Category Archives: Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

Do You need a Leaky Gut Test Before Starting Treatment?

There are four or five tests you can do for a leaky gut.

You can do food allergy testing, stool testing, zonulin testing, lactose testing, and mannitol testing. However, I do think it’s relevant to you to do the test. I don’t do testing or leaky gut anymore.

Some YouTube videos or websites recommend that you do a leaky gut test for any of a number of symptoms.

My take is this; don’t get paralysis from analysis. You could do twenty tests. I’ve seen many patients who have spent thousands of dollars on testing and got no useful information in return.

If you have problems with your health, there is a high probability that you have problems with your gut.

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The people who are most prone to intestinal permeability are the ones who take pharmaceuticals medications every day, who drink moderate to high amounts of alcohol, and people with a lot of stress in their lives.

You can test for leaky gut, but why would you want to if you already know there is a high probability that you have that condition?

Research conducted since 2000 has shown that a majority of people who live in the Western world have some degree of leaky gut. Most people will have a form of leaky gut, ranging from very mild to extreme. In a majority of cases, these individuals don’t even know that they have leaky gut.

Instead of testing for leaky gut, you would be better off following a lifestyle that will promote gut repair. This means removing the things from your lifestyle and diet that contribute to leaky gut. You don’t need to do a test in order to make changes that will reduce your chances of excessive intestinal permeability.

If you make some changes and your symptoms get better, then you know there is probably a cause and an effect.

The money that you would have spent on testing can instead be spent on stress reduction lessons, good foods, and a relaxing weekend away. In my opinion, that’s a better use of money.

  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23851019
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27339216
Questions & Answers

Candida And Apple Cider Vinegar: Friends Or Foes?

I suggest reading the book Apple Cider Vinegar by Paul Bragg.

Firstly, don’t confuse regular vinegar with apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is fermented. Most of the sugar in the apple cider has been gobbled up. You are left with a drink that is high in potassium and very, very good for the body. It’s a cleansing drink. The potassium will help to strengthen neural activity. Potassium is exceedingly important for good brain function, good muscle function, energy and vitality, and good liver function. Your organs, your bones, and your blood pressure rely on the right balance between potassium and sodium in your body.

Apple cider vinegar has a very big effect on the digestive system.

Apple cider vinegar has been linked to lowering cholesterol and weight loss. If you take two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar per day for 12-weeks, you’re going to lose four pounds on average. The weight is lost even without exercise or any dietary changes because apple cider vinegar stimulates the metabolism.

Apple cider vinegar has beneficial impacts on the thyroid and adrenal glands.

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But, should you have apple cider vinegar with honey? And should you have it with honey if you have a Candida infection?

The answer is yes, yes, you can. But don’t go overboard. Don’t have a gallon a day of apple cider vinegar mixed with honey. Two tablespoons per day of apple cider vinegar with honey per day is not a problem, even if you have Candida. Make sure to use a high-quality apple cider vinegar. Don’t put a tablespoon of water into a glass of water and drink that.

It’s better to buy the honey and apple cider vinegar pre-mixed. This ensures that you don’t take in too much honey. Those pre-made drinks are excellent tonics for cleansing and detoxification. If you can tolerate the two tablespoons per day for a week or two, there is no problem with increasing the dose to two tablespoons twice a day.

The bottom line is that I do recommend apple cider vinegar and honey, even if you have Candida. But start slowly and increase the dose cautiously. Make sure that you don’t overpower the apple cider vinegar with too much honey.

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Questions & Answers

Should I Test My Stomach Acid Levels?

I often get asked about how to test for stomach acid levels. Not enough stomach acid is called hypochlorhydria. The complete lack of stomach acid is called achlorhydria, which can be a problem in older people. Hypochlorhydria has very significant, negative impacts on your health.

Dr. Jonathan Wright is an incredible doctor who wrote a whole book on low stomach acid. Dr. Wright is a very big fan of gastric function testing for everyone to determine stomach acid levels.

The pH of your stomach should be between 2 and 4. If you don’t have an acid-forming stomach, you are not able to break down food properly. Everything downstream from the stomach is affected by the low acid levels. You will end up fatigued and with huge health problems.

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Here are four ways you can test your level of stomach acid:

1. The Heidelberg Test: This test is the most expensive of the four tests but also the most accurate. The test involves swallowing a capsule that contains a very tiny radio transmitter. You drink four to six ounces of water with some baking soda in it. The radio transmitter will assess what is happening to the pH in your stomach as the baking soda arrives. When you eventually pass the capsule, it is collected, and the pH readings are downloaded.

2. The baking soda test: This is a very cheap, easy test that can be done at home. Put one quarter to one half a teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of water and drink it on an empty stomach, the first thing in the morning. You’re going to belch, or you’re not going to belch. Either way, it is going to give me a lot of useful information. Healthy people belch quickly because their stomach has converted the baking soda into carbon dioxide. If you don’t belch for three to five minutes, you have low stomach acid.

