One of the first problems that I had with the article is that Sports Illustrated chose to use HARRIET HALL of Stephen Barrett's anti-chiropractic / anti-natural health, Quackwatch Site, as one of their so-called medical "ex-spurts". But really, when given an open mic, what did you expect these hand-picked, anti-chiropractic, medical mouthpieces to say? Were they about to admit the doctors in charge had utterly no idea what they were doing over the course of a half year of Crosby's treatment? Not on your life! Wouldn't it have been nice to see them admit the truth for once --- the fact that all they do is evaluate the concussed player, hoping that they improve quickly so they can take credit for returning them back to the ice? But bashing Dr. Carrick as some sort of "unscientific" pseudo-doctor who has somehow mesmerized Crosby, sells more magazines. SI's article should have contained at least a small portion that read a little something like this.....
"For the past eight months we tried everything that we knew to do, but Sid's symptoms did not change. Since there are no medications or surgeries to perform that can help Post-Concussion Syndrome, we continued to carefully analyze his symptoms, performing as many tests as humanly possible, while continuing to give zero amount of effective treatment. Needless to say, we spent countless hours educating Sid on his condition in an attempt to convince him not to seek out other treatment options that could prove to be either dangerous, or more effective than anything we have done for him so far. We warned Sid that according to our profession's most esteemed experts, his choice to go outside of the Penguin's organization for his healthcare was both unscientific and dangerous. Unfortunately, those efforts fell on deaf ears."
Sid personally recruited Dr. Carrick into the case, even though we made every attempt to stop him. We must admit that after starting treatment, and since working with Mr. (er, uh) "Doctor" Carrick, Sid has done remarkably well ----- making us all look like we have absolutely no idea what is going on ----- even though Carrick's treatment obviously had nothing to do with said improvement. Our current protocol for managing this difficult case involves constantly testing Sid, secretly trying to figure out why Dr. Carrick's treatment seems to be light years ahead of anything we have to offer, and trying to save face by saying anything and everything possible to discredit and undermine Dr. Carrick. The truth is, Dr Carrick is a quack, Functional Neurology is whitewashed voodoo, and he uses big words that he made up himself. Of course Sid's recovery was actually due to a coincidentally-timed placebo effect. I.E, he would have gotten better on his own eventually ---- at least that's the message we keep pumping out to other patients like Harry Carson, Dave Duerson, and Jr. Seau.
Would we ever consider referring a patient to a Chiropractic Neurologist in the future ---- even if there was ample research to validate what they are doing? Are you kidding me? We would rather die first!"
Believe me, sometimes you can figure out what is being said by reading carefully between the lines. It's amazing that even though Carrick's completely non-invasive treatment of Sidney Crosby obviously worked, half the article was spent telling readers why it shouldn't have. Wouldn't it have been nice to have seen this article presented with some more information about Carrick and the fact that his specialty is bringing people out of comas (WAKING UP THE BRAIN)?
However, you will not hear Carrick toot his own horn. Dr. Carrick DC, Ph.D, DACAN, DABCN, DACNB, FACCN, is a class act ---- an articulate, yet humble man, who happens to be the chiropractic profession's only "Neurological Fellow". I am not sure that there is another Neurologist on the planet who could keep up with him. The bottom line is results. It's almost embarrassing to listen to the whining from the people who could not get the job done with Crosby's health and career.
THE NEWS CONFERENCE WITH SID & DR. CARRICK
(Dr Carrick Begins Speaking at about the 7:40 Mark)
GUT HEALTH AND YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
In the Abstract, the authors revealed something that the scientific community (particularly the portion with a bent toward natural healing) has known for decades. "The gut immune system has 70– 80% of the body's immune cells". Stop! Did you catch that? Read it again and let the sheer magnitude of what they are saying sink in. Your "Gut" (intestinal tract) is where the vast majority of your Immune System lives! Poor digestive / gut health (HERE is one extremely common example) automatically means poor Immune System function. I showed you yesterday that is just the beginning (HERE). Poor Immune System function opens a Pandora's Box of health problems that can affect any and every part of the body. In other words, GUT HEALTH is everything!
It is not a coincidence that DYSBIOSIS is now being touted as the primary culprit in AUTOIMMUNITY (At least one in four Americans are afflicted with some sort of Autoimmune Disease). This doesn't even begin to touch on our national epidemics of FIBROMYALGIA, ADRENAL FATIGUE, THYROID ISSUES, ENDOCRINE PROBLEMS OF ALL SORTS, MIGRAINE HEADACHES, OBESITY, as well as a long list of others (HERE). Dysbiosis is also heavily related to LEAKY GUT SYNDROME (actually, it's the FLIP SIDE of the same coin).
