Download 5 Steps To Healing Your Gut

5 Steps To Healing Your Gut
Kale Brock
Health Journalist
Health Coach
www.kalebrock.com
5 STEPS TO HEALING YOUR GUT.
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The Gut.
Why would I want to heal it?
This is the big question. Why would I participate in a gut-healing protocol? Why
would I need to heal my gut lining? Well, if you’re currently experiencing any
health issues, be it arthritis, thyroid problems, overweight, diabetes, digestive
complaints or fatigue just to name a few, chances are your gut is not as healthy as it
should be. How can such a broad sweeping statement be made? It can be made on
the basis of the thousands of scientific articles coming out on the microbiome and
it’s effects on the human body. The microbiome is simply the group of different
bacteria, yeast, parasites & protozoa which live on & inside of you in a symbiotic
relationship as integral to the human body as food. Throughout we may use the
term ‘bacteria’ as a generalised word for all species of the microbiome. The
bacterial cells actually outnumber your own cells by about 10 to 1! One gram of
your poo contains more microbes than there are people on earth - so
don’t underestimate their relevance.
According to experts, there are 4 main functions of the microbiome.
1:The microbiome manages inflammation & your immune system throughout the body.
2:The microbiome plays a large role in maintaining the intestinal lining.
3:The microbiome manufactures important chemicals for the entire body including the brain.
4:The microbiome helps digest & assimilate your food.
Really, the microbiome, your gut, is the body’s central dashboard & if there is a
disturbance or a malfunctioning of the dashboard, that will have a flow on effect to
the parts of the body that are communicating with it. Science & even the
mainstream media have now come out with the microbiome message, sharing that
the balance of your microbes can influence whether you get illnesses like asthma,
diabetes, autism, arthritis, depression, obesity, allergies & more & yet this
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sentiment is actually not a new one, with healers as far back as Hippocrates
practicing by the notion that “All disease begins in the gut.”
Professor Charles Mackay, medical researcher at Sydney University says "When
you look at almost any condition that exists now that didn't exist 40 or 50 years
ago, or was much less common 40 or 50 years ago, there is a good chance that it is
relating to the actions of the gut microbiota.”1
Its strange though; the approach we’ve taken to health. We’ve dished out oral drugs
like candy for decades now without a clue as to the damage we’ve been doing to
the gut, & we’re now seeing the frightening beginnings of resistance to medications
from the bugs we’re trying to kill!2
What our current scientific interest in the microbiome is discovering is that many
of our current ailments, from arthritis, psoriasis, Hashimoto’s, depression,
diabetes, asthma & even heart disease have some origins in the gut. This is probably
because our gut & the functioning of the gut-lining seems to control inflammation
throughout the entire body.Your gut is like a switchboard. It has connections to all
the different parts of the body & can send signals to & fro. Those signals can either
be health-promoting or disease-promoting & that is controlled by the level of
functioning of the gut itself. When we optimise the functioning of the gut by
rebalancing the microbiome (the critters which live inside there), decreasing the
inflammation, & restoring integrity to the intestinal lining we create an
environment that is health-promoting! It’s really as simple as that.
So let’s look at & explain the steps you can take now to start healing your gut.
1ABC
News, (2014). Gut organisms could be key to unlocking Western diseases. [online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/
news/2014-10-25/gut-microbiota-linked-to-health-autism-schizophrenia/5841264
World Health Organization, (2015). Antimicrobial resistance. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/
fs194/en/
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5 STEPS TO HEALING YOUR GUT.
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You can find a full, in-depth guide to healing your gut in my book,
The Gut Healing Protocol; An 8 Week Guide To Healing Your Gut.
Available via kalebrock.com & amazon.com
Step 1.
Remove irritating or inflammatory foods from the diet, & remove the pathogenic microbes in
your system.
Primarily, there are 3 main categories of inflammatory foods which should be
removed from the diet in order for you to regain the health of your gut. They are:
Wheat (grains).
