Tag: gut

  • Another New Scientific Discovery in the Gut-Brain Connection

    On the heels of the discovery that that 100 gut bacteria can produce electricity is the newly discovered gut-brain connection That gut brain connection is becoming clearer. We must never assume science is settled, huge discoveries are being made yearly that impact our understanding of the process of hormones, immunity, detoxing and cell communication throughout our body. 

    The discovery of the size and complexity of the human microbiome has resulted in an ongoing reevaluation of many concepts of health and disease, including diseases affecting the CNS. A growing body of preclinical literature has demonstrated bidirectional signaling between the brain and the gut microbiome, involving multiple neurocrine and endocrine signaling mechanisms.

    The human gut is lined with more than 100 million nerve cells—it’s practically a brain unto itself. And indeed, the gut actually talks to the brain, releasing hormones into the bloodstream that, over the course of about 10 minutes, tell us how hungry it is, or that we shouldn’t have eaten an entire pizza. But a new study reveals the gut has a much more direct connection to the brain through a neural circuit that allows it to transmit signals in mere seconds. The findings could lead to new treatments for obesity, eating disorders, and even depression and autism—all of which have been linked to a malfunctioning gut.

    The study reveals “a new set of pathways that use gut cells to rapidly communicate with … the brain stem,” says Daniel Drucker, a clinician-scientist who studies gut disorders at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, who was not involved with the work. Although many questions remain before the clinical implications become clear, he says, “This is a cool new piece of the puzzle.”

    In 2010, neuroscientist Diego Bohórquez of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, made a startling discovery while looking through his electron microscope. Enteroendocrine cells, which stud the lining of the gut and produce hormones that spur digestion and suppress hunger, had footlike protrusions that resemble the synapses neurons use to communicate with each other. Bohórquez knew the enteroendocrine cells could send hormonal messages to the central nervous system, but he also wondered whether they could “talk” to the brain using electrical signals, the way that neurons do. If so, they would have to send the signals through the vagus nerve, which travels from the gut to the brain stem.

    He and colleagues injected a fluorescent rabies virus, which is transmitted through neuronal synapses, into the colons of mice and waited for the enteroendocrine cells and their partners to light up. Those partners turned out to be to vagal neurons, the researchers report today in Science.

    In a petri dish, enteroendocrine cells reached out to vagal neurons and formed synaptic connections with each other. The cells even gushed out glutamate, a neurotransmitter involved in smell and taste, which the vagal neurons picked up on within 100 milliseconds—faster than an eyeblink.

    That’s much faster than hormones can travel from the gut to the brain through the bloodstream, Bohórquez says. Hormones’ sluggishness may be responsible for the failures of many appetite suppressants that target them, he says. The next step is to study whether this gut-brain signaling provides the brain with important information about the nutrients and caloric value of the food we eat, he says.

    There are some obvious advantages to superfast gut-brain signaling, such as detecting toxins and poison, but there may be other perks to sensing the contents of our guts in real time, he says. Whatever those are, there’s a good chance the benefits are ancient—gut sensory cells date back to one of the first multicellular organisms, a flat creature called Trichoplax adhaerens, which arose roughly 600 million years ago.

    Additional clues about how gut sensory cells benefit us today lie in a separate study, published today in Cell. Researchers used lasers to stimulate the sensory neurons that innervate the gut in mice, which produced rewarding sensations the rodents worked hard to repeat. The laser stimulation also increased levels of a mood-boosting neurotransmitter called dopamine in the rodents’ brains, the researchers found.

    Combined, the two papers help explain why stimulating the vagus nerve with electrical current can treat severe depression in people, says Ivan de Araujo, a neuroscientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, who led the Cell study. The results may also explain why, on a basic level, eating makes us feel good. “Even though these neurons are outside the brain, they perfectly fit the definition of reward neurons” that drive motivation and increase pleasure, he says.

    NICOLLE R. FULLER/Science Source

    Your gut is directly connected to your brain, by a newly discovered neuron circuit

    By Emily Underwood

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/09/your-gut-directly-connected-your-brain-newly-discovered-neuron-circuit.

