The 6 Best Ways To Heal Your Gut & Restore Your Health

In part 1 of this series I explained what leaky gut syndrome was how it can wreak havoc throughout your body. In part 2, I went over different causes of leaky gut syndrome. If you haven't already, take a look at those articles first.

 

If you have leaky gut syndrome, what do you do now? Here are six of my favorite healing tools to repair a leaky gut:

 

1. L-Glutamine

This amino acid has been shown to bring healing to damaged gut lining. This healing tool may help repair the gut and reverse the effects of leaky gut syndrome.

 

2. Bone broth 

This ancient superfood can do wonders for your gut health. Bone broth is abundant in fat-soluble vitamins and minerals to boost your overall immune health and digestion. Bone broth is also rich in gelatin, which can heal your gut from the inside out. Bones should be from grass-fed cattle or organic chickens.

 

3. Herbal remedies

There are several herbs that can help heal gut lining damage. Slippery elm, marshmallow root and Deglycyrrhizinated licorice are some remedies that have been used for hundreds of years to repair the protective lining of your gut.

 

4. Fermented foods 

Your gut is home to around 100 trillion microorganisms. Fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha provide your gut with trillions of beneficial bacteria. This will help rebuild and balance healthy bacteria levels that are destroyed with leaky gut syndrome.

 

5. Coconut oil

This is another superfood no one should be without. The healthy saturated fats are an integral part to healing your gut. Lauric, capric and caprylic acids in coconut oil have antimicrobial, anti-fungal and antiviral properties. This is a real food medicine way to gently clean your GI system. Coconut oil should be organic, extra virgin and cold pressed.

 

6. Intermittent fasting 

Giving your body a little break from digesting food can be very healing. Intermittent fasting is not a full fast, but limiting your daily caloric intake to 500 or 600 a day. This restriction for a few days will allow your body to repair the gut's lining. The healing foods listed above are perfect choices to eat during intermittent fasting.

 

Customized Health Solutions

 

What works for one person may not be right for the next. A health program should be customized based on the patients health history and labs. This tailored and individualized approach is what I do for people all around the world through my virtual Functional Medicine practice. 

Helping People Reverse Disease, Regain Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight And Restore Health, In Pittsburgh & Across The World Through Our Virtual Functional Medicine Practice. Dr. Will Cole: Your Source For The Future Of Natural Health. www.drwillcole.com

5 Common Culprits That Are Damaging Your Gut Health

In my previous article, I showed why and how increased permeability in your intestinal system — known as leaky gut syndrome — is linked to many chronic diseases. I also showed which four tests need to be run to see if a leaky gut is a factor in your case. If you haven't already, I would read that article first to gain understanding of leaky gut syndrome.

Your gut health is intertwined with every other system in your body. When the lining of that wall is damaged, it can cause systemic inflammation and trigger an autoimmune response in any of those systems in your body. In this article I want to go over five culprits that can play a part in damaging your gut.

1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen relieve pain and inflammation by blocking an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase. The problem is that this enzyme also performs important functions, such as protecting the stomach from the corrosive effects of its own acid, which strengthens the activity of the immune system. Because of this, they can cause intestinal inflammation, damaging the lining of the intestine and causing intestinal permeability. This process can turn on an autoimmune response in the body. Among people who chronically use NSAIDs, research estimates that 65% will develop intestinal inflammation and up to 30% will develop ulcers.             

2. Antibiotics

Frequent use of antibiotics can decrease your beneficial, protective gut bacteria. With your body's natural defenses down, this will make your body more prone to damaging to your gut's lining. What's worse is that your body's unique diversity of trillions of beneficial bacteria won't automatically be recovered after it's lost, without some healthy intervention.

