Tag Archives: leaky gut

Questions & Answers

Drinking Milk: What You Should Know

There are very strong opinions when it comes to drinking cow’s milk. Still, I think it’s important to talk about the science related to milk and lactose.

For many people, the ability to properly digest the lactose in cow’s milk decreases after childhood. Most children can, at least to some degree, tolerate lactose due to having sufficient lactase supplies. As time goes on, the ability to produce an adequate amount of lactase drops off. We consider this an epigenetic phenomenon. Epigentics means the change in lactase production doesn’t reflect damage to a gene but another factor that influences gene expression.

I read a study out of Norway, done by a microbiologist, that stated approximately 80-90% of people in that country tolerate milk well. This scientist shared the experience of his friend who could tolerate milk all his life until suddenly, poof, he began to have problems. With a little investigation, it turned out his friend was taking antibiotics. The antibiotics had altered the expression of the gene responsible for producing lactase – hence, an epigenetic response.

Further readings:

I don’t have a problem with small amounts of unpasteurized and unhomogenized milk in my diet. If I drink commercial dairy, I get stuffed up with mucus. For me, having a nice cup of espresso with a frothy bit of milk on top is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

For many people, milk is not a problem, particularly if it has been modified in a yogurt making process. However, be careful about drinking several glasses of milk a day. High milk consumption has been linked to an increase in inflammatory proteins in the body. I’ve had many clients over the years who were hooked on milkshakes and went on to have heart attacks and strokes.
My recommendation is to be careful about milk unless it is fresh, unhomogenized, and unpasteurized. But in small amounts, I consider it perfectly fine.

Also, your lactose tolerance can change if your gut health changes. If your gut is leaky or if you have a genetic lactase intolerance, then keeping milk out of your diet makes sense. The same is true for those with eczema, asthma, or known allergies.

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Questions & Answers

How To Manage Autoimmune Conditions Like Ankylosing Spondylitis

When you have an autoimmune condition like ankylosing spondylitis, it is hard for your gut to function properly because of inflammation and dysbiosis. I believe that it is a matter of time before experts confirm that autoimmune diseases originate in the gut and then spread to elsewhere in the body.

I have helped many people overcome their so-called “incurable” autoimmune disease.
If you’re struggling with an autoimmune condition, make sure you’re working with a practitioner who understands gut health. Next, make sure that you have a comprehensive stool analysis and use this to direct your treatment. Continue to have stool tests regularly so you know how you are responding to treatment and whether anything needs to be tweaked.

If your gut is improving, great. If it isn’t, adjust your supplement regime, your diet, and your lifestyle.

There will be a lot of ups and downs when treating an autoimmune condition. There’s no easy path with this type of health problem.

Further readings:

I strongly recommend that you find a doctor who is willing to work with Doctor’s Data out of Chicago. Doctor’s Data provides comprehensive stool analysis. You need to take the three sample option that includes parasitology. Make sure you have stopped taking probiotics for 14 days before the tests. Also, withhold all your other medications, including supplements, unless they are absolutely necessary.

Before your stool test, make sure you are following your normal diet. Don’t suddenly start adding or eliminating foods from your diet, or your stool test won’t accurately reflect your microbial baseline.

The results of your stool testing will help steer your gut back on track. The test results will include sensitivity panels which identity which natural and pharmaceutical agents are effective against the harmful bugs in your gut.

As a dosing protocol, I usually take the 242 approach. Start with two weeks of a low dose, build up to a full dose for four weeks, and then titrate the dose down again over two weeks. However, some people need a 1-8-6 or 9-4-1 approach. Your healthcare provider must customize the dosing regime to your needs and your tolerance.

When you first start taking antimicrobials, you’re going to experience some side effects. This is particularly true if your harmful bacteria levels or your SIBO counts are high. You may experience gut upset, diarrhea, brain fog, or some pain. It’s usually a good sign that side effects are emerging. It means the treatments are having an impact.

