ARE you just not feeling well, yet your doctor can’t pinpoint a medical reason. Do you lack energy and perhaps have difficulty sleeping. Is your metabolism sluggish or has your immune system gone into hiding? You may be suffering from slowly progressive inflammation in the lining of your gut.

This can lead to leaky gut syndrome, allergies, poor absorption of the nutrients in your food, or worse, an autoimmune disease.

What is leaky gut, you may ask. This is a condition where the lining of your intestine becomes so inflamed that bacteria, large proteins and toxins can now pass into your bloodstream from your gut. You are also unable to efficiently digest and absorb the nutrients you really need to help you with this new onslaught into your bloodstream.

Little by little, the body starts to break down. Allergies develop, your energy levels fall, your hormones become unstable, and your metabolism is sluggish because your body is busy dealing with the extra toxic load coming into your blood. It is interesting that even blotchy pigmentation of your skin may be a sign that your gut is in need of healing.

TREATING LEAKY GUT

This is happening to so many people and many are not aware of how to treat it.

It’s really not that hard to treat, though it may involve forming some new habits. Genetically modified and gluten-containing foods have been proven to damage the lining of the gut and also negatively affect the bacteria that help you to protect your gut lining and digest your food.

We have been told for a long time that wheat products are good for us because they contain fibre. Wheat is nowadays largely genetically modified and is a major factor in causing leaky gut. Commercially available milk does not contain the enzymes needed to help you to digest it. It, therefore, may do more harm than good and contribute to leaky gut.

GUT HEALERS

So now what? How does one heal their gut? It is recommended that you eliminate the causes as well as support the restoration of your health.

To eliminate the causes you will need to avoid foods that damage the gut. Switch to gluten-free foods, cut out milk as well as commercially prepared and packaged and sugary foods. Don’t worry, there’s plenty left that you can eat, for example: eggs, avocados, coconuts, nuts, oils, seeds, fish, poultry, meats, gluten-free oats, potatoes, carrots, rice, sweet potatoes, almost all vegetables, as well as fruits that are not too sweet. This is especially important while you are healing your gut in the initial stages.

Eat more like your grandmother did before commercially processed foods came about. First of all, grandmothers used to make home-made ‘bone broth’. There may be quite possibly no ‘healthier’ food on the planet than this, in my opinion. It’s chock-full of amino acids, collagen and gelatin that help trigger healing of the gut.

I personally love broth made with chicken’s feet. This one goes down quite well and is soothing. One large Crockpot full can serve for many days, and it’s easily stored in the fridge. It has extra gelatin to help keep joints healthy too. Once your gut is healthy, all other health issues can begin to settle down, as your body will have more available resources to assign to ‘housekeeping’ and maintenance and rejuvenation of damaged tissues. Your immune system will improve and your energy levels will once again begin to rise. You will feel normal again. You would be surprised to see how much better the skin looks in a person who drinks bone broth.

Other important gut healers include probiotics such as sourkraut, or acidophilus in the form of supplements, to assist in replenishing the healthy gut bacteria that help in digestion of foods. Another helpful consideration is adding digestive enzymes and taking them with each meal, at least until your gut heals and digestion returns to normal.

So now that you know a bit more about how to be healthy in today’s world, with today’s food, isn’t it time you started to take steps to better health. I’d drink to that. Bone broth anyone?

Dr Arlene Rose is the head physician and proprietor of the Jamaica Centre for Advanced Medicine (JCAM). A graduate of the University of the West Indies Medical Faculty, she received a Masters with Distinction in Dermatology at Wales College of Medicine and completed further studies in the US and Europe in Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Therapy. Visit JCAM’s website at: www.jcamhealth.com.