Category Archives: Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

Leaky Gut Warning Signs: What You Need To Know

There is a ton of science the supports the existence of leaky gut syndrome. Despite the research that supports the presence of leaky gut, there are still people who call the condition “completely fictitious.”

One study that I looked at reported that most autoimmune diseases have their genesis in leaky gut.

I’ve completed well over a 1000 intestinal permeability tests. It’s amazing how many people have a leaky gut.

Leaky gut is most commonly caused by stress, diet, and medications. Proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics are two of the drugs commonly associated with increased intestinal permeability. It’s important to recognize if you have leaky gut or not. The following are ten warning signs that your intestinal permeability is a problem:

1. Problem with your bowel: Gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea are commonly the result of abnormal intestinal permeability. If you don’t have one to two good motions per day (10-12 inches of stool per day), there is a chance that your gut is leaky.

2. Poor immune system function throughout the body: A large proportion of the immune system resides in the small intestine. The first three inches of the small bowel holds 60 to 70 percent of the body’s immune function. If you have a leaky small bowel, there is a significant chance you have a dysfunctional immune system. You will be more susceptible to Candida overgrowth, bacterial overgrowth, and a parasite problem. This can present in many ways.

3. Headaches, aches and pains, brain fog, and impaired memory: When you have a lot of these problems, it could very well be related to your small bowel. I have had a lot of clients who have had their brain fog go away after recovery from their leaky gut.

I’ve also seen a big link between lack of bifidobacteria in the colon and “brain fog.”

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4. Nutritional deficiencies. It stands to reason that if you have a leaky gut and are not digesting and absorbing nutrients properly, you are going to have a problem with your health. Often this will lead to symptoms such as fatigue. Your cells become starved. You leak tiny fragments of food rather than digesting them if you have an intestine that is too porous.

5. Fatigue: Tiredness is a very common symptom of intestinal permeability. Tiredness can also reflect a hormone problem, such as thyroid deficiency or cortisol deficiency. Anemia can also cause fatigue. If you have daily fatigue, it needs checking out.

6. Skin rashes such as eczema, acne, and rosacea: I’ve seen skin repair beautifully when a leaky gut has been healed. When the Candida is dealt with, and the bowel is functioning well again, the nutrition needed for good skin becomes available.

7. Cravings, most commonly for sugar: If your body is tired and not getting the fuel it needs, you’ll find yourself craving ice cream, pop, and candies.

8. Joint pains and arthritis: This is due to toxic build up around the joints. Also, the joint cells aren’t provided the nutrients they need to stay healthy if you have a leaky gut.

9. Anxiety and depression: The small intestine is very much linked to mood and anxiety. The small intestine is involved in the production of neurotransmitters. I believe that the psychiatrist of the future will be a gut expert. There is a critical connection between mood and leaky gut.

10. Autoimmune syndromes: This is the most common symptom of leaky gut that we see in our clinic. Autoimmune disorders are very much associated with intestinal permeability. Many patients who have serious autoimmune problems, had a leaky gut for years that was never addressed.

If you have several of the above symptoms, further investigation is warranted. If you have a leaky gut, you will want to identify it as soon as possible so the healing can begin.

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Questions & Answers

Crohn’s Disease And Ulcerative Colitis: What Does Naturopathy Have To Offer?

These recommendations are based on my experience over about 30 years related to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC).

Crohn’s disease tends to be a lot more severe and painful than UC. About 70% of people with Crohn’s disease require gastrointestinal surgery at some point in their life.

Ulcerative colitis implies the involvement of the colon. UC generally affects the lower parts of the digestive system. Crohn’s disease can involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract but usually affects the distal portion of the small intestine (ileum).

UC has blood and mucus with Crohn’s having more pain, cramping, and serious pathology.

Inflammatory bowel disease can be a very stressful condition that significantly reduces the quality of life.

You need robust solutions for inflammatory bowel disease. Here are some of my suggestions for the natural management of IBS.

#1: No alcohol is an essential part of my protocol for managing Crohn’s disease and UC.

#2: Taking pharmaceutical drugs can make things worse, particularly NSAIDs such as ibuprofen. Try to avoid medications that can contribute to gut erosion.

#3: Get a comprehensive stool analysis x 3 (three samples). Ask your doctor to arrange for this testing. Find out whether you have Candida, parasites, bacterial imbalance, and beneficial bacteria.

#4. Follow an anti-inflammatory diet. Processed foods are often very inflammatory. Make your meals from scratch, using high-quality organic ingredients. At the very least, buy meals made with simple, organic foods. Eat minimal preservatives, additives, and artificial flavors and colors. Avoid deep-fried foods and trans fats. Avoid vegetable oils, except healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil. Coconut oil is also appropriate for the gut. Avoid red meat because it is inflammatory. The best proteins will be vegetable proteins (e.g., non-GMO tofu), legumes, fish, and organic free-range chicken.

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Be very careful with sulfur-based food such as eggs as they can cause inflammatory bowel flare-ups.

Vegetables are very important for UC.