In his monumental book Wheat Belly, Dr. William Davis shatters the myth that the
consumption of wholegrain, especially wheat & gluten containing grains, is actually
healthy for the human body. Davis presents a compelling story on the overall
inflammatory properties of wheat which when consumed can lead to obesity, leaky
gut syndrome, diabetes, acidosis, accelerated ageing, heart disease, neurological
issues & more. He points out in his book that 2 slices of whole wheat bread can
actually raise blood sugar more than 2 tablespoons of pure sugar can - which is
alarming when we consider the consequences of fluctuating blood sugar on health
& longevity.3 Dr. Alessio Fasano has shown that wheat causes leaky gut; increased
intestinal permeability, in everybody who consumes it so in order to heal the gut
lining you need to remove it from your diet.4 Consuming gluten-free grains is not
3
Davis, W. (2011). Wheat belly. Emmaus, Penn.: Rodale.
4
Catalyst: Gluten: A Gut Feeling, (2015). [TV programme] ABC.
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an ideal alternative because often these are high in simple carbohydrates which can
feed pathogenic microbes within your GI tract.
Dairy.
Dr. Raphael Kellman paints the picture well when he says that even the tiniest
amounts of skim milk in a coffee can set of a systemic immune reaction to shut
down the inflammatory molecules which have moved into the bloodstream. He
goes on to say that the reaction & symptoms (such as acne, sore throat, gas, bloating
& aching joints) can be instant or even days later making it hard to distinguish
which foods cause the issue in the first place. Dr. Kellman also points out that this
inflammatory reaction results in an outpouring of insulin into the system making
weight loss (among other things) near impossible.5 A wonderful side effect of
removing these foods is that our immune system stops making the anti-bodies
against them, & subsequently we begin to crave them less & less! Dairy foods can
potentially be a very healthy food, however due to the processing of dairy in the
western world, including pasteurisation, homogenisation, the adding of chemicals
& antibiotics, & the leaching of plastic bottles it’s health benefits are being
compromised. It is not recommended that you consume most dairy whilst healing
your gut, however you may consume some ghee & colostrum.
Sugar.
I’m sure that in today’s day & age I do not need to spend too much time elaborating
on the detrimental effects that processed (& some natural forms of) sugar has on
our health but put shortly, sugar does the following:
- causes blood sugar imbalance
- increases the risk for diabetes, obesity & heart disease
- suppresses the immune system
5
Kellman, R. (n.d.). The microbiome diet.
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- causes systemic mineral deficiencies
- accelerates ageing
- damages DNA
- causes tooth decay
- causes inflammation of the brain
- increases stress & causes abnormal changes in behaviour & mood
- massively disrupts the balance of the microbiome.6
You must also realise that until you balance your microbiome, even natural sugars
such as those that come from fruit can potentially feed the pathogenic microbes
which may be in your gut. So staying away from all processed sugars, grains & most
fruit is a good idea whilst you heal your gut. Fruits which can be included are
lemons, limes, tomatoes, avocado & cucumber.
Step 2.
Replace the inflammatory foods with healthy options so that we can reset your digestive fire.
Some people feel a little frightened when they hear about the ‘no’ foods on a gut
healing protocol, but they don’t realise there are still plenty of ‘yes’ foods as well!
These include colourful, low-sugar vegetables, certain nuts & seeds, healthy fats &
animal proteins. Ideally, your plate should be 80% (in size, not necessarily calories)
green vegetables such as salad greens, spinach & kale.You can include a palm-sized
amount of colourful vegetables such as carrot, sweet potato & beetroot.
The remainder of your plate can be filled with healthy fats & proteins coming from
animal or plant-based sources.You might like my Almond-Basil Pesto Recipe (found
in the GHP book), an avocado mash, some lamb, chicken or fish & more. It is
recommended on a Gut Healing Protocol that you consume bone broth or ‘stock’
Oregonstate.edu, (2015). Fat, sugar cause bacterial changes that may relate to loss of cognitive function | News and
Research Communications | Oregon State University. [online] Available at: http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2015/jun/fatsugar-cause-bacterial-changes-may-relate-loss-cognitive-function
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every single day. Portion sizes, with correct ratios, are to be determined by you.
