The gut strongly influences both physical and mental health

Saturday, July 23, 2011 by: Paul Fassa
Tags: gut health, brain, health news

(NewsTarget) Over the past few years, a few pioneers of western medicine have connected most health problems to an unhealthy gastro-intestinal (GI) tract. Hippocrates proclaimed all disease begins in the gut. Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine has known this for thousands of years. Most of mainstream modern medicine has yet to accept recent rediscoveries of this fact. And the acceptance gap has just increased. GI tract connections to mental health have been established.

The Gut and Health

Years of bucking the system and struggling for research funding has led UK Professor Jeremy Nicholson to conclude " ... almost every sort of disease has a gut bug." Initially, there was almost no interest in Jeremy's research. But there has been more interest lately.

His focus has been on deciphering the roles of different pro-biotic strains, of which there are many, and their relationship to how they signal areas outside the gut. It's been discovered that our friendly intestinal bacteria go beyond even their important role of digestion.

Intestinal flora or friendly bacteria have to exceed hostile microbes to be effective. If spread out on a flat surface, the inner linings of our GI tract would cover a tennis court. For starters, the friendly bacteria that colonize this vast inner surface produce the acids necessary to assimilate nutrients into our blood. Those acids transport our food's nutrients through the gut linings in forms that our cells can recognize.

That's just the beginning. The friendly little gut critters also minimize microbes that aren't so friendly. That includes fungal infections such as Candida. Even supplements don't get absorbed sufficiently without substantial healthy intestinal flora. Healthy gut flora actually create Vitamins K2 and the B vitamins daily to maintain proper levels of those nutrients.

Healthy gut flora also signal appropriate reactions to pollutants and pathogens that trigger immune system activity. This activity includes T-cell actions. Many knowledgeable scientists have ascertained that approximately eighty percent of our immune system depends on the GI tract's friendly bacteria.

Mental/Behavioral Connections to Gut Flora

It's not just theory. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome, has been curing children with behavioral problems in her UK pediatric clinic with dietary restoration and balance of intestinal flora. She learned her methods by curing her autistic son.

She notes that early childhood diseases and behavioral problems often occur because the mother's intestinal flora was weak or destroyed during delivery. The baby inherits it by swallowing the mother's fluid upon exiting the womb. Then there are the vaccines and tainted foods. Perhaps this is why breast feeding and avoiding vaccinations does produce more healthy children.

The behavioral and psychological disorders cover the full spectrum of what's become epidemic over the last few decades. This spectrum includes "autism, hyperactivity and attention deficit, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders and more." These behavioral patterns overlap. They are not separate boxes that psychiatry has established to prescribe specific toxic drugs.

If the damaged intestinal flora doesn't affect the child psychologically, then it will physically. Asthma, allergies, and eczema appear during early childhood. With a damaged immune signal system, the child is also more prone to illness than someone with an intact immune system. More vaccinations exacerbate this issue.

Antibiotics or intake from commercial dairy and meats tainted with antibiotics destroy our friendly flora. So do processed foods and GMOs. There are dietary measures for restoring a healthy gut. Dr. Campbell-McBride has one in her book. Powerful probiotic supplements do help initially. But probiotic sources from fermented foods and water and milk kefirs should be probiotic staples.

Sources for more information include:

Site that includes a UK video lecture by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride http://www.purenewyou.com/shop/index.php?mai...

Why the Gut Connection Effects Your Brain http://www.alternet.org/food/150783/mind-gut...

Article by Dr. Campbell-McBride http://gaps.me/?page_id=20

For those who can handle some serious technical terms http://www.slideshare.net/metametrix/the-gut...

Your Health and Probiotics http://healthmaven.blogspot.com/2011/07/gut-...

About the author

Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com