The Mastermind in our Gut and the three nasty anti-nutrients.

Sooner or later when dis-ease occurs we have to look at the integrity of our gut. Toxaemia occurs when there is a toxic build up because our usual pathways of elimination are beginning to struggle under the pressure.  An inflamed immune response (ie: our general vitality) and subsequently an inability to absorb nutrients can make us go, quite literally, a little crazy.

Did you know that your body actually has two brains? The gut (also known as the digestive tract) developed from the same cluster of tissue when you were an embryo.  Not only is your brain and your gut connected by a long meandering nerve called the Vagus nerve, your gut is also made up of a good percentage of neural tissue.  In fact your gastrointestinal system is also known as the Enteric Nervous System. Millions of neurotransmitters (chemicals once thought to only exist in the brain) also line the entire length of your GIT and are also produced in the GIT, such as serotonin and dopamine.  Because of this fact, many pharmaceutical drugs which are designed to have an effect on the brain also have a profound effect on the gut. This also indicates that the GIT contains receptors for neurotransmitters to lock into. In his book, The Healing Response, Michael Loes MD states that ‘both brains can be addicted to Opiates’.

This is very interesting. Beginning in puberty I began to develop depression and anxiety. I would suffer from panic attacks and deep dark sometimes suicidal depression. When I was 17 I began to experience terrifying sleep paralysis and subsequent insomnia. This merged into post-natal depression after my first child 7 years later and soon into delusion and paranoia. I had allergy tests performed and found profound sensitivity to electricity, EMF’s, wheat, dairy, and corn. I was vegetarian at the time of these tests so began a gluten-free diet. I still consumed dairy. I was addicted to cheese. There was some improvement but not a whole lot. The Sleep Paralysis became less frequent and the depression not so dark and suddenly I felt like a fog had cleared away from my head.  When I became a raw vegan this improved beyond my wildest dreams. I had energy, I was upbeat and more stable in my moods, I could think much clearer and began to remember things from my childhood. I no longer suffered from random bloating or anxious diarrhoea. I had removed all animal products and all grains but there were some residual effects of a chronically inflamed gut and that was low b12. A compromised gut will not absorb b12. I realized for the first time in 17 years that I was also suffering from delusional paranoia and mild schizoid episodes. I took a course of sublingual Methylcobalamin (b12) and with the concurrent healing of my gut all symptoms cleared.

I realized that the integrity of my gut became compromised during my introduction to this world. I was born under a general anaesthetic, I was vaccinated, I was weaned too early and weaned onto the milk of another species, I was put on various courses of antibiotics as a child for gastritis and chronically swollen tonsils. All of these things and more contributed to my poor gut becoming very leaky and incompetent indeed. With this compromise it also set me up for a pretty heavy addiction to opiates.

Although grains have been humankind’s staple for thousands of years, it is questionable if it is really in our best interest from a personal as well as planetary perspective to keep consuming them.  Again, like animal products, as a survival food they’ll get the job done, as a surthrival food, not likely. Grains such as wheat, oats, barley, and rye all contain a protein called Gluten. Gluten acts in the body the same way as opium, heroin, and morphine and our body simply can’t break it down. It is an Opiate and it locks into those receptors in the gut and the brain. Casein, the protein in animal milk (particularly cow’s milk) is also an opiate. Animals that are fed gluten grains typically store this protein in their tissues and this ‘secondary glutenization’ as coined by Doctor John B. Symes (http://dogtorj.com/?page_id=3429) , also affects us.

The majority of children in the Autism Spectrum (including ADHD), people suffering from Schizophrenia and other mental and behavioural disorders have been found to have gut dysbiosis* (or compromised integrity) and ironically most are desperately addicted to refined carbohydrates (breads, pasta, etc) and dairy products. They have responded extremely well to a gluten-free and casein-free diet. Those on a raw vegan diet have turned their lives around. Please see the following for further information and inspiration;

http://www.vegsource.com/news/2009/09/video-veg-views—-autism-cure.html

http://ginalaverde.wordpress.com/

http://rawnaturalhygiene.ning.com/forum/topics/gut-feelings?commentId=3664538%3AComment%3A13016

Unfortunately, the majority of people alive in the western world today enter in with their guts already compromised. Grain and animal product addiction is rife and the industries that supply these products feed on this knowledge. If you don’t believe me try giving up all grains, flesh and dairy for just one week and see how you fare.

I thoroughly recommend reading ‘Grain Damage’ by Dr Doug Graham for a full understanding of the effect of grains on human health.

*dysbiosis also refers to a gross imbalance in the gut flora. Many ‘treatment’ programmes including The Body Ecology Diet recommend consuming probiotic supplements, anti-microbial herbs and fermented foods to address this problem. This is contrary to the facts of human physiology as outlined in Natural Hygiene. For a better understanding of dealing with Candida please see the video by Dr Graham listed in the side bar under ‘articles’. A Low Fat Raw Vegan diet allows the gut to heal and also reduces the toxic load in the system. Initial supplementation with sublingual b12 will be beneficial as this important nerve nutrient is unlikely to have been absorbed or manufactured in the gut prior to healing.