You should eat until you are 80% full & should chew thoroughly & slowly.
You should also follow the principle of Food Combining whilst healing your gut as
this will prevent slow motility & unhealthy fermentation within your GI tract. This
means that you’ll want to avoid combining starchy carbohydrates with proteins.
Having rice & chicken, for instance, results in poor digestion as the carbohydrates
in the rice require an alkaline digestive environment whilst the proteins in the
chicken require an acidic digestive environment. Having too much sweet potato
with a meal that also includes some lamb, for instance, will result in poor digestion.
Some people find that starting off their replacement meals 1 at a time helps them
ease into a gut healing program.You may wish to swap your usual breakfast for
something like eggs with spinach, avocado & tomato, as opposed to having eggs on
toast. Then, once you’re comfortable with that, try working on lunch & dinner as
well.
Step 3.
Reinoculate with probiotics.
Of course, we couldn’t talk about supplements which heal the gut & go past
probiotics. Using therapeutic, pharmaceutical-grade probiotic formulas is going to
be key in healing your gut lining; they’re integral to maintaining gut integrity.
There are bacteria called Segmented Filamentous Bacteria. These are bacteria
which are passed from Mum to you during the birthing process & it is these
bacteria that move into your GI tract & ‘set up shop’. These initial seedlings of
bacteria are integral in training the immune system to accept such strains of bacteria as
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being friendly & beneficial to the host. These bacteria are the ‘mother’ strains if you
will, & will form the default microbiome for young baby for the rest of her life.7
Because so many human beings now have increased intestinal permeability (a leaky
gut), & indeed it is probably one of the primary reasons for you to participate in
this protocol, it is in our best interest to use strains of bacteria that were most likely
present at birth & mimic the segmented filamentous bacteria you were inoculated
with. It is nearly impossible for us to determine exactly the bacterial species which
you received from Mum at birth but according to most prominent experts in the
field of microbiology two species dominate; Lactobacillus & Bifidobacteria.8
It is not by accident then that it is these two species of bacteria that are the most
widely studied & their benefits have been established as far-reaching. Bifidobacteria
love breastmilk, for instance, & lactobacillus bacteria ferment carbohydrates to
form lactic acid which creates an environment conducive to their ongoing survival
& growth. Scientists have been able to boost positive brain chemicals like brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in mice just by inoculating them with
bifidobacteria.9 It is not by accident it seems, that lactobacillus & bifidobacteria
seem to be species of bacteria that ‘work well’ in the presence of a leaky gut & even
can reduce the ‘leakiness’ of the gut.10 These bacteria, although inundating a
newborn baby (who has leaky gut by design), are still beneficial & do not cause a
harmful reaction for the baby.
Probiotic supplements might include strains such as Lactobacillus acidophilus,
Lactobacillus plantarum,11 Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium lactis12 (also called
7
Probiotic Science w Microbiologist John Ellerman, (2015). [Podcast programme] The Kale Brock Show.
8
Enders, G., Enders, J. and Shaw, D. (n.d.). Gut.
Savignac, H., Corona, G., Mills, H., Chen, L., Spencer, J., Tzortzis, G. and Burnet, P. (2013). Prebiotic feeding elevates
central brain derived neurotrophic factor, N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunits and d-serine. Neurochemistry International,
63(8), pp.756-764.
9
ML, A. (2015). Effect of lactobacilli on paracellular permeability in the gut. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22254077
10
David Perlmutter M.D., (2015). The One Probiotic Supplement You Need to be Taking. [online] Available at: http://
www.drperlmutter.com/consider-lactobacillus-plantarum/?hvid=5qELg2
11
12
Probiotic Science w Microbiologist John Ellerman, (2015). [Podcast programme] The Kale Brock Show.
