Digestive Disorders And Incomplete Digestion

The lining of the digestive tract can be damaged by overuse of antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, chemotherapy, alcohol consumption, antacids, too much sugar, stress, bacteria, toxic chemicals, parasites, fungal infection, some foods and various other means. A leaky gut allows food particles to enter the blood stream undigested, thus leading to food intolerances.

Leaky gut and incomplete digestion go hand in hand. Leaky gut allows not only oversized undigested particles to enter the blood stream but also bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. When this happens there is an alarm that goes off in the immune system. The immune system builds antibodies against these foreign molecules. This leads to a vicious cycle of allergic and autoimmune responses. Every time we eat something there is a lot of stress for the body that has a leaky gut. The longer this leaky gut and incomplete digestion exists, the less able the body systems are able to function correctly.

A leaky gut can result in many different types of illnesses such as:

• Autistic behavior
• Food allergies/intolerances
• Inhalant allergy
• Chemical sensitivities
• Cancer
• Alcohol consumption intolerance
• Weak immunity(recurrent infections)
• Celiac disease
• Chronic candidiasis (yeast infections)
• Asthma, bronchitis, respiratory infections
• Shortness of breath
• Skin rashes, hives, eczema
• Allergic sinusitis, nasal congestion
• Nasal polyps and sinus infections
• Chronic tonsillitis, and otitis media
• Arthritis and chronic joint pain
• Abdominal pain and bloating
• Constipation/and or diarrhea
• Indigestion or flatulence
• Mucus or blood in stool
• Fatigue, chronic tiredness
• Confusion, poor memory
• Fuzzy thinking
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Poor exercise tolerance

 Healing the Intestinal Wall & Leaky Gut

(This information is for illustration purposes only and should not be implemented without consulting a health professional well-versed in nutrition and digestive disorders.)

The intestinal wall is highly regenerative. If given total rest from all irritants, it will repair itself in four to five days. If damage is extensive, healing needs considerably more time. Healing needs to be total in order for the body's over all health to be restored.

A leaky gut cannot process large protein molecules, so these should be avoided. Starches and disaccharide sugars (sucrose, lactose) are also to be avoided because a damaged intestinal wall is unable to produce the final enzymes needed to break them down. Incompletely digested starches and sugars remain in the gut, fermenting and feeding pathogenic bacteria Candida and other microbes that continue to attack the intestinal wall. It is also necessary to avoid any foods to which a person has unique sensitivities. To continue eating these is to keep stressing the intestinal lining.

There is only one form of sugar that is most compatible with healing leaky gut. It is fructose (fruit sugar). Fructose is a monosaccharide, a simple sugar that is ready to be absorbed through the intestinal wall without requiring any action by digestive enzymes. Fructose has the same chemical formula as glucose, but its molecule twists in the opposite direction. Before the body can use fructose, the liver has to change it into glucose, a conversion that takes about 22 minutes or so. Thus fructose is not released into the bloodstream quite as quickly as glucose.

Foods to Avoid
In order to heal the leaky gut and indigestion it is necessary to eliminate ALL of the following:

• Grains(amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgar, corn, cous-cous, kamut, millet, oats, quinoa, white rice, brown rice, wild rice, semolina, spelt, triticale, wheat, flax seeds)
• Milk products (cows milk, goats milk, rice milk, soy milk, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream., ice milk, kefir, quark, yogurt ,chocolate)
• Legumes (peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy, tofu, etc.)
• Starchy vegetables (beets, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, turnip, yams)
• High glycemic fruits ( banana, dried fruits, fruit juices)
• Sugars (brown sugar, white sugar, cane sugar, cane juice, corn syrup, Demerara sugar, dextri-maltose, dextrose, glucose, icing sugar, malto-dextrin, maltose, maple sugar, molasses, raw sugar, rice syrup, sucrose, table sugar, turbinado sugar)
• Artificial sweeteners (splenda, NutraSweet, equal, sweet-n- low, etc.)
• Food dyes (all artificial dyes, all colors that have a number after their name - example - red 10, yellow 3, etc.)
• Alcoholic beverages (regardless of source)
• No red meat

The Length of Treatment
The intestinal healing program consists of two parts, each part lasting three weeks. The entire program is six months long.

Part 1 includes only those foods on the "acceptable" list. Homeopathic remedies may also be taken, but no vitamins, mineral, glandular or herbal supplements of any kind (also no spices and no herbal teas).

Part 2 includes dietary guidelines that are the same as part 1 , except that the protein foods may be added, such as eggs , fish (only wild, not farmed, from deep northern seas, with scales but no tuna), poultry (only organic), fermented soy (miso, tempeh, or tofu only) may be consumed(preferably organic). Every time protein is eaten, an appropriate number of tablets of the Digestive Enzyme Formula are also to be taken. All vitamin/ mineral/herbal/glandular supplements appropriate to the individual's needs are also to be taken during this phase. Proteins may be combined with the non-starchy vegetables and with the olive oil, but not with fruits and not with the elemental meal replacement formula.