"The enteric nervous system contains on the order of ten to the eighth neurons, the gastro-entero-pancreatic endocrine system uses more than 20 identified hormones, and the gut immune system has 70– 80% of the body's immune cells. When this response is maladjusted or is overwhelmed, the consequences can be severe or debilitating as in irritable bowel syndrome."
The two primary causes of America's dysbiotic nightmare? Easy. ANTIBIOTICS --- even SEEMINGLY SMALL AMOUNTS of antibiotics --- get the ball rolling by killing off your good bacteria (some vaccines have been accused of this as well --- HERE). Remember that these are the same bacteria that make up a huge portion of your Immune System. Too much SUGAR & JUNK CARBS keep the process moving by feeding the bad bacteria. What it their food of choice? Easy. In similar fashion to other health problems, SUGAR FEEDS INFECTION.
Again, the antibiotics kill your good bacteria, while SUGAR & REFINED CARBOHYDRATES feed the Dysbiotic organisms (bad bacteria, YEASTS, MOLDS, fungi, PARASITES, etc) that begin taking over your Gut. Sometimes, simply going on a PALEO or other LOW CARB DIET, and taking some HSO PROBIOTCS can be enough to pull a person back to health. Frequently, however, things are so fouled up that a person is going to have to go "ALL IN" in order to solve their crisis. Understand that when we start talking about some of the crazy and severe problems that are befuddling doctors today (MUPS, for instance), you might have to REALLY THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX in order to regain your health.
PART II
GUT / IMMUNE SYSTEM

Is the gut important for anything other than digestion? Believe it or not, you have 10 times the number of bacteria living in your gut, as you have cells in your entire body. In fact, at least 25% of the dry weight of your stool is bacteria! Most bacteria that live in your gut (aka "flora") are not harmful, and actually perform numerous critical functions in your body. Some of these include things like....
- THEY MANUFACTURE VITAMINS: They specifically make one of the B VITAMINS (Biotin) as well as Vitamin K.
- THEY PRODUCE ENERGY: Healthy flora have the capacity to extract energy from unused materials via process of fermentation. A little fermentation is a good thing. Very much fermentation, and you have a problem on your hands. This happens when too many bad bacteria overgrow your gut (DYSBIOSIS). It also happens to the body when CANCER attacks.
- THEY "TRAIN" THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: Research published in the Jan 2010 issue of Nature Medicine, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, suggests that good bacteria in the gut keep the immune system primed and ready for combat. Senior author Jeffrey N. Weiser, M.D. draws the analogy to how a cold engine versus one that is warmed up and idling would perform. If the immune system is already warmed up by "good bacteria", it can better cope with pathogenic invaders (the bad guys). By the way, ANTIBIOTICS are the biggest preventer of an "idling" immune system.
- THEY PREVENT OVERGROWTH OF PATHOGENIC ("BAD") BACTERIA: There are so called "bad" bacteria that live in harmony with the good bacteria. Keep in mind that we have to have a certain amount of these critters in our gut to maintain good health. The problems start when they get out of balance. This is called Dysbiosis and is frankly a huge problem here in America. Why? Our medical community as well as our farmers are killing off our good bacteria so fast, entire species are being wiped out ---- forever (SEE HERE).
- THEY PREVENT OVERGROWTH OF OTHER PATHOGENIC ("BAD") ORGANISMS: There are a host of critters out there that we do not want in here. Some of these include Yeasts (Candida is the biggie), Molds, Fungus, Parasites, Protozoa, etc. Good bacteria actually keep these in check. Women understand this better than anyone via vaginal yeast infections after using antibiotics. The real problem, however, is not vaginal yeast; it's SYSTEMIC YEAST. What do you think happens when yeast (or the toxic chemicals yeast produces) get into the blood stream? Can anyone say MIGRAINE HEADACHES, LEAKY GUT SYNDROME & FIBROMYALGIA?
- THEY CONVERT 20% OF YOUR BODY'S INACTIVE THYROID HORMONE (T4) TO THE ACTIVE FORM (T3): Hypothyroidism affects a minimum of 10% of America's population (some experts claim the number is double that). Dysbiosis is a huge contributing factor in our country's THYROID EPIDEMIC.
- THEY DEGRADE METHYL MERCURY --- THE MOST TOXIC FORM OF MERCURY: MERCURY is the single most toxic non-radioactive element on the planet. You want it converted into a form that can be excreted instead of stored in your fatty tissues. Good Bacteria do this!
As you can see, bacteria perform lots of tasks critical to the proper function of your body --- and this is just the very tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
Dr. Schierling completed four years of Kansas State University's five-year Nutrition / Exercise Physiology Program before deciding on a career in Chiropractic. He graduated from Logan Chiropractic College in 1991, and has run a busy clinic in Mountain View, Missouri ever since. He and his wife Amy have four children (three daughters and a son).
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