Low fiber results in spasms, flares, and pain. The wrong fiber can result in overly frequent bowel movements. The right type and amount of fiber will result in well-formed bowel movements.

Healthy fiber can help increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the colon.

A little bit of tapioca in your diet is very beneficial for inflammatory bowel disease. Tapioca helps build up short-chain fatty acids in the colon, which reduces gas and bloating.

Fresh aloe vera leaf or aloe vera juice is very soothing and healing for the digestive tract.

Staying well-hydrated is essential for the management of IBS. Drink plenty of herbal teas. Try fennel tea to manage gas and flatulence. Camomile and peppermint tea are also good. Drink six to eight glasses of high-quality water each day.

Caffeine is not a good idea, although most people can get away with one coffee in the a.m.

#5. Supplements are vital due to the deficiencies seen in inflammatory bowel disease. Vitamin D, Vitamin B12 are just two of the nutrients that are commonly deficient in people with IBS.

Digestive enzymes and probiotics work well for IBS. CanXida Restore is going to help a lot. CanXida Remove is also excellent for inflammatory bowel disease because it is going to clean up the gut. CanXida Rebuild is an excellent multivitamin designed for people with conditions like IBS.

#6: Stress is one of the most important triggers for an IBS flare. If you have an event coming up that is stressful, make sure you put aside some time for relaxation.

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Questions & Answers

Make It Better, Not Worse: Habits To Avoid If You Have A Leaky Gut

There are ways to make a leaky gut better, and ways to make a leaky gut worse. The following is a list of 10 habits that you should avoid if you want to repair your digestive system.

1. Drinking alcohol: Even drinking alcohol very infrequently is going to be a barrier to healing your leaky gut. Even if you only drink once a month, you’re still making your leaky gut worse. You should entirely avoid alcohol if you are trying to recover from any kind of digestive problem. If you want to get well, stop drinking alcohol. You need to be abstinent as long as you can but for a minimum of three to six months for leaky gut.

2. Not eating the correct way: Eating correctly for leaky gut is more than having a bowl of bone broth every day. In my book, I write about “eating on instinct.” If a food makes you feel sick or bad, avoid that kind of food. Eat with your gut feeling – remember that. If you are chewing properly and choosing the right foods for you, you are going a long way towards eating correctly. Remember to avoid the junky crap out there. Simple foods are the best foods. A basic protein and some vegetables or a salad is a great meal.

3. Thinking that only food and nutrition will fix the problem: Some people are so hyper-focused on their diet, that they miss other important issues. There are a lot more things that make up the sum of healing the gut than the food you eat. I think food only makes up five to ten percent of healing a leaky gut. I see many people recover from terrible gut function despite not having great diets.

4. Thinking about the minutiae: Thinking that all problems are related to a specific detail – GMO, heavy metals, gluten. People like this reduce all their problems down to one thing. They seek out experts in the field, but they are getting bogged down by one tiny issue. In other words, they are missing the forest for the trees.

5. Expecting a bunch of pills to solve the problem: Supplements alone won’t heal leaky gut. Leaky gut has to be addressed with the correct way of living, thinking, eating, sleeping, and being. Supplements cannot get you better on their own.

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6. Failure to address the underlying causes: Some of the important contributors to leaky gut are antibiotics, antibiotics in food, high stress, not chewing properly, not eating well, too much screen time, not enough high quality of sleep, and a stressful lifestyle.

7. Your Way of Thinking: This links up to the impact of stress on the gut. The gut is called the “second brain.” If you are spending a lot of time thinking about being sick, you could make yourself feel worse. Try and take a break from obsessively thinking about your health. Stop thinking about how bad you feel all the time.

8. Forgetting that lifestyle plays a huge role in leaky gut: Lifestyle may play a bigger role in your gut health that what you are eating. Lifestyle and thinking together may make up 80 to 90% of what you need to do to recover from leaky gut. It’s possible to have an amazing diet, but if you’re not thinking right, your digestive system will still be dysfunctional.

9. The expectation that you will only need thirty days to get well: You may need 60, 90, or 365 days to get well. Time should not be the focus of your efforts. You need to forget about looking at your watch or calendar. That way of thinking will negatively influence your gut. Things always take longer than you expect. You should at least double the amount of time you think it will take to get better from leaky gut.

10. Stress: Stress is one of the biggest problems when it comes to leaky gut. High levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, causes the gut permeability to increase significantly. The sympathetic mode (stress mode) will change the blood flow to your gut. It decreases your ability to make digestive enzymes and reduces your immune function.

You can heal your leaky gut by following these ten tips. Also, check out CanXida Remove and CanXida Restore – both of which can contribute significantly to gut recovery.

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Questions & Answers

How To Know If You Have Low Stomach Acid

Many people who are taking a stomach acid-blocker or proton pump inhibitor (PPI – e.g., Nexium) take these drugs believing that they have too much acid in their stomach. When in fact, they haven’t got enough, a condition called hypochlorhydria. Taking these drugs lowers stomach acid even more, resulting in digestive problems, fatigue, headaches, and other symptoms. This is why I’m not a fan of medications that interfere with digestive system processes.