The complete program consists of three weeks on Part 1, followed by three weeks on Part 2, followed by three weeks on Part 1...and so on...for up to six months to heal the most stubborn cases. It is a strict and challenging program to follow, but it is what the small intestine needs in order to do its own healing in the shortest possible time. If at any time the program should cause undue hardship, then modify it - either by adding particular supplements to Part 1, or by shortening the time spent on Part 1 and lengthening the time spent on Part 2. Dairy products, grains, legumes, starches, and disaccharide sugars are the enemies of intestinal healing. If you must consume any of them during the program, do so infrequently. Your body can more easily handle a large quantity consumed once in a while than it can small amounts eaten every day.

The leaky gut both absorbs what it should not and does not absorb what it should. Its ability to absorb essential fatty acids, certain vitamins (e.g., A, D, E, B-12, folic acid) and certain minerals (e.g., copper, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc) is greatly impaired. Thus, a person with this syndrome may have significant deficiencies of several key nutrients in spite of an adequate intake of them. Supplements with generous amounts of these factors can both compensate for their poor absorption and speed the healing process.

The Diet

Part 1 (Weeks 1 through 3)
This part of the diet consists only of the following foods:

• "The elemental Nutrient formula", this is a powdered protein-fiber formula developed to help heal the leaky gut. It consists of a) hydrolyzed lactalbumin 40%, b) vegetable fiber 40%,c) fructose 20%. Blend with spring or filtered water and add fresh whole organic fruits (no fruit juice) to make a smoothie.
• Eat all the organic whole fresh fruit you want to satisfy hunger from the following choices: apples, apricots, berries(all kinds),cantaloupe, cherries, crabapples, currants, figs, grapefruit, grapes, guava, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemons, limes, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, peaches, pears, persimmon, pineapple, plums, pomegranate, star fruit, tangerine, watermelon.
• Eat all the organic fresh non-starchy vegetables you want to satisfy hunger from the following choices: alfalfa sprouts, artichokes, asparagus, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, beet greens, bell peppers, bok choi, broccoli, Brussels spouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chicory greens, chives, cilantro, clove sprouts, collard greens, crookneck squash, cucumber, daikon, dandelion greens, eggplant, endive, escarole, fennel, garlic, ginger, green beans, horseradish, iceberg lettuce, jicima, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, onions , radish, romaine lettuce, mustard greens, parsley, pickles, sauerkraut, scallions, snap peas, snow peas, spaghetti squash, wax beans, squash , spinach, summer squash, Swiss chard, tomatillo, tomatoes, turnip greens, watercress, wax beans, yellow beans, zucchini.
• Organic olive oil, 2 to 3 tablespoonfuls per day, taken at the same time as the non-starchy vegetables (e.g., as a salad dressing). Also take one teaspoon cod liver oil twice a day.
• Honey (a source of fructose), one table spoon per day, between meals or with fruits.
• Beverages: purified water, herbal teas, decaffeinated teas, decaffeinated coffee.
• Condiments: lemon juice, lime juice, apple cider vinegar,

All of the above are to be consumed according to the following guidelines:

• Have the largest meal of the day at noon.
• Wait three hours after any meal that contains olive oil before consuming the next meal or snack.
• Wait 30 minutes after fruit or "the elemental protein-fiber formula" before consuming a meal that contains olive oil
• As long the above timing guidelines are followed, fresh fruit or veggies (without oil) may be consumed as a separate snack as often as desired throughout the day.
• Drink all the spring water you want ideally half an hour before taking a major meal, and wait two hours after you finish the major meal before drinking again. Drink water, at least 30% of your body wait in fluid ounces per day.
• Take two capsules of probiotics twice a day at the beginning of a major meal.
• Add one table spoon finely ground psyllium hulls to each protein-fiber mixture.

Part 2 (Weeks 4 through 6)
The dietary guidelines are the same as in Part 1, except that protein foods are added, such as eggs, fish, poultry, fermented soy (miso, tempeh, or tofu only) maybe consumed. Try to consume organic foods only. Every time protein is eaten, an appropriate number of digestive enzymes must also be taken. All vitamin/mineral/herbal/glandular supplements appropriate to the individual's needs are also to be taken during this phase. Proteins may be combined with the non-starchy vegetables and with the olive oil, but not with fruits and not with "the elemental meal formula". You may introduce nuts in part 2.

Footnotes

• This diet is modified from "David W. Rowland , 2001" - with many thanks.
• Consult with your doctor before getting off any medications.
• Some disease states require further dietary modifications and or restrictions, consult with a trained health professional for such modifications.
• For autistic children or anyone on chelation, it is OK to include glutathione, chelating agents, and B12
• Use the SCD Diet Book for Recipes.
• For additional information go to http://www.scdiet.org/
• The book reference which also includes recipes is Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet, by Elaine Gloria Gottschall. It can be ordered on Amazon.com.
• Other web resources are:
• The year 1994 comes from an account of the Gluten free/Casein free diet found through autism.about.com. The account is available at: http://members.aol.com/lisas156/gfpak.htm
• http://autism.about.com/cs/gfcfdiet/a/casinfree.htm
• http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/autism/about_autism.htm
• http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/beginners_guide/ the_science_behind_the_diet2.htm