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Leaky Gut – It Really is a Thing!

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You may have heard about leaky gut as something some people suffer with or maybe it’s been suggested that you have it. Leaky gut is a condition that is increasingly being diagnosed in the world of nutritional medicine and integrative health and is associated with many chronic health conditions, so what is it, why does it happen and what does it mean to have leaky gut?

The correct term is intestinal hyper-permeability and it describes an issue with the digestive system where the lining of the small intestine become overly porous. The small intestine is designed to be permeable. It is how we are able to absorb the nutrients from our food within the intestine, into the blood stream, where the nutrients then get circulated around the body to nourish our cells.

Due to numerous diet and lifestyle triggers,  these tiny openings within the gut wall can become too large, allowing far more than just nutrients to pass into the bloodstream. Poorly digested proteins, for example gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and other food particles and  pathogens can pass through the gut wall and once in the bloodstream, the immune system detects foreign invaders are present in the blood and initiates an immune response against them. Put simply, this immune response puts the body in a state of high alert and inflammation, and if this is sustained over a long period of time, symptoms can be extensive and debilitating. From extreme fatigue to skin conditions; joint pain; bloating and/or disrupted bowel function / IBS; food cravings; weight gain; fluid retention are all commonly experienced. If this situation continues, it may also lead to allergies and food sensitivities to the very foods you are eating regularly as particles of these foods are in the blood, triggering the immune system to produce antibodies against these foods. Hence, food intolerance testing may be more helpful at highlighting leaky gut rather than an issue with specific foods per se.

Many people also suffer with frequent headaches, brain fog and mood disorders, a sign that the toxins leaking through the intestinal barrier are passing across the blood brain barrier, which can also become ‘leaky’. It is also becoming increasingly accepted that many, possibly all auto-immune disorders, are at least in part triggered by a leaky gut, where the immune system becomes so overwhelmed by the toxic ‘leaking’ into the bloodstream that it can become confused and begin to attack healthy tissue by mistake.

What is happening within the lining of the gut is an opening up of the tight junctions, the gate keepers of the cells that line the gut. There are many potential causes and this is an area of on-going research and understanding but common factors known to trigger gut hyper-permeability are:

• Eating quickly / when stressed: we can only digested and assimilated well when we are in a calm and relaxed state. Poor chewing, eating quickly and on the go, eating when stressed and rushed over long periods of time can result in a weakened and damaged gut lining.

 • Gluten:  For some people gluten, found in high levels in wheat, but also rye, barley, spelt,  is a major trigger, even if there is no actual allergy or obvious sensitivity to gluten. Gluten appears to increase levels of a protein we make in the gut called Zonulin, which controls the opening and closing of the tight junctions. The more gluten consumed, the more Zonulin produced, the more openings of the tight junctions.  

• Lectins & Glyphosate: lectins are proteins in many natural foods but especially high and therefore problematic in grains (esp. gluten-containing grains), soy and cow’s milk. Lectins are hard to digest and thought to be common triggers for leaky gut. These foods are more of a problem now than in the past because they have high residual levels of a chemical used in their production, called glyphosate, a chemical that is used as a weed killer and crop desiccator (drying out the crop just prior to harvest) but is actually an antibiotic, which is known to not only negatively affect our vitally important healthy gut microbes but also triggers the tight junctions to open excessively.

• Sugar: With sugar being so ubiquitous in the modern diet,  it can also be a culprit for triggering leaky gut as sugar can facilitate an over-growth of sugar and yeast- loving microbes that upset the pH balance and function of the intestine, leading to a damaged gut wall.

• Refined cooking oils: often still hailed as healthybut widely accepted as inflammatory and damaging to the gut, cooking oils such as sunflower, corn, rapeseed, vegetable and soy oils are best avoided as much as possible.

• Other Factors: Poor sleep, excess alcohol, infections, diabetes, malnutrition and many other factors could cause this , but mending a leaky gut is not, by any means, an impossibility. Certain medications taken long-term and antibiotics are also potential triggers as can food additives, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers.

To heal a leaky gut, here are some dos and don’ts:

  • Stay off all gluten and ideally all grains and soy for at least 12 weeks
  • Greatly reduce or avoid sugary foods and artificial sweeteners
  • Attempt to practice time-restricted eating on an on-going basis, having at least 12 hours every night from last calories to first calories the next day, working up to 16 – 18 hours of no food at least 2 consecutive days a week
  • Eat foods rich in gelatin / collagen. As well as Head-Cheese (see previous post), drinking bone broth regularly and use in soups and stews is very helpful. You can also take collagen supplements / add good quality collagen powder to foods and drinks
  • Consume coconut-based foods as coconut contains special fatty acids that can aid in gut healing
  • Eat a wide range of raw fermented foods
  • Eat plenty of foods containing healthy fats from oily fish, avocados, soaked and /or sprouted nuts and seeds, coconut, grass-fed meat
  • Avoid milk but do have fermented dairy products esp. made from raw and/or goat and sheep milk. Dairy kefir is especially helpful
  • Grass-fed butter: full fat dairy products made from milk of grass-fed animals contains good levels of a short chain fatty acid call butyric acid. This is also produced by our healthy gut bacteria and is essential for healthy gut wall function.

If you think you may have leaky gut, there are tests available to measure compounds in the blood that should not be there and must have come from a leaky gut. Lipopolysaccharides

are large molecules produced by our gut bacteria and should only ever exist in the gut. If they can be detected in the bloodstream, it shows your gut lining is porous enough to let these big, toxic nasties get through.  Also, you can drink a solution of large sugar molecules and these can then be detected in the bloodstream if your gut is leaky. However, before you go down this route, it is really worth putting in to practice my recommendations above, as all of them will not only help heal a leaky gut, but will aid in your overall well-being – so nothing to lose and potentially so much to gain.

Head Cheese Anyone?

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Head cheese (yum!), otherwise known as brawn, is a terrine traditionally made with scraps of meat from animals such as pigs or cows and set in aspic or jelly made from the slow cooking of the head of the animal. This traditional European peasant dish is still popular in some countries. In the UK however, we are losing some of these dishes that would have made the most of every tiny morsel. Nothing is wasted with a dish like brawn. Thankfully the concept of nose to tail eating is coming back in to vogue, but it also now tends to have a hefty price tag. If you buy cheap, gristly cuts of meat and cook them long and slow, the meat will be tender and far easier to digest while containing way more nutrients than the lean muscle meats like chciken breast or pork loin.

Slow-cooking the head of an animal produces a gelatin-rich broth, teaming with nutrients and the gelatin, giving the jelly-like quality, allows a terrine to be set. Gelatin provides the body with lots of collagen, the most abundant protein in the body and required for good joints, healthy skin, hair and nails. Collagen is also a really important component of a healthy gut lining.

This photograph my husband’s lunch taken recently in a Gasthof in Austria.  The dish is called  Eierschwammerlsulz. Eierschwammer is the word for chanterelle mushrooms, themselves full of nutrients including B vitamins and vitamin D, and sulz meaning brawn. Here you see it served with some green leafy salad dressed in extra virgin olive oil and finely sliced raw red onions steeped in apple cider vinegar. This is a standard Austrian dish, packs a serious nutritional punch. It’s not considered fancy nor is it expensive yet this traditional meal combines a wide range of macro and micro nutrients, antioxidants and crucially tons of taste and texture.

Making dishes like brawn, and so many more traditional dishes, make great use of every part of the animal.  Simply slow simmering bones and cartilage of any leftovers from a roast will provide a rich liquor full of nutrients and if it is gelatinous when cold, you know it contains gelatin, providing collagen. Collagen supplement are all the rage at the moment, but you can get a good dose simply slow cooking the bones you would normally throw away.

This is chicken broth I made recently and used to make a simple veg soup that was super tasty thanks to the broth. I freeze organic chicken carcassess from a roast and then pop a couple in a big pot of water with some veg, herbs and a slug of apple cider vinegar and 12 hours later it’s done. Drink as a hot broth to boost immunity or add to any soup or stew for whole different level of taste and nutrition.

From a gut health and therefore overall health perspective, the broader range of foods, the better, so, if travelling, be brave and try something you’ve never eaten before; or maybe aim to make a new dish once a week / a month, to experience new tastes and textures that can also provide critical nutrients that may be missing in your regular diet. Buy a cook book with recipes from countries or cuisines you’re not familiar with so you can experience new combinations and textures and build confidence in using a wider range of herbs and spices.

A nice challenge that I like to do wherever possible is to try and have 15 ingredients on my plate. This will usually include salt and pepper, olive oil and garlic – there’s 4 already. Add in a range of salad leaves, a few vegetables, some protein etc., it’s a great thing to work towards as you’ll start adding in extra spices, healthy oils, a wider range of fresh produce and now you’ve supercharged your meal from being good to great!

Managing Your Body’s Inflammation

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I recently had the very great pleasure of recording a podcast with the author and science journalist Maria Borelius. Her book, ‘Health Revolution’ has been translated from Swedish, her mother tongue, in to English, and it is selling like healthy hot cakes! The book chronicles her journey from being tired, unwell, menopausal and overweight, with sugar cravings and brain fog to being fabulous, fit and mentally so fired up that she has since written another book called ‘Bliss’.

Maria’s enquiring mind demanded that she undestood why she was feeling so low and so began her quest, traveling the world from India to LA, from Canada to the English countryside (that’s where I come in) and many places inbetween to ask experts in their field to help her help herself get well. In the process she came to realise that all of the places she went to and the specialists she spoke to, believed the same thing – that managing inflammtion in the body is fundamental to being able heal and thrive mentally, physically and spiritually.

The book is personal, often she is staggeringly honest and vulnerable and she never becomes virtiolic or preachy. There is struggle, failure and ultimately understanding and resoluton that certain dietary and lifestyle interventions, when done well and in a balanced way for the longterm, allow the body to beocme less inflamed and therefore more able to heal, renew and restore.

Unbenownst to me at the time, I play a small part in Maria’s quest for health. Maria came to Grayshott Medical Spa where I run a 7 day gut health regime. We discussed what gut health means; the microbiome; the influence of what we eat on our gut microbes and how they have a phenominally far reaching effect on every system in the body, not least managing our inflammatory responses. We discussed how every time we eat, or choose not to eat, we are having an influence on our health and therefore, choosing to feed the gut micorobes and our cells well, along with good sleep, stress management, appropriate exercise and regular relaxation, all contribute to our total, longterm well-being.

You can listen to the podacast HERE to find out not only what we talked about. There is also a podcast with a dermotologist, who talks about nurturing your body, and therefore your skin, before going for cosmetic enhancements, and a professor of psychiatry talking about inflammation in the brain.

Have a listen, read the book or simply consider that our day to day actions can be inflaming or de-flaming our bodies and brains. Inflammation is an essential acute reaction to injury or infection that saves our lives. Chronic inflammation, associated with poor diet, lack of sleep, chronic stress etc. is profoundly depleting. It is so very important to understand that while the body is inflamed, it is being damaged and it cannot heal.

My Essential Tips for Reducing Systemic, Chronic Inflammation:

  • Eat better – reduce all sugars and grains and avoid as much as possible refined cooking oils such as sunflower, corn, vegetable and soy etc.
  • Reduce your eating window to increase your fasting window i.e. 16:8 as often as possible
  • Feed your gut microbes with a wide range of fibre-rich foods (vegetables, berries, kiwi, lentils, beans, nuts and seeds (esp. if soaked); eat live, fermented foods such as raw sauerkraut, kimchi, live yogurt, traditionaly made cheeses and drink kefir and kombucha
  • Use raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar in dressings and as an anti-inflammatory and digestive aid by adding a little to some water and drinking at the start of your main meal
  • Have lots of good quality olive oil. The more peppery the better as this is a sign of polyphenol content, a type of antioxidant that your gut bugs love
  • Sleep more
  • Take time to stop, reflect and relax more
  • Walk in the countryside
  • Develop a daily practice of meditation or mindfullness in some form that suits you
  • Exercise in a way that you love, not loathe and allow recovery time in between. Too much exercise is inflammatory
  • Be inspired
  • Have gratitude

Maria and I are planning to run some weekends at Grayshott Spa late autumn, where we will give a talk together, host an exclusive lunch and take those who have signed up on a walk and talk around the beautiful grounds. If you are interested, let me know.

Carbs Are Not The Answer

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Thank you to the very lovely Polly of msmugs.com for my gift of this fabulous mug. Indeed, carbs are not the answer, certainly if they are highly refined and processed, but let’s not make an enemy of all carbs. The carbohydrate food group is huge. It includes all vegetables, fruit and grains as well as sugars. There are carbs in nuts and seeds, there are carbs in beans and lentils, there’s lots of carbs in milk. In fact, the only foods that contain very little to zero carbs are meat, fish, eggs, pure fats and oils and some forms of dairy foods such a mature cheeses and butter.

So the big conundrum is about how many carbs should we be eating and which forms of carbs are best. I am really opposed to using apps for counting food grams of any kind as this inevitably makes choosing what to eat an intellectual process rather than an instinctive, intuitive one. We need to think less and feel more about what to eat and when. Everyone has different needs based on many factors, not least activity levels, muscle-mass, gut bacteria and to a certain extent, genes.

The simple answer is to eat carbohydrate-based foods as they appear in nature, or as close to as possible; eat then in conjunction with a balance of other natural foods that contain protein and fat – think eggs, meat fish, cheese, and if they are foods that contained high levels of concentrated carbs, such as potatoes, grains (wheat, rice, corn, oats etc.) or something that contains sugars, keep them to a minimum.

Many of you know that I choose to avoid GPS foods (Grains, Potatoes and Sugars/Sweet Tasting Foods), as these are all high carbohydrate foods that convert very rapidly in to the blood stream as glucose (sugar). This can be a problem if your body doesn’t manage blood glucose levels well. The reality is that the majority of adults in the UK, indeed around the world, struggle to maintain healthy levels of glucose in the blood. We should be averaging around 1 teaspoon of glucose in the full 5 litres of our blood. This level will go up after foods, but the less it goes up and the more quickly it returns to base-line, the better for our health. To have chronically high blood glucose levels is so very bad for the brain and the body. It is something we all need to be aiming to avoid if we are to age well. Therefore, reducing or avoiding GPS foods serves that purpose.

Chronically high blood glucose levels can not only result in type 2 diabetes, it can cause fatty liver, fatty pancreas, general body fat increase, inflammation throughout the body, plaque accumulation in the brain, hardening of arteries and so many more life limiting illnesses, so it really is prudent, even if you have no apparent symptoms of ill health, to eat fewer of the foods that cause blood glucose to rapidly rise – the GPS foods.

If you are feeling tired, low, upset, bored, happy or all of the above, it can be so tempting to indulge in a doughnut or have a few biscuits with a cuppa because of the momentary pleasure a high carb food can bring. But refined grains, sweet foods, even potatoes very rapidly become sugar in the blood, triggering all sorts of reactions that can lead to wanting more to eat, to energy crashes, to insane sugar cravings and over the long term, serious health issues.

So no, Carbs Are Not The Answer however quick, convenient, cheap, available or desirable they may be. The longer you go without, the easier it is to continue to go without. Try 14 days of nothing sweet or starchy, not even fruit or artificial sweeteners (they are evil), stay off bread, crackers, pastries and biscuits; avoid processed foods as they will almost always contain some degree of grain flour, potatoes and / or sweetening agents, and notice how quickly you start to appreciate the joy of more subtly flavoured, natural foods. Use natural seasonings, herbs and spices to add nutrients and intertest and explore the joy of great quality natural fats and oils like butter, extra virgin olive oil, black seed oil, avocado and coconut to bring texture, flavor, unctuousness and ultimately satisfaction to your meals rather than going for a quick sugar hit. The long-term benefits are endless energy, clarity of mind, reduction in body fat and now more food monster moments…so why would you?

Why Drinking Water Doesn’t Help Us Hydrate

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Lately I have become very interested in hydration. Most people are aware that dehydration is not desirable and that drinking water throughout the day is advisable. The reality is, hydrating the body on a truly deep and useful level requires a whole lot more than just drinking plain water.

Many, if not all people in the Western world are dehydrated to some degree due to central heating, air conditioning and a highly processed, ‘dead’ diet that can further ‘dry-up’ the body. We lose around 1 litre of water through our breath and skin at night, so on waking we are all in need of rehydration just to start the day back at a well-hydrated state. We sweat out water when we are exercising, and we can trigger dehydration through excess alcohol, caffeine and chemical consumption. Dehydration on a tiny scale can cause major energy dips, headaches and a build-up of toxicity due to the thickening of the blood and lymph. This results in the slowing of the delivery of oxygen and other nutrients to your muscles and toxins being re-circulated rather than eliminated.

Dehydration on a cellular level can interfere with good cellular communication too. Once this starts to happen, we begin to compromise function of our cells. Getting nutrients in to the cells and toxins out of the cells suffers as does and the cells ability to communicate with the rest of the body, critical to enable your body to self-regulated the myriad of functions that are occurring second by second within the body.

The consequences to poor hydration on a cellular are unending and put simply, can only lead a perpetual decrease in good function and therefore, good health. Symptoms are likely to show up as fatigue; brain fog and poor concentration; poor digestion; hormonal deregulation; aches and pains; sluggish liver and so much more. Also, the body when dehydrated will not be able to benefit from otherwise healthful interventions such as exercise; the consumption of supplements; muscular and skeletal adjustments such as osteopathy and massage. The body cannot take on and hold these seemingly positive, external influences as the body is too ‘dry’, often resulting in negative rather than positive outcomes.

So how do we ensure we are getting in enough water and getting it to where it’s needed most? Well, let’s first look at the common belief that we need to be drinking 3 litres of water a day. I never suggest this to my patients. Having small, regular amounts of plain, non-tap water (due to the chlorine and other chemicals) throughout the day is a good idea, but it’s key to understand that plain water flushes through the kidneys and bladder, which is not at all a bad thing, but this does not provide water inside the cells. A regular flush can keep the kidneys functioning well and the bladder clear of infection, but this is a very different function to the water going in to, rather than through us. To hydrate on a cellular level, which is essential for the good function of all cells, you need to do the following on a daily basis:

Hydration Protocol

• Structure your Water: Every morning, on rising, drink a pint of warm water with the juice of half a lemon or lime. Also, add a very small amount of natural salt, ideally Rose Himalayan or similar and a teaspoon of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Adding Aloe Vera juice is also very useful. Drink slowly, use straw to protect your teeth and make this an absolute on a daily basis. You’ll soon miss it if you don’t.
Alternate throughout the day drinking herbals teas, plain water, and ‘structured’ water or diluted coconut water if exercising and sweating a lot. Water kefir, if not too sweet,is also a good

• Increase your daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. The water contained within fresh produce is in a structured form called gel water. This is highly hydrating. Succulent plants like Aloe Vera clearly hold their water in a gel-like structure, but all water inside vegetables is contained in this way and it is this structured, gel water that the cells utilise really well.

• Eat more ‘swollen’ foods such as beans and lentils, soaked nuts and seeds (see below).

• Eat soaked chia and flax seeds on a regular basis: These seeds absorb large amounts of water that is then taken up within the body: Put chia and flax in a bowl, cover well with water and leave overnight at room temperature. Eat the following day mixed with live natural yogurt, coconut yogurt or great to add to smoothies. If you have a grinder, you will get even more benefit if you freshly grind and soak these seeds. Put 1-2 tablespoons in the grinder and blitz to a rough meal. Put in a bowl, cover with water to about 1 cm over the level of the seeds and leave at room temperature. All the liquid should be absorbed by the morning, but the seed mix should be a little loose, not too solid. You may need to experiment with how much water to add.

• Get your minerals: Having good levels of minerals in the body is also essential to allow the body to take up the water inside the cells. Potassium is key, found in green leafy vegetables, so too magnesium. A master mineral involved in many functions in the body and nowadays greatly lacking in our processed diet, magnesium is found in nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, vegetables, beans and lentils, quinoa. You can greatly increase your magnesium level by having Epsom salt baths – put 2 large handfuls of Epsom salts in a hot bath and soak for at least 15 minutes. Sulphur is also very important, found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale and cauliflower, also present in eggs, onions and garlic.

• Infrared saunas and flotation tanks are also known to greatly improve cellular hydration. If you are lucky to have access to either of these, aim to do so on a regular basis.

Cured Vs Processed Meat – there’s a world of difference.

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If you’re at all familiar with what I do, you will know that I am passionate about good quality food.This tends to mean minimally processed, wholesome and natural. However, there is a process that was developed thousands of years ago to preserve foods from spoiling, that actually enhances the nutritional benefits and digestibility of food. It’s called Fermentation and it is this ancient art (the science of which is called Zymology) that determines the critical difference between a processed meat and a cured meat – curing being a form of fermentation.

The process of fermentation is found in many foods: chocolate, tea, coffee, olives, cheese, yogurt, kefir, wine, beer, vinegar, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, tempeh, miso, fish sauce and, yes, traditional salamis, pepperoni, chorizo, pancetta and many more hams and other deliciously tasty, deeply coloured, complex flavoured charcuterie, often pork based but not always.

Fermenting, or curing of meats (and fish), requires a process to halt the growth of nasty bacteria that cause food to spoil: salt (brining) being the classic method as salt draws out moisture from the food, so the bacteria can’t survive – the salt also draws moisture out of the actual bacteria too – eeek! Spices as well as salt can be added, depending on the end product, and then a special bacteria will be injected to inoculate the meat, just as a starter culture is used for yogurt, kefir, kombucha etc.

Then time does the rest, developing flavour, texture and all-round goodness, and this is the BIG difference between modern processed meats, where the process is quick and un-natural. Nitrates and nitrites artificially enhance flavour and maintain a pinkness that we have come to think of as fresh and good quality whereas well-cured meats can be almost deep purple in colour, showing age and natural flavour development. Cured meats have a dry texture and an intense, tangy flavour – that’s
the fermentation. All fermented foods should have a tang, like sour dough bread does in a way modern bread does not, as the beneficial bacteria that do the fermenting, ‘eat’ up natural sugars presntbin the food. Also, like good dark chocolate, great charcuterie packs a flavour punch that makes scoffing loads of it pretty impossible.

These are great artisan foods that should be eaten with reverence and deligh not feared as unhealthy and naughty. Processed meat has none of the beneficial qualities of a cured meat: they contain man-made chemicals for colour; preservatives to extend shelf-life; many have a very low percentage meat content, which begs the question, what else is in there and hence, consuming too much does appear to increase risk of heart disease.

This is not the same with cured meats – they get better with age naturally. Think of ‘plastic’ cheese in a tube or a triangle or the shiny, slimy stuff that is sold to put in burger buns – it’s obvious there’s nothing good about these ‘cheeses’. The same goes for perfectly square or round slices of bright pink ham, mushy, pink sausages and other such cheap, highly processed meat products wheresas aged, traditionally made cheeses and charcuterie are not only ok, but good for you.

I am not a food snob, I just want there to be some clarity around which foods are healthy and which foods are not. To lump all cheeses together or to put processed and cured meats in the same ‘deadly’ category, is a nonsense and causes confusion and the denial of these really top quality foods.

I am passionate about this, not only because I love that these ancient arts of preserving foods add a whole host of beneficial microbes to our gut. I love to eat great food and the pleasure and nourishment that comes from eating great food, generally leads people to source and stick to more of the good and less of the bad. Eat less but get better quality.

Meanwhile, I am in Mallorca and I watched in wonder as all the locals picked up their weekly stash of bacteria-ridden loveliness at the local market – a sight to behold and the copious tasters I gladly accepted. Beyond delicious ?