Your gut is the second brain center of your body, it has so many functions in our body. Before I go over the 5 R Matrix Implementation on how to tame your gut, let’s understand the functions of the gut. It is always so much easier to do something when you understand why you are doing it.
A little background on the gut:
- Produces 3/4 of the neurotransmitters
- contains 2/3 of the immune tissue
- contains 10 times more cells than the rest of your body combined
- has the metabolic activity greater than the liver
It’s important to note that the gut lumen is not inside the body, it is a dynamic physiologic organ system. Its primary functions in the body are:
- digestion and absorption of nutrients
- Supports immune system
- Acts as a barrier to differentiate friend from foe
- Organize, initiate, and coordinate the metabolism of nutrients and the process of detoxification
- Assimilation of nutrients
Let’s review the anatomy /physiology of the small intestine, just a little trivia:
- The gut is typically 20-22 feet long
- It’s surface area is about the size of a tennis court
- It has thousand of villi covered by millions of microvilli
Why is the gut so important?
- 70% of Americans have gut symptoms or diseases.
- It is the most sensitive organ
- It’s the most prone to imbalances leading to symptoms.
- If you normalize ad tame the gut, many diseases will be cured.
How do you obtain a healthy gut?
- Proper nutrients, bio flora (probiotics), maintain immune balance for repair and regeneration.
- Proper chewing
- Adequate digestive juices, enzymes, and pH via proper food combining and eating.
- Maintain a healthy gut barrier.
A sick gut (leaky gut) can result from:
- Poor diet
- Dehydration
- Medications
- Infections
- Toxins (molds, heavy metals, additives, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics in meats)
- Inadequate digestive enzymes
- Altered pH
- Impaired gut permeability
- The functions of your immune system & its relationship to the gut.
With a sick gut (leaky gut), many of the toxins, additives, and artificial particles enter the blood stream because the barrier function is impaired due to chronic poor diet and increased stress. Inflammation is the body’s response to infections, tissue damage, or toxins. Immune system is activated in its effort to kill the enemy that entered through the gut. Your body tries to get rid of it as it is naturally inclined to protect and keep status quo. It’s kind of like when you cut yourself, it gets red and swollen with all the white blood cells rushing to the site of injury. There is a activation of the immune system and once the infection is under control, the body resumes its normal functions. Only if you have a leaky gut, every time you eat food, it’s not able to fend off the offending particles that are present in foods. Especially with the Standard American Diet high in artificial additives and toxic elements in the live stock, it’s impossible to avoid unless you follow my guide to “heal” the gut.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are defined as “live microorganisms that are helpful in our gut maintaining the ecological balance in the gut. This kinds of microflora in the gut can protect and support the immune system. We basically have friendly bacteria on the surface of our gut lining and this bacteria helps us to keep good ecological balance for a healthy environment.
By young adulthood, humans have over 100 trillion bacteria in the distal gut. The gut flora is responsible for the following functions:
- fermentation
- Vitamin synthesis
- Energy production
- Immune control
- Protect from the infective agents
The interdependence between the gut flora and the immune system is vast and intricate. Remember, what we eat influences the population and metabolic activity of our microflora. If we eat bad foods, our environment in the gut will be compromised leading to a leaky gut that can open doors to many different diseases and symptoms.
Let’s now jump to the concept of permeability. Our gut lining serve as a army of defense to ensure that we only allow our friends into our blood supply, not the foe. Imagine your gut having holes to let the toxins pass through to be assimilates into your body, just like when you have a cut, your body in its efforts to protect itself, starts to unleash its immune system army to fight the fight.
Medical research clearly shows that this increased permeability is an early sign of autoimmune condition. Thinking back to the times of my Lupus diagnosis, I can recall the mysterious symptoms due to my lacking diet as a graduate student. I was eating processed vegan foods, not delivering enough nutrients.
It’s no wonder that the autoimmune diseases are the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world, surpassed only by cancer and disease.
