Replacing table salt or sea salt with Himalayan pink salt is a good way to increase your gut’s health.
Editor’s note: This is the continuation of a series of articles by William Clearfield, D.O., regarding his fictional patient, Teddy, and his battles with Alzheimer’s Disease. Click here to read part 1; click here to read part 2; and click here to read part 3.
“I feel great,” Teddy said. “I lost another 5 pounds. Steph and I are doing everything you told us. I cut out white bread and late-night snacks. I sleep 7 hours a night. I’m taking your Vitamin D. If my Poppa knew I was eating avocados instead of French Fries, he’d have a cow. I got the four steps you taught me.”
“I’m a thousand percent better, but I ain’t perfect,” Teddy added. “My belly’s been killing me. I’m belching, and my stomach’s blown up, and I’m full of air. I came for Step 5, Doc.”
“Ah, yes,” I said. “The 10 Steps (to a Healthy Brain) list.”
As a reminder, here are the full 10 steps:
- Keep Your Blood Sugar Balanced
- Eat Healthy Fats
- Get Adequate and Restful Sleep
- Vitamin D3 is Essential for the Brain to Function Properly
- Get Your Gut in Order
- Maintain Adequate Methylation
- Balance Your Hormones
- 6 Fixes for A Healthy Heart
- Exercise
- Lifetime Learning
Step No. 5
We have six more to go. Today we tackle number 5, “Get Your Gut in Order.”
Teddy patted his still ample, but decreasing-in-size belly.
“What can I do?” Teddy asked. “I eat good.”
“You eat,” I said, throwing shade Teddy’s way, “The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.). We call it CRAP (Carbohydrates, Refined, Added sugar and Processed foods). You eat too much fat, too much sugar, not enough fruit, and as Steph tells it, never any vegetables. The result is you, a Teddy. You don’t sleep enough, booze too much and fly off the handle at every little thing. Your liver is overloaded, and the rest of your GI tract is under constant assault.”
“I’m trying, Doc.”
More shade.
“Well Steps 1-4 are a start,” I said pointing at his belly. ”Your gut lining, which contains tight junctions (TJs), protects you from the bad guys from the outside. The constant peppering of your gut with the toxins you throw down your gizzard every day eventually disrupts the TJs leading to intestinal hyperpermeability (the so‐called “leaky gut”) and chronic immune disease.”
“I don’t follow, Doc.”
I explained to him the following: The gut lining — the sentinel between the mucosal immune system and your GI contents — is responsible for the balance between nutrient absorption and waste secretion, according to the February 2012 article by Alessio Fasano, “Leaky Gut and Autoimmune Diseases,” published in the journal, “Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology.”
Since 80 percent of your immune system resides in the GI mucosal lining, Fasano writes, damage to that lining results in damage to your immune system.
“And the bad guys are?” Teddy asked.
“Gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs at times, and sugar,” I told him.
“All my favorites,” Teddy said. “What do I do?”
“In general,” I said, “Practice the 4 Rs.”
Action steps: The 4 R Program
- Remove inflammatory foods:
- Such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs and sugar
- Also, remove gastric irritants such as alcohol, caffeine or drugs
- Repair:
- Eat clean, whole foods, as well as fermented foods
- Add Omega 3 fatty acids into your diet
- Add healing herbs to your food
- Increase intake of things like L-glutamine; Zinc; Omega-3 fish oil; Vitamins A, C and E; and aloe vera, among others
- Restore:
- Fermented foods
- Probiotics
- Replace
- Increase intake of digestive enzymes
- Use Himalayan pink salt instead of sea or table salt
“Sounds complicated,” Teddy said.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” I said. “Think of the GI tract as a ‘second brain.’ Your gut health will impact your brain function, your mood, your whole way of life.”
