The health of our gut is so vital to health and well-being and is key to decreasing inflammation and pain in the body. Now what occurs in the body also occurs in the brain and the gut is now being referred to as the “second brain”. So what can we do to ensure a healthy gut and a healthy body? How is repairing our gut health the key to living a pain-free life? Well, let’s take a look at the role the gut plays in inflammation and overall health as well as what Functional Medicine calls “the 4 R’s Gut Repair Protocol”.
The Gut and its Role in Inflammation
When you eat foods that cause inflammation and you are over-stressed, get poor sleep, lack exercise and don’t eat enough fiber-rich foods, bad things can occur in the body and especially the gut. In fact, you can begin to develop what is called “leaky gut”. This is when food particles actually cause punctures in the tight junctions of our intestinal wall which then allows for these elements to leak into our system. Your body recognizes these as foreign invaders and begins to attack. This causes the formation of antibodies which creates an inflammatory cycle. Now our intestines and colon are home to over 400 species that have been identified. This makes up what is called the microbiome. Our microbiome plays essential roles in immune, inflammatory, digestion, nutrition, and brain function including mood, personality, and emotions. Studies prove just how much our microbiome actually affect overall health. In fact, the microbiome is so important in human health that is has been found that a disturbance of the microbiome as an infant has been associated with disease later in life. Research shows that inflammatory diseases such as irritable bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and obesity can cause a disruption in the harmony of your gut bacteria known as dysbiosis. Now with obesity comes inflammation and often pain. In addition to obesity, research has also proven a link between our microbiome and obesity-related metabolic disorders such as type II diabetes and low-grade inflammation.
Now we also know that external and internal factors can change the type and number of the microbial species that exist in our gut including but not limited to the inflammatory state of the host, diet, genetics, stress, emotions, and environmental factors like toxins. Medications like NSAID’s, antibiotics, antacids and steroidal medications can also disrupt the microbiome immensely. These can all lead to leaky gut, the disruption of the microbiome and the spread of inflammation throughout the entire body. Now the inflammatory process is just our body doing its job to repair damage. When damage occurs from foreign bacteria or fungi or mold, for instance, certain danger signals are triggered which then causes the inflammatory process to begin. This process will continue until the damage is repaired. Now in many cases, the damage continues to occur and so does the inflammation process. This involves an accumulation of neutrophils in the inflamed tissue, and in chronic inflammation, lymphocytes, macrophages and plasma cells to the sites where damage is present.
In functional medicine, the patient is treated holistically. This means functional medicine seeks to find the root cause of disease, take out the bad and put in the good to awaken the body’s own innate ability to heal itself. Now functional medicine does focus greatly on the gut and its’ health. The 4 R’s gut repair protocol addresses this very idea of taking out the bad and putting in the good to restore gut function and overall health.
The 4 R’s Gut Repair Protocol
In functional medicine the 4 R’s protocol involves the following:
Remove, Replace, Repopulate, and Repair.
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Remove
Remove the bad. The goal is to get rid of things that disrupt the microbiome of the GI tract such as inflammatory foods, infections and irritants like alcohol, caffeine or drugs. Inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs, and sugar can lead to food sensitivities. An Elimination Diet and IgG food sensitivity testing would be helpful to determine if any foods are a problem for you. Infections can be from parasites, yeast or bacteria. Removing the infections may require treatment with herbs, anti-parasite herbs, antifungals or even antibiotics short-term.
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Replace
Replace with the good. Add back in the essential things for proper digestion and absorption that may have been depleted by a poor diet, drugs such as antacid medications, antibiotics, NSAID’s and steroidal medications. This includes digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid and bile acids that are required for proper digestion. It’s also essential to put in the good from your diet. Some foods that will provide antioxidants, fight inflammation and provide good fiber to make your gut bugs extra happy are healthy fats, organic fruits and vegetables, fish and lean meats.
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Repopulate
Repopulating your gut with beneficial bacteria to re-establish a healthy balance is essential. With enough of the good bacteria, they can kill and compete with the bad guys. This may be done by taking a probiotic supplement that contains beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria, lactobacillus species and saccharomyces. It is recommended to look for anywhere from 15 -100 billion units a day. Also, taking a prebiotic (food for the good bacteria) supplement or consuming foods high in soluble fiber is important. Eating fermented foods like full-fat coconut milk yogurt and kefir, sauerkraut, and kombucha can also work great to get the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
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Repair
Providing the necessary nutrients and supplements such as L-glutamine work really great for helping to repair and re-build the lining of the gut. Other key nutrients include zinc, omega-3 fish oils, vitamin A, C, E as well as herbs such as slippery elm and aloe vera and licorice root.
If you struggle with pain, inflammation, poor digestion and just poor health you may want to explore the protocol using the information covered here. Following the 4 R’s program for healing the gut has been proven to work beautifully.
Above all, a healthy lifestyle will go a long way to helping you achieve a healthy microbiome and overall good health. This includes getting proper sleep, plenty of regular exercise, managing stress levels, avoiding environmental toxins and toxic foods, eating a nutrient-dense diet and taking quality supplements.
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In health,
Dr. Joe Tatta, DPT, CCN
References
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3145058/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257638/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23618829