The following are examples of the autoimmune related diseases:
- Type I Diabetes
- Celiac Disease
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Psoriasis
- Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Systemic Lupus
- Multiple Sclerosis
Now lets review the functions of the enteric nervous system in the GI tract
Then enteric nervous system is a complex structure that controls motility, blood flow, nutrient absorption, secretion, immune response and inflammatory process in the gut. This system is a part of the autonomic nervous system that can function on its own from that of the central nervous system. It is also considered to have a mind of its own, the second brain.
Understanding the role the GI tract plays in chronic diseases
The GI system is a key system that need to be normalized
Imbalances in the gut can manifest various symptoms of diseases.
So now that we understand the functions of the gut and what the harmful habits can result in, let’s go over the solution to fend off the enemy.
The 5 R Matrix Implementation
With the prevalence of gut disorders, almost every patient that walks in to my clinic presents some form of gut dysfunction feeding the very reason for their visit. Knowing this when dealing with the various musculoskeletal symptoms, I realized that I will have only limited impact if I don’t address all aspects of their condition. I created the 5 R Matrix implementation, to help organize the protocol of treatment.
Recognize:
It is important to recognize the underlying symptoms and understand the onset of the symptoms. Clinically, this would be considered taking a thorough history of the presenting condition. A timeline is helpful in understanding the possible antecedents and triggers that might have contributed to the symptoms. It is important for you to consider the various factors such as physical trauma such as motor accidents, falls, or injury. Any recent illnesses or infections such as a flu or a cold.
Any unusual foods that may have triggered the immune response, or emotional stressors such as death of a family or troubled marriages. In my experience, in communicating with various patients with life threatening diagnosis such as MS, Lupus, or ALS, almost always there was a history of some stressor that preceded the onset of symptoms.
Remove:
Remove or resolve any triggers mentioned above. Detoxify your diet by way of juicing techniques with vegetables, or a medical food. Ease the body and free it from anything that might be harmful to it. I realize that the emotional issues are much harder to remove, if it’s the case, there are meditation and visual imagery techniques to overcome the traumatic events.
As long as you are on your way to “dealing” with the stressor and removing them from your life, you are well on your way to a healthy gut. If its the dietary habit you need to correct, always start with eliminating the processed foods, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages, dairy, conventional meats full of antibiotics and hormones, etc.
Replenish/Reprogram
Replace the probiotics, glutamine, vitamin D, minerals that alkalize such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and fish oil. It’s a good idea to drink vegetable juice full of dark green vegetables, eat a diet with plenty of vegetables, whole grains, fish, fruits and healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, and Ghee.
Reprogram your mind to desire the person you will become with these changes, if it’s the weight you want to lose, then visualize yourself in the body and the weight that you want daily. If it’s a picture of you moving without restrictions such as playing your favorite sport perfectly, then take time to visualize this. Remember, your body and the gut has a natural inclination to heal and keep a balance, all you need to do is listen to your “gut” feeling.
Let your body do the rest by really listening to what it wants you to eat for nourishment, when you hear the inner voice make sure that it’s the healthy foods, if its for sugar, that means that it’s the cravings from the addictions that you’ve developed by the years of bad habits. I promise if you keep up with this for 21 days, it’ll be much easier, for this is how long it takes to develop a habit.
Meditate often. This is so important to slow your mind and just sit in stillness and “listen” to the true you, the subconscious. This is not voo doo, there is a higher self within you, and it wants to be harnessed to create balance, harmony, health, and happiness for you.
Repeat
Hang in there, continue with the program, remember that it takes 21-28 days for habits to develop, once this becomes a habit, your body will naturally be reset and you will find that you won’t crave the bad stuff anymore.
As for the emotional stress, it is a scientific fact that thoughts carry energy, negative thoughts = negative energy and positive thoughts =positive energy.
There is no inherent meaning in anything in life unless we place one there. I call it the “flip switch” technique where if you happen to think negatively, flip switch into a positive one. Usually jus think the opposite consequence of the negative. As your meditation practice deepens, you will find that this detachment and positive thinking gets easier and easier. If you want more on this method, check out my Alkaline program.
Restart/Restore
We are creatures of habit. If you snap back to the old patterns, know that it’s ok, just simply let it go and start over. Remember, insanity is doing the same things expecting different results. You are here to make a change, change your perception which will ultimately be your reality. The life of abundance, health, and happiness awaits you