    More about Brain Communication

    https://www.sciencealert.com/secret-tunnels-microscopic-vascular-channels-skull-marrow-brain-dura-neutrophils

    Gut-Brain Connection: 

    http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/46/15490 Gut Microbes and the Brain: Paradigm Shift in Neuroscience

  • Unsuspecting Families Are Feeding Their Children Contaminated Finger Foods

    My pediatrician told me that my when my infant was about 9 months old (maybe a bit older) he was ready for solid foods like original Cheerios. So I followed the doctor’s advice, I kept a ready supply of this handy finger food in my diaper bag. My children ate boxes and boxes of Cheerios. In fact, I served it almost daily. Like you, I thought I was feeding my family a nutritious source of ‘whole grain part of a balanced diet’. Unwittingly, I was filling their body with high levels of toxic glyphosate and the 10,000 food additive chemicals, all of which are allowed to be added (directly or indirectly) to their food.  

    75% of US foods are contaminated with Roundup with glyphosate. 

    Now, my children are suffering from ADD, anxiety, depression, chronic constipation and a myriad of other ailments that are linked to imbalance known as a “leaky gut”. People who have leaky gut are more likely to have a number of other health problems including “gastrointestinal issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis and Crohn’s disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, cachexia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and ALS, among others.”

    Our gut is the key to our health and wellness. its responsible for 75% of our immune response. <Learn More about Leaky Gut>

    Glyphosate responsible for gut imbalance? 

    Glyphosate is the key ingredient of the herbicide Roundup, more than one billion pounds sprayed in the US alone. It’s applied to our food as little as three days before harvest. It is absorbed into the plant and can’t be washed away. It is catastrophic to the beneficial gut bacteria that is responsible for our immune system response.

    Monsanto has steadfastly claimed that Roundup is harmless to animals and humans because the mechanism of action it uses (which allows it to kill weeds), called the shikimate pathway, is absent in all animals. However, the shikimate pathway IS present in bacteria, and that’s the key to understanding how it causes such widespread systemic harm in both humans and animals.

    The bacteria in your body outnumber your cells by 10 to one. For every cell in your body, you have 10 microbes of various kinds, and all of them have the shikimate pathway, so they will all respond to the presence of glyphosate!

    Glyphosate causes extreme disruption of the microbe’s function and lifecycle. What’s worse, glyphosate preferentially affects beneficial bacteria, allowing pathogens to overgrow and take over, including the highly toxic Clostridium botulinum. 

    In the interview above, Dr. Seneff reviews a variety of chronic diseases, explaining how glyphosate contributes to each condition. So to learn more, I urge you to listen to it in its entirety. It’s quite eye-opening. According to Dr. Seneff, glyphosate is possibly “the most important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and conditions that have become prevalent in Westernized societies.”

    It’s disconcerting to say the least. I did what my doctor said, and fed my children Cheerios and other foods recommended by the government via the food pyramid. Now my children are part of the statistic of that is 54% of children suffering from chronic illness and disease. 

    Not giving up the possibility of healing my kids

    My mission, to see if I can undo the damage, support their body’s healing processes and help them to make better food choices. Its never to late to start making a change and to heal from the damage done. This is what we are doing to help detox the glyphosate, build our guts and provide nutrient-dense foods to support healing.

  • Food Affects How You Feel

    Harvard Health affirms that food affects how you feel. Your diet matters SO MUCH MORE than you think. 

    Beat anxiety and depression by eating eating more fruits and vegetables!

    “Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, mediate moods, and inhibit pain. Since about 95% of your serotonin is produced in your gastrointestinal tract, and your gastrointestinal tract is lined with a hundred million nerve cells, or neurons, it makes sense that the inner workings of your digestive system don’t just help you digest food, but also guide your emotions. What’s more, the function of these neurons — and the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin — is highly influenced by the billions of “good” bacteria that make up your intestinal microbiome.”

