Section 2 of a 2 Part Series.
Our grandparents ate meat and dairy without ill effects. But, their diet was free from processed foods, furthermore, desserts and sweets were an occasional treat. They also ate lots of green leafy whole foods. This is no longer true today.
Over the last 100 years, available nutrients have eroded as the pH of soil and the ocean drops due to pollution from chemicals and other toxins. Sadly, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is loaded with processed, chemically treated foods and sugar.
3 Categories of Common Elimination Diet Plans
| Most Common Triggers | Specific Identified Foods | Comprehensive |
| Eliminates foods commonly known to cause intolerance and health problems. | Eliminates foods believed to be causing symptoms. | Eliminates commonly known trigger foods for allergies and inflammation + any additional foods identified as triggers for the individual. |
| Processed and packaged foods
Sugary foods Artificial sweeteners Coffee and alcohol Peanuts and tree nuts Shellfish Dairy Eggs Some Include: Wheat Rice Fruit |
Foods identified as problematic by a health practitioner, or by personal observation, such as gluten, dairy and sugar, or starches. | Foods from Most Common Triggers and Specifically Identified Foods categories, plus the following:
Corn Soy Vinegars Yeast Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, pepper, eggplant) Fried foods Meat and fish Foods that are craved, and comfort foods (often a source of inflammation) Foods eaten every day (like eggs for breakfast) |
While on an elimination diet for leaky gut, it’s important watch out for eliminated foods used as ingredients in other foods. Also keep in mind, when starting an elimination diet, some people may feel worse for a few days while their body is detoxifying and adjusts to the change.
Alkaline Whole Food Eating Plan
At first glance, it might seem as if there’s not much left to eat. But, take heart, even if you’re following a comprehensive meal plan, what’s left is the best foods for your body, and all you can eat of them! I’m talking about a plant-based, whole-food eating plan. And, the good news gets better, because people who follow a plant-based eating plan are at a lower risk for chronic diseases.
All foods affect how much acid is excreted in the urine. Foods that increases acid are said to be acidifying. Those that decrease the urine acid load are alkalizing (also called base).
Both acidifying and alkalizing foods are beneficial so long as they are free from chemicals and other toxins, and balanced. Balance means approximately 80% alkalizing foods to 20% acidifying foods. For every bite of acidifying food, it takes 4 bites of alkalizing food to maintain the balance of a healthy person’s gut.
An unbalanced diet or one sourced from foods loaded with chemicals and toxins poses health risks. For example, there’s a vast nutritional difference between animal protein from grain fed animals treated with antibiotics and hormones, versus pasture raised cattle and chickens. If they eat junk, you eat junk. The Standard American Diet is largely acidic from processed, chemically treated sources.
There are numerous lists and charts of alkaline/acid producing foods available online. There are some contradictions between them, which can be confusing and frustrating at times. As test methods improve the lists evolve and improve, so lists may conflict slightly. But, there is plenty of agreement to help you get started.
For years the traditional medical community has put down the notion of an alkaline-acid connection with health. In recent years, however, some are beginning to sit up and take notice, and a few doctors are beginning to incorporate dietary treatments into their practice. Early research is already demonstrating what an abundance of anecdotal evidence already validates—an alkalizing diet is an important component in healing a leaky gut, and preventing and treating disease.
Gastrointestinal Support
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if taking an intestinal support product was all a leaky gut required to heal? That would appeal to the predominant modern medicine mindset of our society. But, gastrointestinal support is meant to be what is says: support. Leaky Gut Defense is an effective product, but it can’t work against an ongoing leaky gut lifestyle.
Leaky Gut Defense was developed to provide optimal support for a leaky gut.
- L-Glutamine feeds the cells of the mucosal lining in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, helping them produce more of these healing mucosal cells
- Larch Arabinogalactan helps strengthen the gut’s immune system and maintain its microflora
- Extract of licorice helps reduce inflammation and sooth gastrointestinal lining (deglycyrrhized to reduce risk of side effects some people get)
- Aloe Vera (bitterness removed) helps soothe the gut lining
To discover why Leaky Gut Defense is sweetened with monk fruit, check out the article, Stevia use is trending down, Monk Fruit on the rise on this web site.
For Optimal Benefit:
√ Take Leaky Gut Defense at least 30 minutes before meals or snacks, or at least 2 hours after
√ Mix 1 scoop in 2-4 ounces of water. You can take it up to 3 times a day (or as directed by a knowledgable health care professional
√ Some people enjoy drinking it like a tea by putting it in warm water with a squeeze of lemon
√ Avoiding acid producing foods and beverages, processed and convenience foods can’t be overemphasized while healing
√ Those with an extremely sensitive gut might want to begin with 1/4 or 1/2 scoop for a few days, then slowly increase to the full serving size
Many people continue taking Leaky Gut Defense once a day for maintenance after healing, along with following a balanced (80% alkalizing, 20% acidifying) whole food eating plan.
Reduce Stress
It’s easy to get caught up in an unhealthy eating lifestyle when under stress.
- Overeating
- Eating fast food fast
- Relying on comfort food
- Binge eating junk food
The enteric nervous system controls digestion. Stress triggers a shutdown of the digestive system leading to inflammation and increased acids. Limiting stress when possible, and dealing with it when it’s not, will go a long way in supporting a leaky gut.
You Can’t Hurry Healing
Allow time to heal. The body heals at its own rate. A leaky gut didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t turn around overnight. Depending on severity of the condition, people report anywhere from 2 or 3 months to 2 or 3 years to heal. It’s natural to want quick relief, it’s just not always possible.
Leaky Gut Defense is an effective component of a total gut wellbeing program, and it’s no substitute for necessary lifestyle changes. So, give your body time and the necessary components to heal.
Legal Disclaimer
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Pure Therapeutics products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease*
References used in this blog post:
Multiple Sclerosis Journals. Joscelyn, J; Kasper, LH. (2014, July, Vol: 20 issue: 12, pp. 1553-1559). Digesting the Emerging Role for the Gut Microbiome in Centeral Nervous System Demyelination..
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1352458514541579
Wikipedia. (2017, July). Intestinal Villus.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestinal_villus
Huffington Post. Chen, J., MD. (2013, June). Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL): Gut Benefits and Beyond
www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-chen-md/dgl-supplements_b_2976260.html
University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine. Dept of Fam Medicine. Handout. Elimination Diet.
fammed.wisc.edu/files/webfm-uploads/documents/outreach/im/handout_elimination_diet_patient.pdf
WebMD. Reviewer: Robinson, J., MD. (2015, October). Food Allergies and Food Intolerance; Reviewer: Robinson, J., MD. (2016, November). What’s an Elimination Diet?.
webmd.com
Wikipedia. (2017, June). Food Allergy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_allergy
Journal of Environmental and Public Health. Schwalfenberg, GK, Univ. of Alberta. (Vol. 2012, Article ID 727630). The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?
hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2012/727630/
Journal of Renal Nutrition. Passey, C. (2017, May. Vol 27, Issue 3, pp 151–160. Reducing the Dietary Acid Load: How a More Alkaline Diet Benefits Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.
jrnjournal.org/article/S1051-2276(16)30188-1/fulltext#sec12.1
National Center for Biotechnology: US Nat’l Library of Medicine. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. Kelly, JR, et. al. (2015, October). Breaking Down The Barriers: The gut microbiome, intestinal permeability and stress-related psychiatric disorders.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604320/