When talking about health, our gut is usually not the first thing to come up. Its easy to identify the "center" of our cardio vascular system as the heart, brain for the nervous system and lungs for the respiratory system. But when asked what the "center" of our immune system is, we usually don't think of our gut as the "center." Our gut, or digestive tract, is responsible for the development and maintenance of our immune system. This makes sense since it is where most things enter our body. The gut is home to billions, if not trillions, of bacteria. It is estimated that the bacteria that lives in our body outnumber our own cells by a ratio of 10:1.
These bacteria can be broken down into several different categories, but for this article we will keep it simple and just say there are two main categories: Good Bacteria and Bad Bacteria. This collective group of bacteria is often referred to as gut flora. All of these bacteria feed and produce waste products. The good bacteria in our gut flora actually help with nutrient absorption and digestion, protect against toxins and carcinogens, provide a barrier for harmful bacteria and develop our immune system. This development is extremely important to recognize and ensure in infants and young children. The various living nutrients in breast milk actually develop the healthy gut flora in infants. Since both good and bad bacteria make up our gut flora, the trick is to keep a balance where the bad bacteria are kept in check by the good bacteria.
Problems occur when we damage the good bacteria and the bad bacteria are no longer kept in check and start to flourish. This is called dysbiosis and is often triggered with antibiotic therapy, stress and poor diet. When this occurs, the defenses that normally protect us are diminished and toxins from the bad bacteria are absorbed by our body, in particular our brain. Additionally, these same toxins cause damage and inflammation to the very intestines that are protecting us further adding to the problem.
This field of research is relatively new and is growing very rapidly. It is speculated that there are hundreds of types of good bacteria and we are just starting to understand how important they are to not only our immune system but the health and development of our brain. It is estimated that over 85% of our body's serotonin, a neuro transmitter often called the "feel good" hormone, is produced by our gut. No wonder there is such a strong connection between gut health and our brain. Our gut is frequently called our "second brain." The connection between our gut and brain is often called the Gut-Brain Axis...which is not to be confused with Will Ferrell's Axis of Evil...which is shown below. Here is a link to the video to clarify.
I know, I know...I couldn't resist, I laugh every time I think about that...ok, I'm serious again...back to what I was talking about.
Understanding this is important to not only LEO's and athletes but to anyone who wants to stay healthy or who are raising kids. There is a lot of compelling research and studies on the topic which continue to grow. Many of these studies show a strong correlation between the rise in obesity and mood disorders, such as ADHD, bi-polar and depression, in children and the rapid rise in the consumption of sugar and processed foods over the last 30 years.
Sugar and processed foods along with gluten, found primarily in wheat barley and rye, are some of the biggest culprits. Gluten, which is a lectin, has a tendency to bind or "stick" to the epithelial cells of the small intestine causing an immune response and inflammation which leads to damage and eventually Leaky Gut Syndrome...which has been connected to many of our modern diseases, primarily auto immune diseases. Also, the gluten that doesn't stick and makes it into our blood bonds to other tissues and cells which our body mistakes as a foreign body and attacks.
The causes for such things as acne, IBS, constipation, eczema, headaches, mood disorders, fatigue, arthritis and headaches, which are commonly treated with medications and as one single factor, can often be traced to poor gut health.
Here is a Podcast from Chris Kressor's site. The podcast is worth the time to listen to. He goes into detail explaining the Gut-Brain Axis. He even goes as far to say "I think the gut-brain axis is one of the most important and least recognized factors in human health."
Here are a few guidelines for improved gut health include:
- eliminate gluten (found primarily in wheat, barley and rye)
- keep healthy fats in the diet (saturated and Omega-3's)
- avoid processed foods
- reduce sugar intake
- eat a lot of vegetables
- exercise
- eat foods with healthy bacteria in them such as fermented foods and yogurt (kefir style is preferable)
- reduce stress
- reduce acidic foods and increase alkaline foods (vegetables are great source)
- reduce Omega-6's
For those who are already experiencing gut or auto-immune problems may want to consider a more strict approach and eliminate all grains, legumes,non-fermented dairy, take probiotics and digestive enzymes.
Probiotics are healthy or good bacteria found in various fermented foods as well as raw milk, which are destroyed by the pasteurization process. Prebiotics are the materials that feed the existing healthy bacteria. Some of the primary sources of these prebiotics are soluble fiber found in fruits and vegetables such as inulin, oligofructose, along with fructooligosaccharides (FOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and other oligosaccharides. Both inulin and oligofructose have been shown to increase magnesium and calcium absorption. This article discusses some methods of healing a damaged gut, often referred to as Leaky Gut Syndrome.
Here is a good book for parents or anyone with ADD, ADHD, mood disorders or depression. Wait, here are two more articles another of interest, especially for parents, that discusses how a child's health starts with the gut.
Until next time, make sure you pick up something heavy this week and get some sprints in.
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