With these drugs, I believe you are just buying time while creating serious underlying digestive dysfunction. If you are wondering whether you have low stomach acid, here are five key indicators of hypochlorhydria:

1. Bloating and belching: The low level of stomach acid means that food is going to sit for quite a while in the stomach rather than being digested. You need excellent stomach function and acid levels to trigger appropriate enzyme release from the pancreas. The pancreas relies on a good supply of stomach acid to convert its digestive enzymes from an inactive to an active form.

2. Heartburn: Heartburn is a red flag for low stomach acid. Eating a high fat or high protein diet with low stomach acid can trigger significant heartburn if you have hypochlorhydria.

3. Indigestion and flatulence: Indigestion can impact the digestive system from start to finish. Food can feel as if it is sitting there like a lump because there isn’t enough stomach acid to digest the meal properly. Indigestion goes hand in hand with bloating and belching, point #1 above.

4. Undigested food in the stool: Inspect your stool for undigested food. If there is undigested food, this can reflect improper chewing or a lack of stomach acid, which doesn’t allow your gut to break down food properly.

5. Fatigue: If food isn’t being digested properly due to low stomach acid, it can’t fuel the body as it should. If this is the circumstance you are facing, you may benefit from taking digestive enzymes.

Further readings:

Candida is often a consequence of hypochlorhydria. Candida can do very well in a stomach that is not functioning properly. That also holds for bacteria and parasites.

To test for stomach acid, put a heaping teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) into eight ounces of water. Stir it and drink it. If you have a healthy level of stomach acid, you should notice a big burp not long after you’ve finished the drink.

The other test you can do is take one capsule of the powerful digestive enzyme betaine pepsin with a meal. With each subsequent meal, take an additional capsule. Keep increasing the dose of betaine pepsin capsules until you notice a bit of pain or heartburn behind the sternum. Discomfort means you’ve reached your threshold. A healthy man may only be able to take two capsules before experiencing symptoms of hyperacidity. I’ve seen people take thirty to forty capsules at a single meal. I’m not joking! Needing an excessive amount of betaine pepsin to elicit discomfort is most common with older adults who have a natural age-related decrease in stomach acid levels.

The betaine pepsin method of determining stomach acid levels is called the tummy tolerance test.

Check out CanXida Restore. It contains digestive enzymes and probiotics and works quite well for hypochlorhydria. Along with choosing the right foods and chewing properly, taking one capsule of CanXida Restore per meal for a couple of months can help improve stomach acid levels.

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Questions & Answers

Healing Your Leaky Gut With The Right Foods

When my clients ask about what foods they should eat to heal a leaky gut, the following five foods are always on my list.

#1. Bone broth: Make sure that the bones come from an animal that has been grass-fed and is organically, rather than commercially, sourced.

My favorite bone broth is chicken bone broth. I use a very large pot and fill it, so the water is almost touching the top of the chicken. I’ll add a few peppercorns, bay leaf, salt, and a whole bunch of vegetables. Then, I’ll put the lid on and bring it to a boil. I’ll reduce the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for three to four hours. Once it’s cool, I will take the chicken out and let it drain. I’ll remove the vegetables and throw them out.

I take half the meat from the chicken and put it back into the pot. I add some new vegetables and let the mix simmer for another ½ hour. Presto, I now have an incredibly nutritious meal on my hands.

Bone broth is nutrient-rich. It contains collagen, protein, potassium, other minerals, and amino acids like lysine. Bone broth is also an immune booster. Bone broth contains glutamine, which helps feed the cells of the large intestine.

The collagen and gelatin in bone broth is going to help heal leaky gut. The broth helps restore cells in the digestive system, including the lining of the stomach.

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2. Steamed vegetables: When you steam vegetables lightly, the enzymes in the plant are retained. These enzymes help kick-start digestive processes. Lightly steamed vegetables also retain many of their minerals.

Stir-frying is even better than steaming for retaining the vitamins and minerals in vegetables.

If you want to have green beans or spinach, you can place the vegetables in a big bowl. Pour a kettle of boiling water over the beans or spinach, let them sit for a minute or two, and they’ll be ready for eating. The minimal processing means the folic acid isn’t lost to the cooking process. Folic acid, a B vitamin, is essential for healing the cells that line the digestive tract from top to bottom.

3. Fermented vegetables: This class of foods includes sauerkraut and kimchi, among others. Fermentation produces a lot of lactic acid, which can then feed lactobacillus and other beneficial bacteria. Fermented products also contain beneficial yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii.

4. Yogurt: If you eat a good quality yogurt that is cultured beautifully, your digestive system will benefit greatly. Even people who think they might be allergic to yogurt can often tolerate this food if they start with small amounts. Make sure that it’s a good sour Greek Yogurt because that is the type of yogurt that is good for leaky gut, hypochlorhydria, and inflammatory bowel problems.

5. Fatty fish like salmon or mackerel: The omega-3 fatty acids found in these types of foods are anti-inflammatory.

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