    Start paying attention to how eating different foods makes you feel — not just in the moment, but the next day. Try eating a “clean” diet for two to three weeks — that means cutting out all processed foods and sugar. Add fermented foods like kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, pickles, or kombucha. You also might want to try going dairy-free — and some people even feel that they feel better when their diets are grain-free. See how you feel. Then slowly introduce foods back into your diet, one by one, and see how you feel.

    When my patients “go clean,” they cannot believe how much better they feel both physically and emotionally, and how much worse they then feel when they reintroduce the foods that are known to enhance inflammation. Give it a try!

    Make sure these fruits and vegetables are free from glyphosate and the Roundup product.

    Scientific studies have also discovered that glyphosate is an endocrine distruptor and can cause mental instability and mood disorders. 

    Tryptophan is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins.  Tryptophan is an essential amino acid in humans, meaning that the body cannot synthesize it: it must be obtained from the diet through plant and animal sources that include grains, nuts, oats, wheat, and eggs (list not exhaustive). Tryptophan is also a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin and the hormone melatonin.  Tryptophan deficiency can lead to lower serotonin levels. This can result in mood disorders, such as depression.

    Serotonin also impacts every part of your body, from your emotions to your motor skills. Serotonin is considered a natural mood stabilizer. It’s the neurotransmitter that helps with sleeping, eating, and digesting.

    Glyphosate works in plants by disrupting the plants shikimate pathway.  The shikimate pathway is involved with the synthesis of the essential amino acids, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.  When we consume Roundup treated plants, we do not get the needed amino acids like tryptophan necessary for the synthesis of serotonin.

    Another interesting point about glyphosate is that because of its chelating (binding and removing) abilities, it also reduces calcium and magnesium levels.

    From the Harvard Health Blog:

    Think about it. Your brain is always “on.” It takes care of your thoughts and movements, your breathing and heartbeat, your senses — it works hard 24/7, even while you’re asleep. This means your brain requires a constant supply of fuel. That “fuel” comes from the foods you eat — and what’s in that fuel makes all the difference. Put simply, what you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, your mood.

    Like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. Eating high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress — the “waste” (free radicals) produced when the body uses oxygen, which can damage cells.

    Unfortunately, just like an expensive car, your brain can be damaged if you ingest anything other than premium fuel. If substances from “low-premium” fuel (such as what you get from processed or refined foods) get to the brain, it has little ability to get rid of them. Diets high in refined sugars, for example, are harmful to the brain. In addition to worsening your body’s regulation of insulin, they also promote inflammation and oxidative stress. Multiple studies have found a correlation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function — and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression.

    It makes sense. If your brain is deprived of good-quality nutrition, or if free radicals or damaging inflammatory cells are circulating within the brain’s enclosed space, further contributing to brain tissue injury, consequences are to be expected. What’s interesting is that for many years, the medical field did not fully acknowledge the connection between mood and food.

    Today, fortunately, the burgeoning field of nutritional psychiatry is finding there are many consequences and correlations between not only what you eat, how you feel, and how you ultimately behave, but also the kinds of bacteria that live in your gut.

    How the foods you eat affect how you feel read more here http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626.

    For more information on this topic, please see: Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry, Sarris J, et al. Lancet Psychiatry. 2015

    The field of Nutritional Psychiatry is relatively new, however there are observational data regarding the association between diet quality and mental health across countries, cultures and age groups – depression in particular. Here are links to some systematic reviews and meta-analyses:

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/99/1/181.long
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23720230
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4167107/

    There are also now two interventions suggesting that dietary improvement can prevent depression:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3848350/
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4050338/

    Diet during early life is also linked to mental health outcomes in children (very important from public health perspective):

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24074470
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25524365 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23541912

    Extensive animal data show that dietary manipulation affects brain plasticity and there are now data from humans to suggest the same:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4563885/

    Finally, while there are yet to be published RCTs testing dietary improvement as a treatment strategy for depression, the first of these is underway and results will be published within six months:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3636120/

  • Gut bacteria and the brain: Are we controlled by microbes?

    Gut bacteria and the brain: Are we controlled by microbes?

    The gut has defenses against pathogens, but, at the same time, it encourages the survival and growth of “healthy” gut bacteria.

