The government forbids me from exercising my right of free speech to answer that with a yes or no. But I can tell you what I believe, and what happened to me.
The digestive system affects every part of the body. When it breaks down, it can cause problems throughout every system – nerves, bones, circulatory, pulmonary, hormonal, reproductive, digestive, and mental. Everything is dependent upon access to good nutrient sources.
Many people are now having a wide range of symptoms, but nothing shows up on any blood tests. It is my belief that many of these vague and undiagnosed conditions can be traced to damage to the digestive tract.
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s (bowel damage and auto-immune disease), and decided not to go the medical route. It has been very hard. But worth it. I no longer have the rampant auto-immune progression, but am still completing the last of the healing process. At this time, I no longer have Crohn’s Disease – I do not have auto-immune disease, and I do not have diagnosable bowel damage. At my worst, I was lactose intolerate, gluten intolerant, and intolerant to cooked milk proteins, beans, eggs, and all canned meats. Extreme heat, or prolonged heat does affect proteins, and makes them harder to digest.
I went from being able to tolerate exactly 13 foods (including things like plain butter, organic beef, bananas, apple juice made from cored and peeled apples, cooked peeled zucchini, brown rice, peeled potatoes, etc), to being back to a nearly full diet.
I am still very chemically sensitive, though my ability to handle accidental exposures has improved as I’ve healed. I know I will have to avoid chemical exposures in foods for the rest of my life. If I do not, I will gradually become ill again (exposures that I could not control have demonstrated this, even though I no longer have Crohn’s, if I am exposed to very much chemicalized food, I start to have more headaches, loss of energy, digestive upset, and other symptoms which increase until the offenders are eliminated). If I am not careful, I will simply push myself back into a situation where I DO have Crohn’s again (characterized by progressive auto-immune disease and significant bowel pain and dysfunction). It is my firm belief that Crohn’s (and many other diseases) are environmental diseases. My experience has persuaded me that Crohn’s was CAUSED in me, by consumption of foods containing chemicals, and devoid of complete nutrition. This conclusion was reached both by the results of elimination of chemicals in my diet, and by the results from subsequent exposures to them.
There are some key things which seem to really affect my health, and digestion in particular. These are things I tested individually – when I include them in my diet, I lose ground. When I eliminate them, I heal.
1. Chlorine. This is a biggie. I drink water without chlorine, and when possible, I do not bathe in it either, since it absorbs through the skin. I’ve known it was an issue for a long time, because when I drank municipal water I had more digestive problems. I became deathly allergic to it over the summer, so badly that I began reacting to table salt (sodium chloride – yeah, you can become so allergic to something that you react to its presence in NECESSARY nutrients). My face swells, I break out in hives, and my throat and lungs swell shut. Scary stuff. But controllable. Most people do not have reactions like that to it. But I believe they do suffer damage from it – it is a killer of fast growing cells (this is scientific fact). It does not just kill bacteria or viruses, it kills ALL fast growing cells with sufficient contact, and damages other cells. When you drink it, it passes through your intestines before it is absorbed into your bloodstream. The intestines are lined with fast growing cells (which is why chemo causes upset stomach and digestive issues). Chlorine eventually erodes the intestines, bit by bit, over time – logically, it couldn’t NOT do so… it is simply doing what it is selected to do. In addition, it kills the good bacteria and fungus that live in your gut and help your body stay in balance (this is why pro-biotics also help).
2. Preservatives. You can tolerate a little, but they are in EVERYTHING – just read ingredient lists. Even organics are beginning to have preservatives… they use “organic preservatives” (organic poison is still poison). I avoid processed foods as much as I am able, this makes a HUGE difference. They do exactly the same thing chlorine does to me, because they are scientifically designed to do the same thing.
3. Fruit and Veggie Wash. It is disinfectant – SOAP. It absorbs into the food. Does the same thing chlorine does, for the same reason (again, this is fact – it is what it was designed to do – kill microbes, which are fast growing cells). Now, some apples and sprouts, especially the organic ones, are already saturated with this stuff. You can smell it on it! If the produce tastes like chemicals or soap, I don’t eat it. It soaks all the way through. In general, organic apples that are LOOSE are likely to have this issue. Organic apples IN THE BAG are not.
4. Non-organic Potatoes are a biggie too. They are very often sprayed with a sprout inhibitor (Google “budnip”), which gives me noticeable problems – headaches, bowel pain. Some carrots, onions, and other root crops, plus some non-root crops are treated with this – Google it for the facts. Do the best you can, it is not always possible to avoid it, and potatoes in season are less likely to be sprayed than potatoes in the spring or summer. Foods treated with this stuff are NOT LABELED as being treated.
5. Rapid Cured Nitrates. This means pretty much all “fresh” poultry and pork (which have a nitrate solution injected… you know that label which says “may contain up to 10% of a solution? That stuff.), lunchmeats, hotdogs, bacon, ham, etc. Now, there ARE some types that are slow cured – usually they are Naturally Smoked (that is the best clue I’ve found so far). If they have “smoke flavoring”, I avoid them. Organic slow cured is best. I can tolerate Hillshire Farms ham, and I can tolerate Braum’s bacon.
6. Monosodium Glutamate. Nasty stuff. Affects me the same way that preservatives affect me. I watch for it in meats, processed foods, and condiments.
7. Alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is used as a PERMANENT preservative, which means it kills living cells. Now, lacto-fermented foods can develop alcohol – you can smell it if they do. I avoid using them unless I’ve heated out the alcohol so that I can no longer smell it. Lacto-fermented foods without alcohol continue to change (they are still living foods), and will eventually spoil. Alcohol preserved foods can last indefinitely, because they are no longer living foods. Alcohol is one item which even doctors have identified as having a direct harmful effect on digestive disease.
8. Anxiety. There are a series of chemical responses here, which result in actual damage to the intestines. Lower the anxiety, and the intestines heal. Increase it, and they degrade, due to the chemical and enzymatic changes caused by fear responses. It is complex stuff, and involves multiple issues. When you live with fear, things go wrong pretty fast. I use prayer, time in the woods, hugs, time out with friends, and some healthy distractions to control anxiety when it is an issue.
Things that helped me included most probiotic foods, eliminating the stuff above, eating LOTS of fresh veggies and fruits (if your gut is damaged you don’t absorb nutrients well, and you need foods with high nutrient density, so fresh stuff is best – again, this is a series of well known scientific facts, so there is no inappropriate counsel being given), fresh milled wheat flour (it has oils and nutrients that aged or refined flours do not), Kefir (I used Lifeway because that is what I could get), peppermint, and turmeric.
There was a specific event that turned things around for me, but it is a long and involved story, and I’m sure that the FDA would have a hissy fit if I told the story.
Anyway, my son also has Crohn’s. The thing that makes the biggest difference for him (besides avoiding things he knows are triggers), is Kefir. He uses 1/4 cup per day, and has to continue to use it, because there are some changes he is not ready to make yet. It stops the abdominal pain flare-ups. He is also starting to use more home-brined foods, and loves pickling his own vegetables.
The role of home cured foods is not just the probiotics, it is also that they are a living food, and the nutrient content is dense and complex. Foods are preserved without embalming them, so nutrients and enzymes are preserved as well. They are easier to digest, and you get more out of them, and they can aid in the digestion of other foods consumed at the same time, or shortly after.
This information is not intended as advice to cure or treat any disease or condition. It is simply a statement of my opinions, and my experiences, given as such, and protected by the First Amendment as such.
I do not offer nutritional advice, do not email me asking for it.