Alright folks, get your giggles out now. Today we're talking about the fave topics of every fourth grade boy. Poop. Gas. Diarrhea. We're going big or going home.
Ever notice how whenever you turn on the TV there's always a commercial for some random
medicine claiming it will help some random symptom going on in your bod? Stomach cramps, bloating, insane pain all over your body, constipation, diarrhea, headache, joint pain. None of these sound like anything you wanna go near, but the truth is LOTS of people deal with this crap (ha!) every day. And throwing medicine at it is basically putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. It might fix it for a bit, but the underlying problem is still there and it's not getting any better.
Any of those symptoms sound familiar? Maybe you or someone you know has been told they have IBS--Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Cute name, I know. Have to run to the bathroom right after eating? Can't predict whether or not that pizza or ice cream is gonna make you feel like death? This can easily get diagnosed as IBS because doctors generally can't find a cause for symptoms like that. How about chronic fatigue or generalized pain? Day time TV is fiiiiiiilled with commercials for meds that are promising to combat those. But again, band-aid, meet the gunshot wound. If we never know WHY all of these things are happening, we can never do anything to actually fix it. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Did you know that 80% of our immune system is in our gut??
Our gut (or intestines) is where a majority of our absorption happens for nutrients and energy, and it's also the place where the the body makes the decision to keep something because it's useful or send it down the shoot. (You know, poop.) When gut health gets wonky, that's when stomach pains, bloating, cramping, etc. come in. But it's not all tummy trouble. An unhealthy gut can actually lead to headaches, joint pain, bloating, thyroid problems, even brain fog!
So what's causing the gut to be damaged in the first place and how do we even fix it?! Glad you asked.
The food we're eating is actually the culprit here. Lots of different things can damage the gut or cause it to become "leaky." (And it actually varies from person to person, so I highly recommend getting a comprehensive blood test so you can scope out exactly what your triggers are. More on that a little later.)
Most of the time, grains are to blame. Grains contain different proteins that affect the junctions