I suggest you focus on reducing the level of the most disruptive microbe in your gut. In other words, take the “big guy” down. When the highest count pathogen gets knocked back, it creates a significant shift in the microbiome and opens up the opportunity to do more gut cleansing.

Ankylosing spondylitis is not insurmountable. Klebsiella pneumoniaa has a known association with this autoimmune condition. Addressing this pathogen with your care provider is a logical part of your treatment plan.

You can improve, but it takes time and patience.

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Questions & Answers

SIBO Diet Mistakes to Avoid

There are specific dietary approaches you want to avoid if you have SIBO. Be careful about following the advice you find on the internet. Some of it is very useful, but there’s no shortage of bad information on the web.

One of the mistakes I see is staying too long on a FODMAPs diet. This type of diet takes out a considerable chunk of carbohydrates from your diet. This is not a good idea as your bowel flora needs fiber for healthy levels of fermentation. I think two to six weeks is the maximum length you should stick with a FODMAP diet.

If you stay on the FODMAP diet for much longer than that, your gut flora can become less balanced. The more restrictive your eating, the less diverse your microbiome.

Further readings:

One of my patients was on the FODMAP diet for over two years. She ended up looking like skin and bones. The menu was just too restrictive for her. There is no prize for following the most restrictive diet, and in fact, it brings with it the risk of developing disordered eating.

Another error I see is relying on a diet or specific foods to solve your gut problem. I think the first step should always be having a comprehensive stool analysis. Identify the dysfunction in your gut and treat it accordingly. Once you’ve addressed the dysbiosis, yeast, or parasites in your gut, it may be that you don’t need to follow any kind of special diet.

Relying on dietary supplements to keep your bowels regular is another mistake I see repeatedly. Eat enough vegetables and fruit to keep your bowels in working order rather than relying on supplements.

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Questions & Answers

Can I Catch SIBO From Someone Else?

Is SIBO a contagious disease?

No, not at all. It’s a digestive condition in which there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small bowel. SIBO can’t be passed from one person to another.

Many people worry about contagion when it comes to digestive disorders. Helicobacter pylori can indeed be passed by sharing utensils, but it very rarely happens unless someone is immunosuppressed. However, SIBO is not contagious under any circumstances.

Further readings:

Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, believed that people attracted disease to them a little bit like iron. A magnet and iron are attracted to each other. For you to attract illness, you have to have a certain susceptibility. His idea is that if your energy is vibrating at a certain level, your body will reject rather than attract a disease. It follows from this theory that if you keep yourself in pretty good shape, you’re less likely to get sick. Healthy people have a much lower chance of getting sick than someone who is already unhealthy.

SIBO, inflammatory bowel disease, and constipation are all examples of GI conditions that are not contagious. You don’t “catch” these illnesses. However, when your body is susceptible, you’re much more likely to develop a health condition.

Stress often contributes to reduced resistance to illness. It’s stress and a lowered resistance rather than catching SIBO from someone else that should worry you.

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Questions & Answers

The Best Gut-Health Tests

The lactulose breath test and the comprehensive stool analysis are two tests used to determine what’s going on in your gut.

Many people these days are quite keen on doing breath tests such as hydrogen tests, methane tests, and lactulose tests.

Are breath tests better at telling you what’s going wrong in your gut and what to do about it? Or, does the comprehensive stool analysis have more to offer?

In my opinion, a comprehensive stool analysis (CSA) is the gold standard in gut investigations. With a CSA, you not only get the species but the levels of each. The CSA provides a measure of the diversity of the gut flora while the breath test just tells you whether a specific bacteria is present or absent. A breath test tells you a little, not a lot.

Further readings:

In contrast, the CSA also provides measures of inflammation and your immune system. Because the CSA provides so much more information than a breath test, it allows for a much more evidence-based treatment plan.

Finding someone to interpret the CSA shouldn’t be too difficult.

If I were to start my career again as a naturopath, I’d probably only focus on stool testing and do nothing but, because that test has given me more results than all of the other tests put together. I genuinely believe a CSA is worth every penny.

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