To see the other 3 Culprits will wreak havoc on your gut and your health, go on over to MindBodyGreen for the complete article

Helping People Reverse Disease, Regain Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight And Restore Health, In Pittsburgh & Across The World Through Our Virtual Functional Medicine Practice. Dr. Will Cole: Your Source For The Future Of Natural Health. www.drwillcole.com

4 Tests To Determine If You Have A Leaky Gut

Your gut is home to trillions of beneficial bacteria. You have 10 times more of these bacteria in your gastrointestinal system than you have cells in your body. You could say that you're more bacteria than human. This highly sophisticated system is where 80 percent of your immune system resides. Ninety-five percent of your body's serotonin, the body's "feel-good" hormone, is found not in the brain, but right in your gut. It's no wonder that your gut is referred to in scientific literature as the "second brain." 

For all these reasons, in my clinical experience, we must always investigate the gastrointestinal system when dealing with any chronic health condition.

Leaky gut syndrome (also known as intestinal hyperpermeability), is the result of a compromise to the intestinal lining. During the normal digestion process the tight junctions (think of them as protective gates) stay closed, forcing all molecules to effectively be screened and only pass into the blood stream through the mucosal cells. For a number of reasons, these tight junctions can become “open,” or permeable, allowing bacteria, toxins, incompletely digested proteins, fats and waste into the bloodstream. 

Once these toxins are in the blood, they flow throughout the body, which can trigger an autoimmune reaction. Because of this systemic problem, the list of conditions linked to intestinal hyperpermeability is far reaching. Arthritis, asthma, autism, autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, type I diabetes, type II diabetes, skin disorders, thyroid disorders and weight loss resistance have all been linked to gut health issues.

With these overwhelming implications that leaky gut syndrome can have on your health, lets go over four tests that should be run to determine if a leaky gut is a factor in whatever chronic health issues you may be experiencing: Go on over to MindBodyGreen to read the entire article!

 

Helping People Reverse Disease, Regain Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight And Restore Health, In Pittsburgh & Across The World Through Our Virtual Functional Medicine Practice. Dr. Will Cole: Your Source For The Future Of Natural Health. www.drwillcole.com

Recipe: Layered Fruit Gazpacho

Perfect Healthy, Real Food treat for your whole family:

 

 

 

 

Layered Fruit Gazpacho

Ingredients:
10 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
2 tablespoons honey
... 12 ounces unsweetened lemon-lime sparkling water
5 kiwis, peeled
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 cup roughly chopped cantaloupe
4 kiwi slices, for garnish

INSTRUCTION:
Combine raspberries (if frozen taw them before) and honey in a food processor or blender until it becomes a puree. Pass the puree through a fine mesh to filter the seeds. Add lime sparkling water and let it rest on the side.
In the blender, combine peeled kiwifruit and lime/lemon juice until pureed. Put it on the side. Then clean the blender, add cantaloupe and blend it.

To make the layers, in each glass put equal amount from each puree; and you have a tasty dessert for your summer days.

 

Helping People Reverse Disease, Regain Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight And Restore Health, In Pittsburgh & Across The World Through Our Virtual Functional Medicine Practice. Dr. Will Cole: Your Source For The Future Of Natural Health. www.drwillcole.com

3 Reasons Mainstream Medicine Is Failing You + What To Do About It

The United States spends more than $3 trillion each year on health care. That's more than what the next 10 countries spend combined! There could be justification for spending that exorbitant amount of money if it produced results, but what does research show? 

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, out of 13 industrialized nations, the United States is last when it comes to the most years of life lost for adults and the highest infant mortality rate. The World Health Organization and the National Research Council claim that out of 16 industrialized nations, the United States has the highest chance that a child will die before age 5, the highest rate of women dying due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth and the second-highest rate of death by coronary heart disease and lung disease. 

Mainstream medicine and its care for the millions of Americans struggling with chronic diseases leaves many with little hope or answers. The standard model of care for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, low thyroid, acid reflux and autoimmune disease is inadequate, to say the least. Having coached people all over the world in reversing conditions such as these, I've been able to pinpoint three reasons why mainstream medicine is failing you: Read my entire article at MindBodyGreen

 

Helping People Reverse Disease, Regain Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight And Restore Health, In Pittsburgh & Across The World Through Our Virtual Functional Medicine Practice. Dr. Will Cole: Your Source For The Future Of Natural Health.