Intestinal Health and Your Immune System -- Boost it for Fall and Flu Season!

I decided to reverse the order I was going to do new blogs and put my summary about intestinal health from an integrative medicine perspective up today because I just read an article in the August 17th  Time magazine last night about influenza (those that know me know to tease me about my choice of bedtime reading).  Last week I was kind of sidetracked with all the hoopla over President Obama coming to Grand Junction and wasn't keeping up with the other news and hadn't realized there is quite a lot of concern about the pattern in the past of influenza not really sweeping until school returns (and I wonder if it is somewhat seasonal).  I still will write about why it is Grand Junction was chosen -- it's quite an interesting story.  But perhaps really important to get people thinking about, and acting upon, their immune systems ASAP. 

Per Christopher Lepisto, ND in his great co-presentation with Audrey Barrett, MSAOM LAc (acupuncture and Oriental medicine) of the Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado, there is quite a lot of lymph system within the gut, something called 'secretory IgA' which has super immune effects.  It activates the immune system.  There is a normal 'flora' in the intestines, which stays in balance.  That would be bacteria, yeast, etc.  This naturally stays in check, but with modern life -- chemicals, foods we eat, and particularly antibiotics -- this balance can get out of whack.   A lot of what we can be doing to keep our immune system up to par is to be eating and drinking as best we can and supplementing the benefical bacteria, such as probiotic products.  I really liked his analogy about wolves and rabbits in nature: if you kill the wolves, the rabbits overpopulate.  Which is what happens if 'antibiotics' (against bacteria) are taken -- the 'critters' like candida yeast can overpopulate.  Populations which have good balance of digestive flora due to their diet, can have virtually no cancer and overall less disease!

The intestines do a lot for us.  They protect our bodies from chemicals, toxins, undigested food, immune complexes such as food allergies, and virus/bacteria.  Interestingly, Dr. Oz has said that the tissue of the intestine is very similar to the tissue of the brain and you can see quite a parallel between what is going on in the gut and in brain function. 

One of the most common intestinal problems is irritable bowel syndrome, or 'IBS'.  The typical age of onset is in the 20s.  IBS is a common complaint with people who have fibromyalgia, which many of Lumigrate's readers have.  It can be brought on by low fiber, food allergies, alcohol, drugs (properly prescribed or illegal), hormones such as birth control pills or other non-biologically idental hormones), personality, stress and childhood trauma.  Diverticulitis is another intestinal condition where the intestine material pouches out and gets inflamed.  The risk factors for diverticulitis are: consuming saturated and oxydated fats, and chronic constipation.  Inflammatory bowel disease are autoimmune conditions which causes actual holes to form in the intestines.  Interestingly the risk factors for this are tobacco and caffeine, sugar and high fructose corn syrup (because ingesting sugar depresses the immune system for up to 8 hours) AND .... childhood second hand and third hand smoke!  (Third hand is what accumulates on the walls.  My mother was a smoker and it amazed me that years after she died there was still residue when you cleaned objects in the house.).  Different intestinal conditions respond differently to forms of fiber, so it is always recommended you start slowly when adding a fiber supplement such as psyllium.  Looking at labels of these products can sometimes indicate there are artifical colorings which might lead you to shift to another brand to get 'closer to nature'. 

As always, I like to give the highlights and then send you on to resources while we develop these materials into something available to you here in more detail.  The guidelines Dr. Lepisto provided for health nutrition are:

• Eat a plant-based diet; meat in reasonable amounts and lean. 
• Chose health-promoting fats (and we need to do an entry just on that it appears from the interest in it).  Nuts, seeds, ollive oil and organic butter, avoiding hydrogenated (trans-) and refined fats and oils.  For cooking: butter, coconut, peanut and safflower oil are best and keeping the heat medium-high or lower. 
• Get adequate protein from lean sources and plants, such as dairy, legumes, nuts and seeds.  Chose whole grains, fruits and vegetables which include fiber.  Minimum fiber intake should be 30 grams. 
• Sweeteners: Some can affect the balance of yeast and others don't: agave, brown rice syrup, rice nectar, raw honey, stevia, pure maple syrup or xylitol are fine. 
• Processed foods, sugar and other refined carbohydrates, caffeine and alcohol should be taken moderately. 
• Buying organic whenever possible reduces expusre to pesticides, herbacides, hormones and antibiotics and is likely grown in soils that are more nutrient-rich. 
• Wash fruits and vegetables to remove residues, and eliminate artificial coloring, preservatives and food additives. 
• Use sea salt (good ones will have a pink or grey color) as it is balanced with potassium. 
• Drink adequate water -- half your body weight per day in ounces (if you weight 150, drink 75 oz). Water should be free of chemicals, and reverse osmosis is a preferred type. 
• Identify and eliminate food allergies (refer to our video by Dr. Lepisto on this topic for more information).
• Modify your dietary choices to meet YOUR needs.
• Fiber: very important to note that the intestines are susceptible to reabsorbing toxins, so the longer something stays in the intestines without 'moving along and out', the more absorption of toxins can happen.  This is a very important concept.  Psyllium can absorb toxins and has little 'brushes' that actually work to stimulate the intestine cells.   
• Supplementing Probiotics: Generally, taking 1-5 billion/day for maintenance is recommended.  After antibiotics are stopped, sometimes doses of 120 billion/day are recommended.  People with chronic medical conditions typically need higher, something around 24 billion/day.  There is quite a lot to do with quality of probiotics and there are even some on the market now that are designed to make it past the stomach acids to the intestines before desolving, or are forms that can withstand the stomach acid.  I was amazed when I was at Walgreens looking at their selection -- they have a lot of very progressive stuff.  I was at the grocery store this weekend and looked and they only had one brand, but it was one that is manufactured to withstand stomach acid and has many billions of probiotics which are hopefully working on my immune system right now ... 'tis the season for return to school around here! 

I'll come back another time and talk about the five element theory Audrey brought to the picture about digestive problems -- it is very interesting.  You might want to look it up in the mean time if you're interested.

More about Audrey and Dr. Lepisto can be found at the website for the Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado:  www.imcwc.com. 

Please look at the Time magazine article or other reliable news sources about influenza as it is very important that we not lose sight of it. 

And if you're wondering about some guidance regarding products, remember Lumigrate.com's website has a 'Products' area which can rapidly at least guide people to see what our experts suggest related to the seminars that are on video on Lumigrate.com.  That will always be growing and changing as well, and we hope it helps you know better what brands to select and purchase in your local area or elsewhere online.  There are many good brands and lots of good places to obtain them, but do take some time to do homework and make a good choice about your products and vendors.