3. Betaine Hydrochloride (HCL) Test: Have a meal that contains about six ounces of good quality meat. Half-way through the meal, you need to swallow a capsule of betaine HCL. There are two outcomes: you are either going to feel nothing at all, or you’re going to feel a bit of heaviness, burning, or pain. The latter means that you have a good level of stomach acid. If you feel nothing at all, you have low stomach acid.

4. The Challenge Test: I do this regularly on people to assess what level of hypochlorhydria they have. Take one betaine HCL capsule with breakfast, take two capsules with lunch, and take three capsules with your evening meal. The following day with breakfast, take four capsules. With each successive meal, you are going to increase your dose by one capsule until you feel a heaviness, pain, or heartburn behind your sternum. I’ve seen some people who had to take ten to twenty capsules to elicit that sensation. You shouldn’t need any more than one capsule per meal.

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Questions & Answers

The Five Cardinal Signs Of Constipation

Over the years, I have seen thousands of clients who can’t pass bowel movements properly.

Signs and symptoms of constipation include the following:

Frequency of bowel movements: Healthy people pass one or, more commonly, two bowel movements per day. If you are eating lots of good foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean protein, nuts, and seeds, drinking enough water, and chewing your food properly, you should be having two bowel movements per day. You should be passing at least twelve to eighteen inches of stool every day.

Most healthy people have a bowel movement shortly after they get up and again later in the day – usually after lunch.

Less than three to four bowel movements per week is considered constipation.

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Hard, lumpy stools: Passing small nuggets of stool or bowel movements that are small pieces compressed together indicates constipation. Normal bowel movements are long and cigar-shaped. They should easily slide out, leaving you feeling like you’ve had a complete evacuation.

Straining to have movements: If you have to strain or lean backward and forwards to get the bowel movement out, then you’re constipated. You should not have to force a bowel movement. Bowel movements should come out very easily with minimal effort.

Trying to force out a bowel movement puts a lot of pressure on the colon. Increased pressure in the colon can contribute to the formation of diverticuli and precipitate pain.

Incomplete evacuation: If you feel like you still have stool in your rectum after going to the washroom, that is also constipation.

Abdominal Pain: Many people with ongoing constipation complain of abdominal discomfort. It may be because stool is starting to build up in the transverse and lower colon.

Selecting the right foods, chewing properly, and having healthy levels of beneficial bacteria in your colon are all crucial to avoiding constipation.

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Questions & Answers

Constipation Tips: What You Drink Can Make A Difference

This article is not about using laxatives, such as magnesium citrate, to evacuate your bowel. Instead, we are talking about drinks that are not necessarily laxatives per se but still help generate regular bowel movements.

1. Lemon water first thing in the morning: This is a very nice drink to have, particularly if you add a little powdered fennel or powdered cumin. Mix a glass of water, the juice or ½ or whole lemon, and the fennel or cumin powder. This drink will help improve gut function. The spices help reduce gas, decrease bloating, and improve the movement of stool through the bowel. This drink also helps cleanse the liver. Lemon water also helps keep bacterial and parasite numbers down. It alkalizes the body, yet it stimulates the stomach. Lemon juice also improves upper gastrointestinal function.

2. Beginner Vegetable Juice: I suggest having vegetable juice at least once per day. My favorite combination is a Granny Smith apple, a celery stalk, and a carrot. As you get used to drinking vegetable juice, you can also add spinach to this combination. This juice mix will considerably improve digestive function, particularly if you include pulp with the juice. The pulp is an excellent source of fiber, and it is fiber that improves the bowel tone.

When you first start drinking vegetable juice, I suggest diluting it 50:50 with good quality water. In my CanXida Crusher book, I write about the three individual stages of juicing.

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3: Intermediate to Advanced Vegetable Juice: As you move from being a beginner juice to an intermediate one, you can add beetroot to your juice mix. Beets are very good for bowel function. An advanced juicer can consider more bitter vegetables or taking a shot of spinach juice all on its own. Spinach juice is a powerful drink because it is full of chlorophyll, magnesium, potassium, and folic acid.

4. Prune juice: Put three or four prunes in a big cup (bigger than a standard coffee mug) and pour boiling water on top. Let the drink sit for five to ten minutes. You can then remove the prunes. You can also remove the pits and keep the prunes in the drink. Blend the prunes and water together. Prune juice contains fiber and sorbitol, both of which contribute to better bowel function.

5. Apple and Pear Juice: Juice the fruit and then add a little bit of cumin, fennel, or ginger. If you want, you can add some Manuka honey. Apple and pears are very good for constipation.

There are many other approaches to constipation. For example, you could mix some psyllium or ground flaxseed into your drink.

If none of the above recommendations effectively manage your constipation, you may need a liver or gallbladder cleanse.

Stress contributes significantly to constipation because it slows digestion down. Make sure you are chewing your food properly.

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