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B.animalis) or Bifidobacterium longum to name a few.13 They should be taken every
day as directed. My favourite products are listed by country at
kalebrock.com.au/ghp.
Step 4.
Repair the gut lining.
Naturally, on a Gut Healing Protocol we are repairing the gut lining by decreasing
the level of inflammation within your gut. We are removing foods that increase the
permeability of your gut lining & we are adding in soothing, nourishing foods such
as bone broth so that the cells of your gut lining can become nourished & highly
functioning.
There are numerous supplements & foods which can potentially speed up the
healing rate of your intestinal lining. We’ve already talked about bone broth, but
let’s look at bovine colostrum & aloe vera, too.
By far one of nature’s most complete foods, colostrum is a fundamental tool we can
use to assist the healing of our gut lining.You’ll recall earlier that we spoke of babies
being born with a leaky gut & after receiving nutrients from Mum’s colostrum the
gut is sealed back up. Well, colostrum is actually very similar in terms of its
nutritional content across all mammalian species - so rather than harvesting
colostrum from new mothers around the world (that’d be interesting) we can
harness the power of bovine colostrum, which comes from cows.
Perlmutter, D. (2015). The 5 Best Species Of Probiotics - Dr. David Perlmutter. [online] David Perlmutter M.D. Available at:
http://www.drperlmutter.com/learn/resources/probiotics-five-core-species/.
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5 STEPS TO HEALING YOUR GUT.
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Gut protective substances in colostrum, such as IgG, IgM, IgA, & transfer factors
can work within the gut to help fight off infections of pathogenic bacteria & fungi.
Lactoferrin & transferrin are particularly interesting nutrients in colostrum; both
are mineral-binding carrier proteins which attach to iron, thus starving pathogenic
bacteria & yeast. Colostrum has been shown in scientific studies to help control
H.pylori, E.Coli & Salmonella infections, assist in the healing from Crohn’s disease
& aid healing of the gut lining.14 15 16
Aloe vera is an amazing plant that has the potential to not only heal burns but our
gut lining, too! As an alternative/adjunct to colostrum, aloe vera may be used to
reduce inflammation within the GI tract & to assist in healing the gut lining. Aloe
vera can also be used as a prebiotic.17 The mucilaginous gel in Aloe gives it its
healing properties however be aware that it does carry a laxative effect on the host
(especially the unprepared host). Aloe vera may be particularly helpful in healing
inflammatory/acidic conditions of the gut like ulcerative colitis & gastritis.18 My
favourite products are listed at kalebrock.com.au/ghp.
Step 5.
Evolve the diet & add in fermented foods; long-term approach.
Once you have healed your gut (your symptoms may have gone away for 2-3
months, you may feel excellent) it may be time to begin to evolve the diet a little
more. We have restricted some normally healthy foods such as fermented foods,
fruits, vegetables & some gluten-free grains like rice because, although potentially
New Perspective in Dietary Supplementation: Bovine Colostrum and Noni Juice Synergic Protective Effects on Intestinal
Epithelium and Microbiota. (2014). Inflammation and Cell Signaling.
14
Bodammer, P., Maletzki, C., Kerkhoff, C. and Lamprecht, G. (2013). Sa1760 Influence of Bovine Colostrum on Tight Junction
Protein Expression, Barrier Function and Intestinal Cytokine Milieu. Gastroenterology, 144(5), p.S-300.
15
16
Kleinsmith, A. and Fox, A. (n.d.). Scientific & Medical Research Related to Bovine Colostrum. 1st ed. self.
Gullón B, e. (2015). In vitro assessment of the prebiotic potential of Aloe vera mucilage and its impact on the human
microbiota. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25504136
17
18
Adams, M. (n.d.). The Aloe Vera Miracle. 1st ed. Natural News.
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healthy, when someone has an imbalanced microbiome these foods can be
detrimental.
