In all reality this article might oversimplify some aspects of microbiology and human metabolism, but to get the message out there I’m willing to round a few edges to hopefully get my point across. What “point”, you ask? Well, the point that almost all disease processes that we face as westernized societies today are avoidable and in most part reversible. When I say Most Disease, I mean most disease that gets people walking into doctor’s clinics the world over.
Lifestyle disease is by far the most prevalent reason for visits to the doctor and the leading cause of morbidity in all Western societies today. Lifestyle diseases are the ones that are brought on by poor lifestyle choices, simply put a lack of proper nutrition and proper exercise, lack of sleep and a poor ability to process stress. Diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, digestive issues, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia and depression are just a few examples but maybe the easiest ones for most people to understand the link to diet and activity levels. Unfortunately, I don’t have the space here to discuss Alzheimer’s, Schizophrenia, Autism, Bi-Polar and some of the more complicated diseases and how they too are linked to diet, leaky gut and possible fungal overgrowth in the small intestine, so for now we’ll discuss the obvious.
In my practice of Functional Medicine, Chiropractic and as Movement and Exercise coach the link between the gut and the disease presenting in front of me (whatever it might be) has become so blatantly obvious that it’s almost laughable that the patient doesn’t see it for themselves. Just to rewind for a minute, let me define Functional Medicine for those readers who might not be familiar with the term. Functional Medicine is the advanced practice of personalized nutrition assessment, diagnosis, intervention and monitoring with the goal of promoting optimal health and preventing diet-and-lifestyle related disease. Sounds fairly simple and when I first heard that definition I thought to myself, “isn’t this how all doctors should be treating anyway?”….after all the hypocritic oath states: I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgement, and I will do no harm or injustice to them. Yet, medical doctors rarely prescribe anything other than medication let alone dispense nutritional and exercise advice! The over prescription of antibiotics and lack of patient education surrounding antibiotic use is responsible for so much harm to the general public its almost criminal.
The gut produces ¾ of the neurotransmitters present in the body, contains two thirds of all the immune tissue in the body, contains 10 times more cells than the rest of your body combined and produces and contains 80-90% of all the 5HTP in the body (low levels of 5HTP linked to Depression)…and this is just scratching the surface of the intricacies of the role the gut plays in your internal workings. The gut is where it all starts and if you don’t have a good foundation in where your nutrients are processed and distributed throughout your body then you’ve already started to pave the road toward dysfunction and disease. Disease doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a process. The gut is your key to this process, the key to creating disease and the key to reversing disease.
Everyone is interested in “quick fixes” and although there is no such thing, there are simple ways to make big changes in your health. Here they are: Repair the gut with Arganine, L-glutamine, Zinc, Pantothenic acid (B5), Vitamin E, Omega Oils and a Probiotic (daily). Sort out food intake and remove obvious toxins and junk. Include good fats and remove processed carbs and sugar to start. If you’re suffering from an obvious systemic ailment like Irritable Bowel Syndrome or another bowel related condition I’d suggest having a word with a Functional Medicine practitioner or drop me a line at peter@mychiropractor.co.za and I’ll point you in the right direction.
