by Libby Weaver
One of the reasons I’m so concerned with bowel evacuation is that if this process is inefficient, waste can remain inside the bowel for too long. While it is there, it is fermenting. This can give the liver additional and unnecessary toxins to process, as well as “suffocating” the cells that line the colon. The waste can also dry out and harden, sticking itself to the lining of the bowel wall, narrowing the tube through which the new waste can flow. If you have ever seen soil in the middle of a drought, cracked, dried out, and unable to absorb a brief shower of rain, that is the way hardened feces can behave in your colon.
If this scenario occurs, waste can only move through the middle of this newly formed, feces-lined tube, and the efficiency of waste elimination is decreased. The old, hard, compacted fecal matter remains. When the cells that line the bowel are coated with hard feces, they are unable to “breathe,” and a process that was once described in medical textbooks as “autointoxication” ensues. To remedy this, chamomile is one of the best things you can take. Drink plenty of tea, use the medicinal herbal tincture, or take capsules with each meal. Once the waste has dried out, it is difficult to rehydrate it so it can move through and be excreted. Chamomile softens the waste and helps the bowel wall relax. Drinking aloe vera juice before you eat breakfast can also be particularly helpful for an irritated gut.
Another remedy is one that many people have very strong opinions about: Colon hydrotherapy, or colonics as they are known. This process involves a tube being inserted into a person’s rectum through which warm or cool water gently flows. This allows the hardened fecal matter to soften, like heavy, consistent rain on dried-out soil, allowing the large bowel to empty fully, often getting rid of built-up waste that may have been there for a very long time. I have had clients tell me that the waste they excreted during their first colonic was black, inferring that it may have been there for many years, interfering with healthy bowel function. I had a lady once tell me she saw popcorn in the “viewing” pipe during her colonic and knew that the last time she had eaten popcorn was at the movies with her ex-boyfriend whom she hadn’t been with for over six months!
Colonics polarize people. The idea either appeals to you or it doesn’t. There is no middle ground with people’s love or dislike of colon hydrotherapy. I will encourage you, though, not to lose sight of what trends have done to medicine. Up until the early 1900s, colonics were part of general medicine, and doctors understood the importance of good bowel evacuation. When you examine the history of medicine and observe the split between what we now know to be Western medicine and complementary medicine, it is clear why this happened; however, this book does not seek to explore this segregation in detail. I will simply say that colonics were once accepted as a “normal” treatment method for a host of health conditions, not just bowel issues. With a well-functioning bowel, an enormous load is not only taken off the digestive system but also the liver, the organ primarily responsible for preventing accumulation of problematic substances in the body.
Help prevent bowel cancer by ensuring efficient bowel evacuation using methods that suit you! Always seek advice from a health professional before undertaking colon hydrotherapy, if it appeals to you.
Opioids
An additional concept within digestive health that is not only fascinating but also has wide-ranging effects on how we feel and function, including gut-transit time (how quickly food moves through the digestive system), mood, concentration, and, potentially, food addictions, is a concept known as the “opioid excess theory.”
The cells that line a healthy small intestine look like a row of neatly stacked bricks with finger-like projections (called “villi”), side by side as demonstrated in figure 4 below.
Figure 4: A healthy gut
Food (circles) traveling through a healthy mature intestine moves straight ahead. Only nutrients (e.g., vitamin C and zinc) enter the blood vessels that closely follow the intestines.
In a healthy gut, only the tiny nutrients (vitamins and minerals) diffuse (move) across the gut wall into the blood, and this is the precious process through which we are nourished and stay alive. However, the cells that line the gut can come apart, as if the bricks are stacked with gaps, illustrated in figure 5 below. This is, in fact, how we are born.
Figure 5: A “leaky” gut
Microscopic, poorly digested fragments of food (circles) traveling through an immature gut or “leaky” intestine can escape out of the gut and enter the bloodstream.