Now may be a good time for you to begin to slowly reintroduce these sorts of
foods back into the diet, using an appropriate reintroduction process.
So, lets say you’ve done the 8 Week GHP & you’re feeling ready to include some
new foods back into the diet. In the morning after you have risen, drank some
water, & now are ready for food. Lets say you wish to include some kiwi fruit in
your diet now.
Well, you would simply consume 1 serving of kiwi fruit, & wait for between 2-3
hours before consuming anything else. Ask yourself these questions:
How did it make me feel?
Did I feel energised?
Was my digestion sound after it…or did my belly rumble, tumble & growl at me?
How did I feel at 4pm that afternoon - did I start craving sweets & sugary foods?
Did I get an itchy throat or rash?
These are all important questions you should ask yourself & if you have any
concerning answers then chances are you’re not ready for that food. Remember it
is important to eat new foods on their own so that you can determine their effects
on you.You should follow this protocol for foods such as:
All fruit
Nuts
Seeds
Fermented Foods (i.e. apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut, kefir)
Etc etc.
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Congratulations
You are now on your way to healing your gut! I hope I’ve been able to make a
difference in your life!
You can find a full, in-depth guide to healing your gut in my book,
The Gut Healing Protocol; An 8 Week Guide To Healing Your Gut.
Available via kalebrock.com or amazon.com
The 8 Week Gut Healing Protocol is everything that I’ve learned about health &
wellness as a journalist & health coach, put into a simple 8 week kick-starter for
you to get started on your health journey, progress to higher levels of health, or to
maintain health & wellness for the rest of your life. Pages of science on the
microbiome plus practical, down-to-earth applications of that science is what you’ll
find in my book, alongside some stellar recipes, too. My job is to give you a push
that’ll result in you taking charge of your health as you power on into the future.
Testimonies for my Gut Healing Protocol Program & Book.
Dr. Nick Gentile
I expected big things from Kale's Gut Healing Protocol, yet I was still surprised and
amazed by the results. Not only did I lose 9kgs, improve my energy, fortify my
immune system and greatly speed up my recovery from exercise, but most
importantly my digestion improved out of sight. I'm now free of the stomach pain
and bloating that I experienced on a daily basis and I'm looking forward to
maintaining the changes I've put in place long into the future! I can't recommend
this program highly enough. 5 STEPS TO HEALING YOUR GUT.
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Taela Old
I thought I was doing right by my body, I was exercising a lot between work shifts
and I thought I was “eating healthy” but I started to gain a lot of weight. I was
experiencing terrible pains in my stomach as well as bloating, and I was struggling
with constant fatigue. I knew I had to change my lifestyle but I had no idea where
to start since I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong.
Then a miracle happened! I was introduced to the idea of doing Kale Brock’s Gut
Healing Protocol. I was initially really scared of the idea but I decided to give it a
shot. As I discovered, coupling this 12 week Gut Healing Protocol with my exercise
programs, my whole lifestyle changed dramatically, I noticed in a very short
amount of time that my mind was improving as well as my body image! Since
finishing the gut cleanse I have no desire to go back to how I was eating beforehand
because I am the healthiest and happiest I have ever been!
Andrea Dillon
I embarked on Kale’s program after attending a fermentation workshop that he
conducted. Prior to the course, I was already on a fairly clean diet, but over time
had allowed a few habits I had previously eradicated to creep back into my lifestyle.
As a result, I was suffering from candidiasis and bloating again and was feeling
frustrated. Kale’s program required dedication and organisation, but it was well
worth the effort and gradually my symptoms began to subside. It was so
empowering to be making such great food choices for each meal, and knowing that
everything you ate was improving your health and allowing your stomach to heal.
You can experience these changes too! I strongly urge you to come along to
kalebrock.com to check out more cool info on the gut & how healing it can change
your life.
Much love,
Kale.
5 STEPS TO HEALING YOUR GUT.
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