Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said 2000 years ago “All disease begins in the gut” That remains true today, as the intestine contains more bacteria than all other cells in the body. And those bacteria may be very finicky. So much so that many find it difficult to achieve optimal gut health.
Yet, optimal gut health is critical. That’s because despite its primary responsibility of digesting all that we eat and eliminating the byproducts, the intestine controls the health of our immune system and our brain!
Today we are living in a cesspool of toxins that strain our immune system and our brain.
Seventy-five percent of rain has Roundup (glyphosate) in it!
Seventy-one percent of Americans drink the greatest all-around poison: fluoride.
Eighty percent of the food available has other toxins and multiple artificial ingredients.
All wheat is triple loaded with glyphosate. And our soil is highly deficient in magnesium which means the crops are not as nutritious as they were in the early 20th century.
In fact, all grocery store food other than that in the outer aisles is largely junk.
All boxed cereal is plain junk, as is white rice. Most soups and fast-food restaurant “foods” have added monosodium glutamate, a poison to the brain.
Conventional dairy products often have added hormones or antibiotics.
Sugar is a totally unnatural food with no nutritional value and only harmful effects on the body. Sugar and fructose are added to numerous foods. This is problematic because they feed the unhealthy bacteria in our guts!
All seed oils are not natural – canola, corn, cottonseed, and safflower oils are artificially hydrogenated, which is inflammatory.
Because the typical American diet contains so many toxins, we need to make sure our immune systems are operating at their peak. We need to know how to achieve optimal gut health.
Taking yet another prescription will not help you achieve optimal gut health.
Antibiotics may save your life in the case of some infections, but they clobber the natural good bacteria in the intestines. And taking antibiotics can often lead to a lifetime of intestinal dysfunction.
Recipes for achieving optimal gut health.
Take one tablespoon of unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a half glass of non-fluoridated water half an hour before each meal. It balances the pH of the stomach and small intestine and contains good prebiotics, to lower blood pressure and to help lower both blood sugar and cholesterol.
Drink a tea made of one-half teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. These stimulate digestion, improve metabolism and stimulate the lymphatics. This tea can supply up to half your daily intake of water!
Drink bone broth, made by simmering organically raised chicken or beef bones for many hours. Bone broth contains glutamine, glycine and proline which optimize intestinal health. Or purchase only BIY or Wise Choice Market bone broth and use a cup a day.
Eat a tablespoon a day of healthy fermented vegetables daily – not the canned varieties, but the refrigerated ones. They contain the best healthy bacteria for the intestines and enhance the growth of probiotics.
Or you can make your own kefir, kombucha, pickles, miso, tempeh, natto, kimchi, kvass.
Eat your last meal of the day at least twelve hours before breakfast! It takes about four hours to digest in the small intestine; four hours to have the colon to extract water, salt and fat solubles; and another four hours for the normal detox system!
Consider a good digestive enzyme that contains amylase, lipase bromelain, papain, and protease.
And don’t forget that stress is the number one cause of all disease. No matter what else is happening in your life you need to detach from stress. The ideal is to do Autogenic Training twice a day. Consider www.Biogenicscourse.com
You also need a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise daily! Sitting all day is almost as harmful as smoking a pack of cigarettes daily!
Detox your body! Saunas and soaking in a bathtub of hot water with 3 cups of magnesium chloride help you sweat out toxins. Also a castor oil pack over the abdomen is especially good for intestinal health. Or sleep all night in a castor oil suit—rub castor oil over everything below neck down to wrist and ankles and sleep in a sweat suit.
And speaking of sleep, you need to sleep seven or eight hours every night!
Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do when it comes to optimal gut health. So, you will also want to avoid the following:
- Aluminum
Avoid aluminum like the plague it is. All beverages in aluminum cans are plain poison to your gut and brain. - Alcohol
Alcohol has NO nutritional value and is toxic to the gut. - Bleach and hand sanitizers
Avoid excess use of bleach and hand sanitizers. - Overuse of NSAIDs
Aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen, celecoxib, diclofenac, indomethacin, and meloxicam, and toradol. All of these are toxic to the colon and can cause gastrointestinal bleeding or collagenous or lymphocytic colitis! Obviously, none of these are facets of optimal gut health. - Minimize antibiotics!
Ninety-five percent of urinary tract infections are E-coli, cleared by taking D-mannose.
Achieving optimal gut health is only truly possible without a prescription. So, try out one or more of the recipes above to help you achieve optimal gut health.
Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. is the father of holistic medicine. Dr. Sergey Sorin is a holistic physician as well as the CEO and medical director of the Shealy-Sorin Wellness Institute. Both doctors recommend the Biogenics System as part of your overall commitment to self-health and enhancing your positivity.