Have you heard the term "leaky gut" and wondered what it means? Have you wondered if you have food sensitivities? Do you wonder how this relates to Spring? Let me explain...

Spring and Fall are the two times a year when I recommend a good cleansing of your body. I mean, you are cleaning out the house, right? Why not give yourself a good internal cleaning? Many say that this is not necessary and that our bodies can do this just fine on their own. For many that is true...for those of us who eat impeccably, exercise religiously, and are very strict with our self care routines. But for most of us that is not the case and we need a little extra help. 

Eating the same foods over and over combined with decreased immune power (think stress, low vitamin D, a lot of sugar and alcohol, frequent antibiotic use) causes our gut to suffer. The intestinal cells are actually the same cells we see on the outside of our body. That is because the intestinal tract is still the outside world and it's job is to protect the internal body from the things we bring in from the outside world, such as food and medicine. Abuse to the gut causes inflammation, which then causes the cells to stretch and the gaps between them to get larger. Pretty soon, large particles can be absorbed through the intestinal wall and get absorbed into the blood stream. The body recognizes these proteins as foreign and starts to mount an immune reaction against them. We start to feel achy, have joint pain, feel fatigued, and suffer from all sorts of systemic symptoms. We are then diagnosed with Leaky Gut. 

Colonoscopies may not show gut inflammation, but often times the inflammation is so mild as to be on a cellular level. How do we reverse this? First we have to determine the insult. For most of us the largest contributor are food sensitivities. The two ways to determine food sensitivities are going on an Elimination Diet and having food sensitivities checked through a simple blood test. Once we determine these food sensitivities we can go off of them for a period of time to give our intestine time to recover and return to it's healthy self. It is then possible to reintroduce the foods one at a time and hear very clearly the reaction that they caused. This is empowering and allows you to have more control over your food. 

And getting these foods out of your body for a while is the perfect "detox" because the body isn't getting inundated with more metabolic trash and can focus on getting the liver to function more efficiently. And Spring is the best time to do this because we are following the natural rhythm of nature. In Spring, nature clears out the old and brings in the new! 

Let us know if you are interested in going on the Elimination Diet or getting your food sensitivities checked!