Welcome to Gut and Skin Health Month

This month you will receive keys to better digestion and complexion.

You will learn how to decrease your risk of colon cancer, skin cancer and other bowel-related disorders.

Here is a video that one of our patients shared with us.

It is an amazing transformation and although she gives me credit, she took the information I gave her and did the work to transform her health and her life.

Check it out!!

Benefits of a Healthy Gut

An Amazing Place

The gastrointestinal (GI) system is an amazing place. I love teaching about it because, to me, it is a mysterious and fascinating foreign world…in our bellies!!!

Just like a water snake toy…

…our skin is the outside, or continuation, of our digestive track (with organs,bones and glands in between).

Acne, hives and rashes are often resolved by healing the gut.

This is why healing the skin starts with healing the gut and why we put these two together in this months topic.

When things go wrong in the GI tract, things can go wrong in the skin and every other part of the body.

What Could Go Wrong?

Food sensitivities can be caused and can cause many health issues such as eczema, asthma, allergies, IBS, heartburn and more.

Low stomach acid can cause the inability to fight off microbes in our food, inability to absorb nutrients and can cause heartburn and indigestion. This can cause a false indication of too much stomach acid where a person may be given acid blockers that decrease stomach acid even more!

Gut infections and parasites can cause horrible discomfort and diarrhea or constipation.

Leaky gut, or intestinal permeability, can stimulate the immune system to attack food that you normally don’t have any problems with, causing a sudden intolerance to certain foods. It can also be the cause of the body attacking itself leading to autoimmune disease.

Low vitamin D is a nutrient that is needed to keep the cells of the intestinal lining tight together. Without it the cells pull apart causing leaky gut.

Stress robs the body of a “rest and digest” state. This will decrease the body’s ability to digest and absorb food properly and lead to nutrient deficiencies, undigested food, heartburn, indigestion and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

Probiotics are the residents of the gut microbiome. There are more beneficial bacteria in the body than human cells. When there is an imbalance in gut bacteria there is an imbalance in mood as well.

Constipation can lead to a toxic overload of things like xenoestrogens (fake estrogens that can cause cancer and imbalance).

Diarrhea can lead to dehydration and mineral imbalance resulting in cramping muscles, dizziness and fatigue amongst other problems.

Reflux and ulcers can cause damage to the intestinal lining.

Questions to Ask Yourself

When trying to figure out where your skin or gut symptoms are coming from and what to do about it, answer the following questions first.

1. When did my symptoms start?
2. Did anything else happen at that time that might have caused it? Stress and travel included.
3. Have I had these symptoms before?
4. If yes, what did I do to resolve them then?
5. Has anyone in my family had these symptoms?
6. If yes, what did they do to resolve them?
7. What do I eat and drink in a day?
8. Do I take the time to chew my food thoroughly?
9. Do I eat in a peaceful setting?
10. Do I take any medication or supplements that can cause my symptoms?
11. Are there any food or products in my life that may be causing my symptoms?

First…Get Adjusted

Chiropractic spinal adjustments were shown to significantly increase diversity of the gut microbiome, increase butyrate-producing bacteria that feeds the gut lining and decrease allergic airway inflammation.

In other words, getting your spine aligned can help your gut function better (which can also help keep your skin healthy)

I am a kinesiologist. I test muscles for imbalances. This allows me to identify what your specific body needs at that point in time. It’s pretty amazing!!

Next…

Eliminate any Food Sensitivities

Ways to identify food sensitivities:

Muscle Testing (find an experienced practitioner…like me 🙂

Elimination Diet

IgG blood tests (can have false positives and false negatives)

Scratch test from an allergist (inaccurate for most food sensitivities)

Top food allergens are:

• WHEAT
• MILK
• SOY
• EGGS
• FISH
• SHELLFISH
• NUTS
• PEANUTS

Check for Optimal Vitamin D Levels

Make sure your doctor is testing your vitamin D level at least yearly. It should be around 70 ng/ml on a blood test (65-75 is a good range)

Improve your Microbiome

Eat fermented foods (just make sure you are not sensitive to them first)

• Sauerkraut
• Kimchee
• Kefir
• Yogurt
• Pickled vegetables

Get Things Movin’

Constipation needs to be resolved. Make sure you are having at least one bowel movement a day without straining. Watch this video for a great tip for great poopin’

I hope learning about your gut is interesting and helpful.

Coming up is a wild ride through the digestive tract. Hope you will join me.