    The vast majority of these single-celled visitors are based in the colon, where no less than 1 trillion reside in each gram of intestinal content.

    Estimating the number of bacterial guests in our gut is challenging; to date, the best guess is that 40 trillion bacteria call our intestines home – partially dependent on the size of your last bowel movement (poop’s major ingredient is bacteria).

    To put that unwieldy number into perspective, our bodies consist of roughly 30 trillion cells. So, in a very real sense, we are more bacteria than man.

    Most of our gut bacteria belong to 30 or 40 species, but there can be up to 1,000 different species in all. Collectively, they are termed the microbiome.

    Of course, bacteria do benefit from the warmth and nutrition in our bowels, but it is not a one-way relationship – they also give back.

    Some species benefit us by breaking dietary fiber down into short-chain fatty acids that we can then absorb and use. They metabolize a number of compounds on our behalf and play a role in the synthesis of vitamins B and K.

    On the other side of the fence, recent research infers that dysregulation of gut bacteria might be an important factor in inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.

    The microbiome’s role in health and disease is only slowly giving up its secrets. The latest and perhaps most remarkable finding is the ability that gut bacteria have to moderate our brain and behavior.

    Why should the gut and brain be linked?

    The goings on in our guts are a matter of life or death. If the gut is empty, our brain must be told; if there is a problem with our gut that will hinder food processing and therefore nutrition absorption, the brain will need to be informed. If our gut is facing a pathogen attack, our brain should be kept in the loop.

    The links between our gut and brain are hormonal, immunological, and neural, via the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system, which governs the function of the gut. Collectively, they are termed the gut-brain axis.

    Although, at first glance, the connections between the gut and brain might seem surprising, we have all experienced it in action. The relationship between stress, anxiety, and a swift bowel movement are no stranger to anyone.

    These gut-brain conversations have been studied for some time. However, a new level to this partnership has recently been glimpsed; researchers are now considering the influence of our microbiome on the gut-brain axis. In other words, researchers are asking: do the bacteria in our gut affect our psychology and behavior?

    Termed, rather clumsily, the brain-gut-enteric microbiota axis or microbiome-gut-brain axis, researchers are only beginning to scratch its surface.

    Stress and the gut

    In humans, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the primary responder to stresses of any kind. It is one of the major players in the limbic system and is heavily involved in emotions and memory.

    Stress activates the HPA axis and eventually results in the release of cortisol – the “stress hormone” – which has a variety of effects on many organs, including the brain and gut.

    In this way, the brain’s response to stress has a direct influence on the cells of the gut, including epithelial and immune cells, enteric neurons, interstitial cells of Cajal (the pacemakers of the bowels), and enterochromaffin cells (serotoninsynthesizing cells).

    Conversely, these cell types are also under the influence of our resident army of bacteria. Although the mechanisms by which the microbiota regulate the brain are less clear, evidence is mounting that there is, indeed, a two-way dialogue.

    What a difference a microbe makes

    The first clues that microbes might have some control over our mental activity came more than 20 years ago. Patients with hepatic encephalopathy – a decline in brain function due to severe liver disease – were found to improve substantially after taking oral antibiotics.

    Later studies provided further hints that the microbiome had more than a passing influence on states of mind; it was found to impact anxiety and depressive-like behaviors.

    Another key observation linked dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) with autism. Children with autism often have abnormal and less diverse communities of bacteria in their gut. One researcher concluded:

    “We suspect that gut microbes may alter levels of neurotransmitter-related metabolites, affecting gut-to-brain communication and/or altering brain function. […] Correlations between gut bacteria and neurotransmitter-related metabolites are stepping stones for a better understanding of the crosstalk between gut bacteria and autism.”

    Researchers in 2004 noted that mice bred to have no gut bacteria had an exaggerated HPA axis response to stress. Further investigations using similar germ-free mice have demonstrated that their lack of gut bacteria alters memory function.

    Germ-free mice have been a useful tool to study the microbiome-gut-brain axis. They have helped prove that something is going on, but the results are impossible to extrapolate into humans. They replicate no natural situation known to man – there is no such thing as a germ-free human.

    Other studies have used different approaches; some investigated the effects of the neuroactive compounds that gut flora produce; others still have looked at the differences in the gut flora of individuals with psychiatric or neurological differences.

    Research, in general, has not been conclusive. Even if changes in gut flora are seen, the eternal chicken or egg question persists: was the psychiatric condition caused by the change in gut flora, or did the psychiatric condition and its altered behavior patterns cause the gut flora to change? Or, is there a two-way interaction?

    How can gut flora moderate the brain?

    [E.coli illustration]
    Bacterial influence over human psychology is slowly coming into focus.

    Stress is known to increase the permeability of the intestinal lining; this gives bacteria easier access to both the immune system and the neuronal cells of the enteric nervous system.

    This may be one of the ways in which bacteria find a way to influence us. However, another, more direct route has also been demonstrated.

    One study, using food-borne pathogens, provided evidence that bacteria in the intestines can activate stress circuits by directly activating the vagus nerve – a cranial nerve supplying a number of organs, including the upper digestive tract.

    A more direct route still might involve direct contact of the microbiome with the sensory neurons of the enteric nervous system. Studies have shown that these sensory neurons are less active in germ-free mice, and, once the mice have been given probiotics to restock their microbiome, the activity levels of the neurons return to normal.

    Probiotics influencing psychology

    If germ-free mice show differences in behavior, the next question is whether adding gut bacteria to an animal can make similar changes. A meta-analysis, published in the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, collated the results of studies looking at the effects of probiotics on central nervous system function in both humans and animals.

    They examined 25 animal and 15 human studies, most of which used Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus over a 2-4-week period. Although, as the authors mention, translating animal studies like this into human terms is a dodgy game. They concluded:

    “These probiotics showed efficacy in improving psychiatric disorder-related behaviors including anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and memory abilities, including spatial and non-spatial memory.”

    Another study, published in PLOS One, found that age-related decline in memory could be reversed in rats by altering the levels of Actinobacteria and Bacterioidetes in their gut with probiotics.

    The authors conclude: “The data support the notion that intestinal microbiota can be manipulated to positively impact on neuronal function.”

    The future of the microbiome-gut-brain axis

    There is a long and winding path ahead of those scientists brave enough to investigate the strange reality of the microbiome-gut-brain axis. No doubt a multitude of molecules are involved in various ways to differing degrees.

    In the far-flung future, perhaps medicines specifically targeting the microbiome will be created for psychiatric conditions; the microbiome may become an early warning system for certain diseases or even a diagnostic tool.

    For now, all we can do is ponder the influence that bacteria have on our everyday state of mind. We should also be amazed and amused that humans, as intelligent as we consider ourselves, are partially under the control of single-celled lifeforms.

    Perhaps we would do well to remember that bacteria predate us by billions of years and are highly likely to outlive our species by billions more.

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312734.php.
  • The Gut-Thyroid Connection: Hashimoto’s

    The Gut-Thyroid Connection: Hashimoto’s

    Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune hypothyroid disorder responsible for 80% of all hypothyroid cases in the US.

    What is the Gut –Thyroid Connection?

    Hashimoto’s disease is an organ specific autoimmune disease – meaning it affects the thyroid. But at its core, it is rooted in inflammation that may begin outside of the thyroid in a substantial number of cases . One of the most common sources of inflammation that eventually leads to autoimmune conditions is intestinal hyperpermeability, or “leaky gut.”

    The main job of the intestinal mucosa (the lining of the intestine) is to act as like customs officer at a border crossing. It allows nutrients from our food to pass into the submucosa where it can be assimilated for our benefit, while keeping potentially harmful proteins from our food and fragments of both healthy and harmful bacteria out of the submucosa where they can trigger inflammatory and immune reactions. Over time, persistent exposure of the submucosa to inflammatory and immune triggers causes the body to produce antibodies, special proteins that recognize and fight viruses and bacteria. These antibodies can also start to recognize and attack your body tissue, including your thyroid tissue, and sabotage your thyroid’s ability to produce or use thyroid hormones, resulting in Hashimoto’s disease.

