• Autoimmune diseases/ Brain - Gut Connection/ Energy/ Inflammation/ Probiotics

    Probiotics Breakthrough

    Paleo and LCHF approach

    A Review.

    We have a Probiotics breakthrough with a new supplement called Elixa Probiotic.

    So much of what I do and write about this past couple of years has been about the health of our Microbiome – the environment of beneficial bacteria within and on our bodies that affects our health. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can be taken as a supplement, eaten as fermented foods and even given as an enema and many people have learnt that by improving their gut health they can significantly improve their overall physical and mental health.

    They have proved so beneficial that a daily top up seems essential to some people with chronic inflammatory disease, Auto-immune disease, ADHD, Autism, Depression and Insomnia to name just a few. Taking probiotics has also been shown to improve the function of our immune system. I have taken probiotics on and off over the years. At first the supplements only contained one or two strains and needed to be kept in the fridge but over the years different technology has meant that we can now benefit from several strains and they have a good shelf life at normal temperatures.

    The breakthrough is a new Product that has 12 different strains and is 50 times the strength of the average Probiotic and best of all, you probably only need a six day course to set up a much healthier environment in your digestive tract.

    Elixa Probiotics

     

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  • Aspartate/ Brain - Gut Connection/ Butyrate/ Cancer Prevention/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ Exclusion diet/ Fibromyalgia/ Glutamate/ Glutamine/ Health/ Leaky Gut/ Nutrition and Cancer/ Wheat and Dairy Intolerance

    Weight, Gut and Sleep Problems?

    Weight, Gut and sleep problems

    Do you have a combination of weight, gut and sleep problems? If you have, you might not know how they are connected and how a new approach to eating could help.

    Your gut and brain are intimately connected as I have discussed  in ‘The Brain -Gut Connection‘. Many neurotransmitters are manufactured in the gut with Probiotic bacteria playing a crucial role. If the balance of bacteria in your gut is not right then levels of neurotransmitters like Tryptophan, Serotonin, and GABA that are produced can cause everything from brain fog and insomnia to ADHD and Epilepsy.

    These good gut bacteria thrive on fibre in the diet, especially non-soluble fibre which is often lacking in today’s highly processed diets. Having the right balance of high fibre, good bacteria and balanced blood sugar go hand in hand and therefore can be very important factors in controlling weight. Eating a diet with plenty of fibre and good fats also slows the digestive system and making you feel full for longer, happier and mentally sharper.

    Another very important substance in the gut that is produced by good probiotic bacteria and fibre is called Butyrate. Read More

  • Brain - Gut Connection/ Health/ Inflammation/ Leaky Gut/ Mineral Depletion/ Nutritional Medicine

    The Brain – Gut Connection

    The Brain -Gut Connection

    Brain Fog – ADHD – Autism – Dementia – Alzheimer’s – Anxiety – Depression – Multiple Sclerosis – Eating Disorders

    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – IBS – Tourettes – Schizophrenia

    The Brain – Gut Connection is being talked about throughout the Medical and Nutritional world. What goes on in the gut directly affects our mood, cognitive ability and brain function. We have known about this connection for years but mistakenly thought the communication was only one way – as when anxiety can cause nausea and diarrhoea and depression can cause changes in appetite but not the other way round. Now we know that the communications between the trillions of bacteria living in our gut and the enormous amount of neurons surrounding it are in constant two-way contact with the Brain and many are now calling the gut our second Brain. It also goes some way to explaining why we say we have ‘gut feelings’ and ‘trust your gut’! A multitude of conditions as listed above are now thought to have a connection to problems of inflammation and gut dysfunction due to the wrong mix of good bacteria or infection with toxic ones.

    What are the causes of gut dysfunction and inflammation?

    • Gut wall integrity is vital to good health. The gut wall is only one cell thick and has the surface area of a tennis court. Many problems can cause this area to become inflamed and leaky – meaning that the product of our digestion and bacteria which should be contained within our digestive tract can enter the bloodstream.
    • Chronic constipation.
    • Stress
    • Environmental Toxins
    • High blood sugar – when the blood sugar is kept high due to a poor diet of sugar and carbohydrates, sugar binds to protein in a process called ‘glycation‘ and high glycation leads to actual shrinkage of the brain as well as release of high levels of inflammatory chemicals called ‘cytokines‘ and increased leakiness of the gut lining.
    • Antibiotics -either given to us or to animals that we eat can damage our good bacteria in what is referred to as our Microbiome.
    • Lack of B Vitamins -that frequently follows antibiotic use.
    • Gastroenteritis and chronic infections with overgrowth of toxic bacteria like Clostridium Dificile and similar, difficult to treat infections.
    • High levels of Omega 6 fats in the body that fuel inflammation.
    • Exposure to gliadin, a protein in gluten containing foods, increases permeability to the blood/brain barrier and gluten increases leaky gut.
    • The gut is lined with gram negative bacteria (LPS) and if these enter the systemic circulation it triggers widespread inflammation including in the brain.
    • When we get inflammation and pain the anti-inflammatory drugs given may relieve some of the symptoms but the condition will actually worsen because the drugs also irritate the digestive tract. Frequently these anti-inflammatories are given with stomach acid lowering drugs which upsets our digestion and assimilation of nutrients from our food and also the balance of bacteria in the digestive tract.
    • Histamine Intolerance – caused by too little of the enzyme DAO (diamine oxidase) that breaks down Histamine in foods. Too much Histamine causes leaky gut and a damaged gut can’t then make more of the enzyme. Magnesium is also necessary to make DAO therefore low levels of this mineral also affect the gut. For more information click Allergy

    When the Brain gets inflammatory Cytokines it responds by sending messages to the Adrenal glands to produce Cortisol which can lead to more gut leakiness, further changes in gut bacteria  and more inflammation that affects the brain. The only way to stop the cycle is to heal the gut. See the Posts on Leaky Gut and Healing Your Digestive tract.

    Beneficial bacteria in the gut have another purpose – they manufacture neurotransmitters that affect our sleep cycles, and activities in the brain and Central nervous System. Inflammation in the gut disrupts the Tryptophan – 5HTP – Serotonin – Melatonin pathways which can lead to sleep problems, anxiety, depression and other mental problems as too much Tryptophan that is not converted to 5HTP will be converted into a brain irritant called quinolinate. If there is any balance or movement disorder then it can be GABA that is affected.

    TREATMENT OPTIONS Read More