Get Your Gut Right

This article is taken from the eBook ‘The Percent-Σdge Modules’ and is part 5 in a series of 9.

Call in the Troops

To live as healthy as possible, we want our cells to be clean and free from heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. We pick up many heavy metals from pollution in the air but also from our mobile phones and certain foods.

The body understands the dangers that these toxins present to it, so it calls in the troops, which are known to us as Fat Cells.

The Important Role of Fat Cells

Fat Cells can surround the toxins, providing a shield between them and the body, doing their job to protect ourselves. Unfortunately, if we diet without first removing the toxins, then the fat in the cells is burnt away as we lose weight, leaving the toxins free again to roam around our system and create mischief.

This is one reason why we can sometimes feel unwell if we lose a lot of weight quickly, as we have no protection against the toxins. Of course, our body is clever, it knows what to do – create more fat in our cells!

We can suffer from yo-yo dieting if we do not first remove the toxins, and yo-yo dieting has been proven to put our body under even more stress, which leaves us deflated and unwell.

Cellular Level Detoxing

If we make sure that we perform a cellular detox first, then when the fat in the cells is removed as part of normal weight loss, there are very few toxins remaining that we need to be protected from, so the body doesn’t need to create new fat, leading to more energy and more healthy muscle being built.

The human body is an incredible machine that operates perfectly in sync with nature. Yet how far removed from nature are we living in 21st century life? Our bodies are having to deal with a barrage of chemical pollutants in the air we breathe, the food we eat and on every surface of our bodies and our homes.

Persistent Organic Pollutants

Whilst individual chemicals are researched for safety, concoctions of chemicals are not. Take one group of chemicals known as POPs or Persistent Organic Pollutants. There are 12 targeted POPs that include 8 pesticides, 2 industrial chemicals and 2 are unintended by-products of manufacture.

According to the WWF, POPs are found almost everywhere – in our food, soil, air and water. Wildlife and humans around the world carry amounts of POPs in their bodies that are at or near levels that can cause injury.

POPs pose a particular hazard because of four characteristics

They are toxic
They are persistent, resisting normal processes that break down contaminants
They accumulate in the body fat of people, marine mammals, and other animals and are passed from mother to fetus
They can travel great distances on wind and water currents

Even small quantities of POPs can wreak havoc in human and animal tissue, causing nervous system damage, diseases of the immune system, reproductive and developmental disorders, and cancers.

It’s pretty grim reading, isn’t it?

Two Key Factors

Our bodies have the right mechanisms to eliminate harmful chemicals, but two key factors need to be at play and another that tells us if your body needs more or less help naturally.

The first factor is that POPs can cause damage to the microbiota in the gut which then release harmful endotoxins that can further damage the microbiota and the integrity of the gut lining. Therefore, taking enzymes to repair the gut lining and eating a clean diet that supports your gut microbiome is key.

The NRF2 Gene

The second factor is to supplement with foods that boost genes, such as the NRF2 gene, that help to bind and remove heavy metals and toxins.

The last factor that determines how much help your body needs is in your DNA. Some of us are born with a greater ability to detoxify ourselves, others not so much. Knowing this will help you understand how much help your body needs to keep ‘clean’. You wouldn’t sit in a landfill and breathe in all the fumes without a protective suit! Some of us have been born with more protection than others.

We know that these pollutants underpin many of today’s huge mega trends in poor health, from obesity to auto-immune disorders, fatigue to cardiovascular disease. That’s why 4 out of 5 of our programmes come with a deep cellular detox and 3 out of 5 come with genetic testing.

Hippocrates was RIGHT

More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates — the father of modern medicine — suggested that all disease begins in the gut. Though Hippocrates was incorrect in suggesting that all disease begins in your gut, evidence shows that many chronic metabolic diseases do.

Your gut bacteria and the integrity of your gut lining strongly affect your health and according to numerous studies, undesirable bacterial products called endotoxins can sometimes leak through your gut lining and enter your bloodstream.

Your immune system then recognizes these foreign molecules and attacks them — resulting in chronic inflammation. So, even after 2,000 years, Hippocrates is still someone worth listening to.

The Microbiome

The term Microbiome is the name for all the genetic microbes – the bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses that live on and inside us.

There are over 10,000 different species so far discovered by Scientists and the largest collection exists in our Gut. Having the right balance of good and bad microbes is critical for optimal health, as our Microbiome affects so many aspects of our lives. For example our mood – are you aware that 90% of the Serotonin, a.k.a. The Happy Hormone is manufactured in your gut?

Perhaps you have trouble sleeping? That could be due to a shortage of Melatonin, the Darkness Hormone which encourages good sleep – again produced in the gut.

Our mood and mindset hormones such as Dopamine, the Motivation Hormone, Oxytocin, which looks after Love, trust and Self-esteem and Noradrenaline which gives you your “Get up and Go” are ALL produced in the Gut – when it is in the right balance.

Add to that food craving, weight management, digestion and metabolism, brain health, fertility, and many other things – you can see how important a balanced Gut Microbiome is.