    Further, the health of the intestinal microbiome regulates overall inflammation in your body by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor-necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-KB), while promoting anti-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-10 (IL-10).

    New research also suggests that there is direct cross-talk between proteins and hormones in the gut and the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT), adding yet another layer of the connection to what goes on in the gut and the health of the thyroid.

    Antibiotic use, frequent use of NSAIDS (ibuprofen, Aleve, Motrin, etc.), a diet high in sugar and low in a wide variety of vegetables, over-exercise and chronic stress, all affect the health of the intestinal mucosa and the microbiome, and can determine whether you develop hypothyroidism.

    Celiac disease, as in Karen’s case, creates an extreme set-up for leaky gut. In fact, as many as 10% of patients with celiac disease have hypothyroidism. But much milder forms of leaky gut and dysbiosis – which affect millions more people that has previously been recognized – can also create the environment for Hashimoto’s to develop.

    The tricky thing is that not not everyone with gut problems has classic digestive symptoms. Sometimes the only symptom of gut problems is an autoimmune disease! So if you have Hashimoto’s disease, it is worth including gut healing as part of your plan.

    Learn More about the The Core Solution: Healing the Gut-Thyroid Connection

      

    This article originally appeared at: https://avivaromm.com/gut-thyroid-connection/.
  • When Foods hurt. When Foods Heal.

    When Foods hurt. When Foods Heal.

    Health Freedom Idaho Note: Excerpts of this article are encouraging to so many whose children suffer from symptoms that doctor’s simply want to treat instead of seeking the underlying cause. So many mothers (and fathers) have taken it upon themselves to become fully researched to help heal their children using real foods. It is a LOT of work and so rewarding…

    This mother writes:
    …”while researching auto immune disorders & came across The Paleo Mom. I remembered hearing, in the class I’d taken, that if you had one auto immune disorder (which now I knew eczema is considered to be) you were more likely to develop another AI disorder. I knew enough to be able to research further online & my research led me to the GAPS diet. I bought a copy of the book & while I waited, I poured over everything I could find online.

    I BELIEVE ARTHUR HAS A LEAKY GUT, WHICH IS WHY A TRADITIONAL ELIMINATION DIET DID NOT WORK FOR HIM. SIMPLY ELIMINATING FOODS WASN’T ENOUGH.

    I KNEW THE GAPS DIET WOULD HEAL MY SON.

    When my book finally arrived my husband & I sat down (me with my highlighter & pen, him with a glass of whiskey) & we dove right into the book. The information that came out of that book was equally shocking, reaffirming & bittersweet. I will forever wish I could have known what I know now so that I could have helped my other children sooner.

    The following are just a few quotes that I highlighted from the book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride, that pertained to Arthur (or my other children).

    “GAPS children and adults have digestive problems, sometimes quite severe. Colic, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, feeding difficulties & malnourishment…”

    “Whether we look at a child or an adult with GAPS, in the majority of cases digestive problems start at weaning time…”

    “It is also very rare for parents of GAPS children to describe their child’s stool as normal.”

    “…in many cases, undigested food is clearly visible in the stool. Very often the stool would have an extremely strong, unpleasant smell…”

    “Sometimes the stool would be very acidic and burn the child’s skin…”

    “In many of these cases the child would wake up at night screaming, when the parents do not know what is wrong. As the excessive gas gets released or simply moves to a different place in the bowel the pain would disappear and the child would settle down.”

    AS I READ MORE IT BECAME EVEN MORE CLEAR WHY A TRADITIONAL ELIMINATION DIET HAD NOT BEEN ENOUGH FOR ARTHUR.

    “If the gut flora is damaged, the best foods and supplements in the world may not have a good chance of being broken down and absorbed.”

    What I came to understand about Arthur was that, until his gut was healed & sealed, every food would end up being an allergen because his food would not get the chance to be digested properly before it was absorbed, therefore causing the immune system to react to the foods as ‘allergenic’.

    “As long as the gut wall is damaged and stays damaged, you can be juggling your diet forever, removing different foods and never getting anywhere.”

    More Information on the GAPS Diet for kids
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