Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (7 page)

After three weeks her neck, arm, and hand pain were nearly gone, and her memory was improving. She lost four pounds, had better energy, and was sleeping
better. It was hard to rest during the day, but she was doing it. We added some gut-supportive nutrients, and she continued with what she’d been doing.

When she walked into my office after three months she had lost 22 pounds “without trying.” Her energy level was high, and she was experiencing
no
pain at all anywhere in her body. She was sleeping well and felt entirely healthy. Even though she still had stress in her life, she felt terrific. When I asked about her autoimmune symptoms, she looked at me, threw her arms up, and said, “What autoimmune disease?”

Certainly not everyone gets such benefit from simple solutions, but people often do. This book gives you a step-by-step outline as to what you can do.

There is currently an epidemic of digestive illness in our country, one that is directly related to the foods we eat and the way we live. Between 30 and 40 percent of us complain about digestive issues, accounting for 104.7 million doctor visits a year. According to the Digestive Disease Clearinghouse and Information Center in 2004, about 69 percent of all doctor visits were for digestive issues. Year after year, medications for digestive illness top the pharmaceutical bestseller list. In 2007, 4 of the top 20 drugs were for GI issues. In 2008, Nexium and Prilosec, both used for heartburn, were the third and fourth bestselling drugs in the United States. Of the top 10 medications prescribed for digestive complaints, a little more than half were for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as heartburn.

The digestive system is like a river that runs through us. Each day we put pounds of foreign substances (food, drinks, medications, and supplements) into our mouths hoping that our bodies will be able to sort out friend from foe. And generally our bodies do a terrific job, even though much of what we put in our mouths was foreign to the environment even 100 years ago. Because of this interface, the digestive system is the seat of our immune system, runs our metabolism, makes vitamins, and communicates with
every
other cell in our bodies. The purpose of the digestive system, also lovingly called “the gut,” is to bring nutrients to each cell of your body. When this doesn’t occur, we feel tired and sluggish, can’t think clearly, and begin to develop symptoms of illness. If left untended, these symptoms can develop into full-blown health problems.

Research into the functioning of the digestive system has yielded surprising results, turning the arena of digestive health on its head.

If spread flat, your digestive system would cover a tennis court.

Roughly 70 percent of your immune system is located in the digestive system.

You have 10 times as many microbes in your body as cells in your body. These microbes live in communities that live in symbiosis with you. The health of these communities determines your overall health. Collectively these communities are called the microbiome.

You have 100 times more DNA in your microbiome than in the cells of your body. The DNA in your cells and in your microbiome talk to each other.

You have three and a half to four and a half pounds of bacteria in your digestive system that help to make vitamins, protect you against infection, and run your metabolism. Collectively this is called the microbiome.

The digestive system is often called the “second brain” because if the vagus nerve, which connects the brain and the digestive system, is cut, the digestive system functions fine on its own. This system is called the enteric nervous system (ENS).

Your gut manufactures significantly more neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, than the brain. In fact, 80 to 90 percent of your serotonin is made in the gut, and every class of brain neurotransmitter has been found in the gut.

You eat food to ultimately nourish all of your cells. If you make poor food choices
or
if your body cannot digest, absorb, and utilize the food due to poor digestive function, you probably will eventually develop signs, symptoms, and finally a diagnosable illness. Digestive insufficiencies contribute to a wide range of health issues, including migraine headaches, depression, arthritis, foggy thinking, autoimmune illness, autism, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, and more.

And finally, foods that are terrific for others may or may not be healthful for you.

We are each given a set of genes called our “genotype.” As we know from the many research studies that have been done on identical twins, our genetics are only part of the picture. The things that we do, say, are exposed to, feel, eat, and hang out with make up our environment. In Buddhist terms you might say that our “dharma,” or
the way we live our life, affects the way our genes react. (See
Figure 1.1
.) If you are an optimist, then your genes get happy messages. If you are depressed, your genes get unhappy messages. Candice Pert, in her groundbreaking book
Molecules of Emotion
, explains that when we are happy, dopamine sits on our receptor sites and blocks cold viruses from those sites. Therefore, happy people get fewer colds. In fact, subsequent research finds that happy people get 65 percent fewer colds than unhappy people do. This can be simplified into the following equation: