The first step in rebuilding the digestive system is in knowing how to troubleshoot it. Understanding its logic will allow you to ask yourself some simple questions with regard to each aspect of the digestive process. While some people may need a total reboot of the digestion, many others can zero in on the weak link, restore that function, and then go about the business of digesting wheat and dairy once again.
Please use this book as a digestive rehab buffet, where you can help yourself to as much as you want from the array of digestive reset tips included. The key—and the goal—is to not only be able to digest hard-to-digest foods and avoid a restrictive diet, but to ensure that environmental toxins (remember, they even can be found on organically grown foods38) are properly digested and eliminated out of the body. A healthy detoxification process cannot happen unless you are digesting well.
The lining of the intestines is made up of a type of epithelium or skin much like the skin on your body, just turned inside out. The health of the inner skin that lines the intestines will be reflected in the health, radiance and complexion of the skin on the outside. The intestinal skin is the first line of defense against stress, as all of our stress is processed through the intestinal wall. When the intestinal skin is overwhelmed by stress, undigested proteins, processed food chemicals and environmental toxins, it can break down and become inflamed. This can alter the health, function and quantity of the beneficial intestinal bacteria, break down digestion and assimilation of nutrients and let unwanted foods and toxins enter into the bloodstream and lymphatic system.
As you begin to repair and support the health of the intestinal skin and upper digestive system, it is best to avoid any foods that you are currently intolerant to, so your system can focus on healing and repairing. Once you have rebooted and strengthened your digestive function, you can slowly introduce non-toxic, non-processed versions of these foods.
When babies are born, they are fed breast milk until they start breaking teeth. Once their teeth start coming in, it is then time to start introducing “solid” foods, like applesauce, rice cereal, cooked bananas, and cooked, mashed vegetables. Traditionally, this was done very slowly in order to train the digestive system to handle these new foods. Cooking baby food and mixing it with a bit of water is a way of predigesting it, rendering it much easier for the baby to digest, especially during the initial test phase.
As adults, many of us have overeaten hard-to-digest, processed foods. As a result, we have stressed out our intestinal skin and microbes to a point where we have become intolerant to many foods.
For thousands of years, traditional cultures have been feeding their babies a well-cooked gruel made from watered-down rice and beans. In India, they created an Ayurvedic superfood that combines long grain rice and a bean called the split yellow mung bean. This mixture, called kitchari, was designed to soothe and nourish the intestinal skin. Today, in much of India, it is still the first food given to a baby and it is prescribed as a medicinal food and for convalescence for the elderly.
Before brown rice was de-husked and processed by machines to become white rice, parents would painstakingly take the time to remove the husk by hand from long grain rice. Then, they would hand-split the yellow mung beans to de-husk them as well, rendering the mung bean extremely easy to digest. This process would take days to make enough kitchari for their needs. They would then cook the rice and split yellow mung beans together for at least an hour with lots of water and spices to support digestion. In addition, they would add a small amount of ghee (clarified unsalted butter) to this mixture to help support the health of the intestinal tract. Remember, in Chapter 3, how we discussed that ghee is loaded with butyric acid, which is actually made in the intestinal tract by a variety of microbes to support gut health and immunity?196, 197, 199 You will find the recipe for kitchari in Appendix C. Not only is it a great food for babies and the sick, but it’s also a very nutritious, delicious, soothing and healing food for growing children, teenagers and adults.
Recently, there has been some impressive science supporting the benefits of the whole mung bean. Scientists have found that the 2 major mung bean flavonoids, vitexin and isovitexin, were able to turn off one of the body’s major anti-aging switches called High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1). HMGB1 triggers the release of toxic and degenerative cytokines in the body which can damage the intestinal wall.381 In another study, mung bean flavonoids helped increase survival rates in animals from certain poisons by a whopping 82 percent.382
Known as the “anti-gas bean,” mung beans were found to be virtually free of any “flatulence factors,” suggesting that it may be the only bean that does not produce gas.383 According to Ayurveda, it is the only bean classified as anti-vata or anti-gas. It is no surprise that Ayurveda chose this bean as the “intestinal repair bean” over all others.
Here are some of the other benefits of this amazing legume:
• It is packed with minerals including magnesium and phenols.384
• It has powerful antioxidant properties that support heart health.385
• It supports healthy blood sugar levels and reduces the damaging effects of glycation.386
• It produces the fatty-acid butyrate in the gut, thus supporting the health of the intestinal wall.387, 388
• It supports healthy weight loss and cravings by increasing the “I am full” hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK).389
You can eat kitchari as a staple in your diet as you start the repair process of your intestinal skin. For those who are concerned about eating rice, you can replace it with quinoa or millet. See the recipe for kitchari in Appendix C.
When we think of other foods that help support or help repair intestinal health, they would be well-cooked, since uncooked or raw vegetables would have too much indigestible fiber that can irritate the gut wall.
• Sweet potatoes
• Cooked beets
• Cooked apples
• Seeds, rather than nuts, which are harder to digest
• Well-cooked or steamed vegetables
• Oatmeal, rice, quinoa, millet
• Small, well-cooked beans or legumes (like mung beans) are easier to digest at first, compared to larger beans
• Healthy oils like ghee, coconut and olive oil
• Small amounts of well-cooked white meats or fish
• Small amounts of raw honey: 1–2 teaspoons per day
• Ginger, cinnamon, fennel and cardamom tea
• Yogurt (Ideally without added sugar. Buy plain yogurt and add your own natural sweetener like maple syrup.)
• Kimchi
• Miso
• Tempeh
• Kombucha
• Olives
• Pickles
You can easily troubleshoot issues of the large intestine by becoming aware of the health and regularity of your bowel movements. The skin of the gut is like the three little bears. It has to be just right—not too dry and therefore constipating, and not too wet, as that can cause an excess of mucus production and loose stools or mucus in the stool. Healthy assimilation of nutrients, detoxification of toxins, and healthy microbes lining the intestines depend on a balanced environment of the intestinal skin.
A healthy bowel movement is a complete elimination, occurring within the first hour or so after waking up in the morning. It should be somewhat firm— not too hard and not too soft. The key is that it should feel like a complete and satisfying evacuation. It can be helped along with a large glass of water, or lemon water to start the day. However, if you need a cup of coffee, a bran muffin, a laxative (natural or otherwise), or some other ritual to get you to go, this is an indication that your digestive system is compromised and your intestinal skin needs attention.
What does this have to do with digesting wheat and dairy, which is mostly digested upstream, in the stomach and small intestine? The health of the intestinal skin, which is literally the skin that lines the intestinal tract, is a major factor in determining how efficiently waste will leave the body. If you tend towards constipation or loose stools, toxins can congest the lymphatic system that drains the intestines, as described in Chapter 4. Once the lymph is congested, toxic fats can be reabsorbed back to the liver and gallbladder where, over time, the upper digestion—responsible for breaking down wheat and dairy—will be compromised. Moreover, the health of the intestinal skin will determine the health of the body’s intestinal microbes, which not only digest wheat and dairy, but are the foundation for all aspects of human health.66
The large intestine is where 90 percent of the trillions of microbes live in your body.66 It is also the site where 95 percent of the serotonin in the body is manufactured and stored, allowing only 5 percent of the body’s serotonin to be in the brain at any giving time.390 The gut, which is now termed “the second brain,” uses benefical microbes to manufacture many other brain chemicals, vitamins and enzymes that the body could not live without. According to Ayurveda, the large intestine is considered the seat of the entire nervous system, which means that the brain and the entire nervous system is regulated and governed by what happens in the gut.239, 241, 245, 247, 250
Stress—be it from mental, emotional, or physical, or from going against the circadian rhythms—is directly processed through the gut, not the brain. Lining the intestinal tract are trillions of microscopic microbes that do the heavy lifting for just about every physiological function of the body.66
Since we now know that these microbes determine our immunity, health, longevity, happiness, mood, and just about everything else, including the ability to digest wheat and dairy, we need to pay close attention to their well-being to support our well-being.239, 240, 249, 391-395
The villi and lacteals that line the intestinal wall are literally lined with microbes. These microbes are extremely sensitive to any stress we are under, any toxins we are exposed to, and the foods we eat.
By way of what is called the “gut-brain axis,” stressors can alter the health of the microbiome, and the altered microbiome can send stress signals to the brain, which can alter mood, immunity, lymph flow, energy, joy and, you guessed it, the ability to digest wheat and dairy.239, 240, 249, 391-397
The brain takes its cue from the microbiome, then sends those messages to every cell of the body, which in turn speaks to the brain, all in a bidirectional flow of information between the gut and the brain.398, 399 The gut microbiome is so powerful that, in one study, they found that greater microbial diversity was associated with more extraverted temperament in children.252
According to Ayurveda, the focus for intestinal health is on the repair of the intestinal skin rather than giving long-term herbal laxatives, digestive enzymes, or probiotics. In the intestinal tract, there are 3 general types of microbes: Good guys, bad guys, and spectators who do nothing but take up a lot of valuable intestinal real estate. In fact, studies suggest that, in the U.S., we have less healthy microbes than spectators and bad bugs.73 We know that there are specific microbes responsible for the digestion of wheat and dairy, and we know that the microbiome in the U.S. is much less diverse that in other parts of the world.73 It’s no wonder we, as a culture, are having trouble digesting hard-to-digest foods.
I have now talked about how when gluten or casein go undigested in the upper digestion, not to mention deleterious effects of the pesticides sprayed on wheat crops.62 These factors and more will act as intestinal irritants in the small and large intestines, dramatically altering their function.
We have also explored how, if the gluten and casein were properly broken down in the stomach and upper small intestine, much of the issues with gluten and dairy intolerances would be resolved. The problem is how poor digestion upstream in the stomach will affect the digestion downstream in the gut, and vice versa—they both have to be brought back into balance.
In addition, you have learned that when the gluten and casein make their way into the intestines, they will inflame the intestinal skin and separate and congest the villi and lacteals, allowing undigested proteins and toxins to enter into the lymphatic system and the bloodstream. This is where the hypersensitivity symptoms of wheat and dairy really do become a problem.
As a result of these hard-to-digest proteins irritating the intestinal skin, inflammatory toxic proteins like zonulin can be produced, which are linked to many wheat intolerance symptoms.58
You also now know that the lymph around the intestines is connected to lymph that is trying to drain the brain, the skin, the joints, the nervous system, the respiratory tract, the reproductive system, and yes, every cell of the body.5, 10, 16, 203, 219, 221
All of this makes weak digestion and broken-down intestinal skin a true crisis, but let’s address the root cause of it rather than just focusing on the symptoms. This is a much bigger issue than the symptoms we may experience when eating wheat and dairy.
According to Ayurveda, the intestinal tract is a barrier that is designed to determine what foods—and even what toxins—are allowed to pass through and literally become “you.” As far as the body goes, if something is still in the intestines, it has not become “you” yet, as the intestinal skin is still a functional barrier separating “you” from the outside world.
The intestinal microbes not only regulate the functions of the body, they also “feel” everything. They have been scientifically found to be affected by emotions and feelings400 and pass information epigenetically to the genes found in every cell, in order to keep the genetic code informed of what’s happening in the inner and outer worlds.401-403
For instance, a plant sprayed with a pesticide will likely suffer a genetic mutation—and this happens all the time—the mutation will be transferred or passed on to the microbes on the plant. And then, when we eat that plant, the mutated microbes pass this genetic information to the microbes in the gut, and then transferred to the genes inside of your body.404-406 Healthy intestinal skin provides a barrier and only lets a certain amount of these mutations pass through. All of this is to be sure that the human genes are getting the required intelligence to survive and adapt in an ever-changing toxic world.
The intestinal skin is both a barrier to protect and inform the body of the changes and dangers of the outside world while delivering the needed nutrients to thrive. If the intestinal skin breaks down, there is a risk of too many mutations, toxins, glutens or casein proteins passing through the intestinal wall into the lymph, liver and bloodstream, predisposing the body to related chemical, allergenic, and hypersensitivity reactions.
The first step in helping you digest wheat and dairy well is to help you repair the intestinal skin, and this will be reflected in a healthy, regular stool.
Stress can alter the microbiology of the intestinal skin and result in intestinal dryness or a form of constipation. There are a handful of remedies for constipation, but few do it without laxatives, which can lead to dependencies. The most common herbal laxatives—like senna or cascara sagrada—are bowel irritants that stimulate the bowels to contract.407, 408 Over time, they can desensitize the bowels and eventually stop working. Even magnesium, which is thought to be a harmless laxative, works by pulling water out of the intestines to hydrate the stool. Long-term use can dehydrate the bowels and even demineralize the intestinal skin.
The key to resolving this problem is NOT to take laxatives, but to tone and lubricate the skin of intestines. The classic herb in Ayurveda to accomplish this is called triphala, which is a combination of 3 fruits:409
1. Amalaki: Helps repair the intestinal skin
2. Bibhitaki: Pulls excess mucus off the intestinal wall
3. Haritaki: Tones the muscles responsible for an actual bowel movement
These 3 fruits together support bowel tone, muscular function, and contractibility of the intestinal wall, strengthening peristalsis and thereby supporting smooth digestion, assimilation, and elimination. Triphala also helps maintain an appropriate balance of mucus lining, the skin of intestinal wall, preventing and clearing excess mucus buildup—which can hinder assimilation— and making sure a healthy layer of mucus remains, which soothes the digestive tract, supports healthy bacteria, and buffers against strong digestive acids.410
While triphala is not a laxative, it provides healthy elimination support. If the intestines are particularly dry or chronically constipated, I like to add demulcent or slimy herbs like slippery elm bark, marshmallow root, and licorice root to the triphala. This addition makes it much easier to wean off the triphala, which is always my goal—to become self-sufficient and not dependent on supplements.
Note: The bile that flows from the liver and gallbladder is the actual regulator of the stool and is often required to effectively treat constipation. I will discuss this further in Chapter 10.
When the intestinal tract gets chronically irritated, the intestinal skin—which is lined with mucus membranes—can react by secreting excess mucus. This can cause loose stools or diarrhea. If the problem gets worse, the mucus can be produced in such quantities that you can begin to see mucus in your stool.
This is different from a bout of diarrhea when you are sick from a cold or food poisoning. This is a chronic condition where the excess mucus can bog down or even flatten the villi of the intestinal wall. When this happens, the ability to absorb nutrients and process toxins becomes compromised, and the environment for the proliferation of microbes that support the digestive process is affected.
The best herb I have found to naturally restore the health of the intestinal skin, intestinal discomfort, and reverse the tendency for loose stools is amalaki. Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), also known as Indian gooseberry, is a small fruit from the amla tree. Amalaki may be most well-known for its support of antioxidant activity and healthy skin via the encouragement of collagen and elastin production.411-413 In this way, amalaki supports not only the health of the outer skin, but also the health and elasticity of the inner skin that lines the gut, respiratory tract, arteries, and all of the mucus membranes in the body.
Note: Other important herbs for the intestinal skin that I discuss in Chapter 10 are brahmi (Centella asiatica) and turmeric (Curcuma longa).
When there is mucus in the stool, the digestion is extremely delicate or sensitive, or the situation is chronic with bloating, gas, and abdominal pain, I tend to start from scratch in terms of rebooting the digestive system. This is a sign that the intestinal skin or mucus membranes of the entire digestive tract are irritated and producing reactive mucus. For this, I like to employ some first aid for the entire digestive tract.
My favorite therapy for this is a concentrated tea or decoction made out of chopped (not ground) slippery elm bark, licorice root, and marshmallow root that I have been using successfully in my practice for almost 30 years.
To antidote both the dryness and the overly damp mucous membranes, I have not found a better solution than this decoction, taken throughout the day for a month, to reset healthy intestinal and microbial function. Each of these herbs are naturally slimy and demulcent, which means that they will soften and soothe the dry and irritated mucous membranes all the way from the throat to the stomach to the small and large intestines. It is like coating the entire digestive tract with a protective mucilaginous, prebiotic, microbe-boosting Band-Aid for a month. During this time, new intestinal skin can grow, a healthy intestinal environment can be restored, and healthy microbes can repopulate.
Tip: Amalaki, triphala, or a colonizing strain of probiotics, can be used here as needed for digestive repair, along with the slippery elm-licorice root-marshmallow root formulation.
When these 3 herbs are cooked down into a tea or concentrated decoction, the soluble fiber from their roots and barks are released. The soluble fiber is naturally slippery, and therefore offers soothing support to the dried-out intestinal mucosa.
The soluble fiber from these herbs also feeds the intestinal microbes and acts as a natural prebiotic for the microbiome.414 This is a critical part of the tea’s restorative effect—to create an environment that will allow the healthy microbes to proliferate while restoring the function and environment for the intestinal villi and gut mucosa to digest, detox, and assimilate nutrients optimally. Let’s learn more about each of the ingredients in this demulcent concoction:
• Licorice is a classic Ayurvedic herb used for thousands of years worldwide as a natural lubricant and demulcent for the intestinal and respiratory airways. Licorice naturally lubricates and soothes mucus membranes and, as an adaptogen, it protects them from stress and environmental irritants and pollens.415 Licorice quells the production of excess reactive mucus, and it supports the function of other herbs when taken conjunctly.415 It is calming for an over-active nervous system, cooling the excess fire element in the body, and can liquefy and reduce extra mucus or congestion.
• Slippery elm has long been used for digestive and intestinal concerns because of its demulcent, lubricating, and gut-protective properties.416 Along with its mucilaginous, protective properties for the intestinal wall, it has been shown to support healthy antioxidant activity in the intestinal tract.415
• Like licorice, slippery elm has a sweet taste and cooling action. It balances an overactive nervous system and fiery constitution in the same way licorice does. As a result of its more mucilaginous properties, it creates a thick layer of protection that covers the entire intestinal tract.
• Marshmallow Root is perhaps the most demulcent of the 3 herbs in this formula. It has been found to protect the stomach lining from excess acid and protect the intestinal tract from intestinal irritants, such as the toxic form of carrageenan or glyphosphate.417 Medicinally, it has been approved by the German Commission E (the German equivalent of the U.S. FDA) in supporting inflammation of the gastric mucosa, and for irritation of the oral and pharyngeal mucosa.417
• Like both licorice and slippery elm, marshmallow is a soluble fiber, which means it will be broken down by the stomach, but not absorbed. This allows it to offer the gut, where most of the microbes reside, a handsome feast of the fibers and nutrients these 3 herbs contain.
• Marshmallow is cooling for fiery constitutions, soothing and calming for anxious, overactive nervous systems and, as it is mucus-producing, it will increase congestion—a good thing in this instance—as we are trying to coat and protect the intestines from top to bottom over the course of 1 month of this therapy.
The key to the success of this intestinal and microbial reset is to take these 3 herbs as a tea or concentrated decoction for a month or 2. If your intestinal tract is not in a severely inflamed condition, then you can use the tea. The tea tastes great and can be used as a maintenance beverage as well. You must source these herbs in a chopped—not ground—form. If you use ground herbs, you will make “mud” and it won’t work. If you are concerned that your intestinal tract is in a reactive state and needs extra support, do your best to follow the decoction instructions.
Decoction Recipe 
Ingredients:
• 1 tablespoon chopped licorice
• 1 tablespoon chopped slippery elm bark
• 1 tablespoon chopped marshmallow root
• 2 quarts water
Directions:
1. Soak 1 tablespoon of each of the chopped herbs—or 3 tablespoons of a pre-mixed, chopped mixture of all 3 herbs—in a boiling pot filled with 2 quarts of water overnight.
2. Soaking overnight is not mandatory, but it gives you a stronger decoction.
3. Boil the mixture down to 1/2 quart in the morning.
4. Strain the mixture through a metal strainer, using a large spoon to push it through.
5. Save the liquid and discard the herbs.
6. This should make 2 cups to sip on throughout the day.
7. Take 1 tablespoon of the liquid every 2 hours on an empty stomach for 1 month, and sometimes for 2 months if needed.
Tea Recipe
Ingredients:
• 1/3 tablespoon chopped licorice
• 1/3 tablespoon chopped slippery elm bark
• 1/3 tablespoon chopped marshmallow root
• 1 cup water
Directions:
1. To make tea, take equal amounts of the 3 herbs, totaling about 1 tablespoon altogether.
2. Steep this mixture in hot water until it becomes tea strength.
3. Drink 3–6 cups a day for 1–2 months, or as needed for maintenance.
With the discovery of the microbiome, which is the entire population of the body’s microbes or bacteria, a new frontier in science and healthcare was born. Although it is still in its infancy, there is compelling evidence suggesting the numerous health benefits of taking probiotics. While the benefits of probiotics were once thought to be restricted to gut and digestive health, new research on the gut-brain axis is connecting our microbiome to the health of the brain, immunity, bone density, blood sugar, mood and even our intuition… and this is the short list.418-420
We should also realize that there is no magic bullet when it comes to probiotics. While there is plenty of science suggesting that they work well, the key is to establish an environment for a healthy and diverse microbiome to proliferate. This all starts with the health of the intestinal skin.
For example, if you flattened out all the villi and lacteals of the intestinal tract, it would cover the area of a studio apartment up to a tennis court.421 Think for a minute how many people you could fit on a tennis court, and then imagine that your intestinal skin would cover the entire court. Then imagine an army of microscopic beneficial microbes blanketing the court as well—that’s a lot of bugs!
No doubt we have what seems like a ridiculous amount of intestinal surface area for a reason. These microbes manufacture hormones, vitamins, and neurotransmitters that help detox and assimilate nutrients while playing a role in almost every human bodily system.66 Clearly, there are lots of backup villi in case of intestinal damage from stress, aging, toxins and potential infections. This is why most of the wheat and dairy intolerances take place insidiously over a very long period of time.
To think we can just pop a probiotic to cure our digestive woes is giving ourselves false hope. Colonizing probiotics—while still very rare in the marketplace—actually adhere to the gut wall, become permanent residents, and build microbial diversity. Transient probiotics work well and support health in many ways, but once you stop them, the intestinal microbes tend to go back to the way they were. Unlike most transient probiotic products, which usually list the general strain of the microbe like lactobacillus or bifidobacterium, colonizing strains list the exact strain of the microbe that the research was done on.
For example, in one study, a specific strain of the colonizing probiotic called Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 was shown to adhere to the gut wall and increase microbial diversity in a study group of subjects over 60 years of age.422-424 While the science studying our microbes is still in its infancy, it is clear that diversity matters, and westerners have significantly less microbial diversity than other cultures around the world.422-424
There are 3 specific strains of bugs that I have found as documented to adhere to the gut wall and colonize inside the gut.420, 422-425 I highly recommend that a probiotic supplement contain some or all of these strains of colonizing microbes.
1. Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14420, 425
2. Lactobacillus plantarum Lp-115420, 425
3. Bifidobacterium lactis HN019420, 422-425
Even with the addition of a probiotic, it is still important to keep introducing more good bugs into your digestive tract through your diet. Do your best to add naturally lacto-fermented foods to at least 1 meal a day. Eat these as condiments, in very small amounts. A little goes a long way to create diverse strains and bacterial richness to your new temple of good bugs! New colonizing probiotic strains are being discovered as new research becomes available. Keep up with this emerging science by receiving my free video newsletter at LifeSpa.com.
I was so intrigued by the concept of colonizing probiotics that I decided to perform my own unpublished pilot study to confirm the results of the previous studies I cited above. We asked 10 Americans who were headed to Europe for a summer vacation for at least 2 weeks to be a part of our study. We gave half the group a combination of colonizing probiotics, while the other half of the group did not take a probiotic. We measured their microbiome 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after their trip.426
The results were profound. The group that took the probiotic had 60 percent more diverse microbes in their gut, compared to 33 percent increased diversity in the group that did not take a probiotic. All 10 participants saw an increase in their microbiome diversity after spending a couple of weeks in Europe, but the group that took the probiotics saw almost twice as much microbial diversity.426
If we can create a more suitable intestinal environment for more beneficial bacteria, and repopulate the gut with colonizing probiotics that will rebuild a healthy microbiome, this is a great step towards digestive health and self-sufficiency without taking lifelong probiotics.
The following is a 2-step comprehensive plan for restoring gut health:
1. Support the intestinal mucus membranes by bringing the elimination back into balance with either triphala, amalaki, or the prebiotic, soluble fiber tea made from the slippery elm, licorice root, and marshmallow root mixture to create the best possible environment for healthy microbes to thrive.
2. Introduce healthy, colonizing probiotics for a few months—instead of the rest of your life with transient probiotics—to help establish new beneficial, permanent bacterial residents to proliferate in your gut and enhance your health and digestion.
Note: If there is an overgrowth of undesirable bacteria in the small and large intestines, I have great clinical success adding a beneficial yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii, which has been shown to knock out undesirable yeast and bacteria in the digestive tract. More on this in Chapter 11.
Researchers now theorize that when an individual is under stress, certain stress-related chemicals are produced in the gut. These stress chemicals alter the microbiome of the gut and disturb digestion, immunity and the production of mood-supporting neurotransmitters.402 For example, changing one’s mood can be as simple as changing your good bacteria. When fearful mice had a fecal transplant with aggressive mice, the fearful mice became aggressive.427
At the University of Wisconsin, researchers found that pregnant mice that were repeatedly startled and stressed during their pregnancies had babies who had significantly less lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (good microbes) in their guts.402
A 2010 study published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity observed mice that were forced to live with a social disrupter—a mouse that was very aggressive and disruptive. Living with such a mouse changed the bacteria in the guts of the healthy normal mice. Their good bacteria were decreased, the bad bacteria proliferated, and the mice experienced numerous compromised health and immunity-related conditions.222
Why do these studies matter to the digestion? The state of our digestion is inextricably tied to the state of our brain, our mood, and our well-being, and vice versa.428 Thus, with healthy digestion, our mood and sense of well-being improves, the health of our microbiome improves and thus, so does our digestion.222, 249, 250, 393, 396, 398, 399, 402, 420, 427-438
Taking time to sit down, relax, dine, and digest your food are much-revered, well-studied, health-promoting practices.439 There are even well-studied benefits of taking a short rest or “siesta” after the meal to help the body efficiently digest a meal.440 Furthermore, Ayurvedic texts state that lying on your left side or resting after a meal will boost digestive strength and ward off an after-the-big-meal crash by allowing the food to be properly digested and released from the stomach naturally. Modern science supports these ancient principles,440-442 suggesting that taking time to relax and eat,439 taking rest after the meal,440 and/or taking a walk after the meal443—all traditional Ayurvedic techniques—will help to strengthen digestion, support weight loss, and balance blood sugar levels after meals.
Modern research indicates that emotional stress will alter the health of the intestinal skin and the function of the microbiome, which is intimately involved in digestion. To take advantage of the research—like how a restful, relaxed environment during meals is beneficial for our health and digestion439, 443—follow another ancient Ayurvedic saying: “Better not to eat, than eat while angry.” Make your meals a scheduled, relaxed event that you look forward to. And then, once at the table, take some time to relax and then begin to eat your food.
Ayurveda takes this concept even further with another old saying that is now backed by science: “What you see, you become.” This means that whatever you choose to give your attention to will shape you, and thereby become you. Feelings and beliefs make up much of what we give our attention to, altering the microbes of the gut.400 When the microbes in our gut are impacted by stress hormones, it has a significant impact on our health, and ultimately our digestion.222
• Love-Joy is a state of mind that is fully content within itself. It does not require anything from the outside to make it happy.
• Fight-or-Flight is a state of mind that requires stimulation to be happy. Satisfaction comes from the stimulation of our senses from the outside world.
• Protection is a state of mind that has become overstimulated, exhausted, and depleted. It is inward, depressed and withdrawn.
The “fight-or-flight” and “protection” qualities trigger a sympathetic nervous system response that literally shuts off the digestive process, while the “love-joy” mindset activates the parasympathetic nervous system that turns on and strengthens the digestive process. The “fight-or-flight” and “protection” mindsets can put stress on your emotions and your microbes,400 and cause imbalances in your microbiome, contributing to difficulties digesting hard-to-digest foods. Our microbes are extremely sensitive, and thrive in a healthy, balanced, peaceful, loving environment.222, 444-448
While all of us have experienced all 3 of the above mindsets, only acts of love and relaxation turn on digestive strength, have a positive effect on the microbiology, give a life-supporting epigenetic effect, actually lengthen chromosomal telomeres, thereby helping to curb the aging process, and have a direct effect on the genetic code.401, 403, 444-449
Don’t miss out on the most simple and potentially most profound therapy to boost digestive strength—sit, relax, dine. Take time to enjoy each and every meal.
Now that we have discussed how to heal the gut, join me as we proceed to Chapter 9 and talk about healing the lymph—the primary source of food allergy symptoms.