When we are born, the cells lining our digestive system are a distance apart, a primary reason why we can’t feed all foods to newborns; foods must be gradually introduced to a child over time to prevent allergic reactions as the gut matures. The gut is immature when we are born, and it slowly matures from birth until reaching full maturity somewhere between the ages of two and five years, depending on the individual child and their health and life experiences in the early years. The cells lining the gut can, however, also come apart during adulthood as a result of a gastrointestinal infection or stress.
The chronic production of stress hormones can compromise the integrity of the gut cells and signal to them that they need to move further apart so that more nutrition can get through to the blood, as nutrient requirements increase during times of stress. Everything about us is geared for survival.
When food travels through a gut with good cell lining integrity, it can only go straight ahead. However, if it travels through a gut in which the cells have come apart, it may go straight ahead or move out of the gut and into the blood. Nutrients, the vitamins and minerals from food, are intended to enter the blood, not fragments of food itself. If the immune system, which protects you from infection, thinks that the food fragment is a germ, it will then mount an immune response against it. This is one way adults can develop food sensitivities. Poor gut integrity is also described as “leaky gut.” Once you were able to eat anything without a problem, and now certain foods seem to cause you grief.
This process can be healed by minimizing the irritation to the gut lining by avoiding some foods or ingredients for a period of time, while also working on the gut integrity. Often people are able to tolerate the foods that cause them grief (if they choose to consume them) once we have worked out why they have the “leaky gut” symptoms in the first place. Did the problem begin as a result of stress or an infection? The power to heal the symptoms is always in the why. I seek to establish the road that led to the challenge for the patient, as the road in needs to be the road out.
The blood supply into which the food fragments flow is the same blood supply that goes to your brain. Humans have what is known as a blood-brain barrier (BBB), a semipermeable layer separating the peripheral blood supply from that of the brain. The BBB was always considered to be a highly selective membrane that only allowed substances into the brain that would be of benefit. Research has now shown us that this is not the case.4 In cases where gut permeability is increased, the BBB is often suspected of having the same increased permeability. Further reading about this topic is noted in Resources and References at the back of the book.
If we could literally see the food fragments, their structure is very similar to that of opioids. Opioids are substances that help humans feel good and also modulate pain. We have our own natural feel-good hormones that have an opioid-based structure, called endorphins. In our brain and in our gut, we have what are called opioid receptors. Just because your body makes a substance (chemical messenger/hormone) doesn’t mean you necessarily get the effects of that substance. The substance must bind to a receptor, just like a lock and a key fitting together, for you to get the effect generated by that hormone. In this case, when we make endorphins and they bind to the opioid receptors, we feel pleasure. Heroin and morphine are opioids and they too bind to the opioid receptors in the brain. Anything that gives a human pleasure has the potential to be addictive—hence, a human’s capacity to be addicted to the aforementioned drugs. You can also see from this example how someone might become add
icted to exercise. Activity certainly generates endorphins when we partake. So whatever brings you joy, whether it is a sunset, a spin class, a football game, or a child’s laughter, what has happened in that moment is that you have made endorphins and they have bound to opioid receptors, and you have felt pleasure.
How does this relate to food? Some of the fragments of food that can escape out of a leaky gut into the bloodstream can also have an opioid structure. Their names include beta-casomorphine and gluteo-morphine. They are partially digested fragments of casein (a major protein in cow’s milk products) and gluten (a major protein in wheat, rye, barley, oats, and triticale). Just like endorphins, these opioids from food also have the capacity to bind to the opioid receptors in the brain and very subtly make you feel good. The effect is not usually noticed as an enormous boost in mood, but you might feel like you can’t live without this food, and have to eat it in some form daily or even at every meal.
I have found this to be the case countless times. If a patient has a set of symptoms that warrants omitting a food from their diet for a trial period to see if it will make a difference, some people have no problem; there is no resistance. Others will beg me not to exclude the food, even though they are seeing me because they want results, and all I am asking is for them to omit a particular food for four measly weeks, as that may just give them the answer to some of their health concerns! I am not judging someone who responds in this way. I am simply pointing out the power food can have over an individual can be just like an addiction. Their connection to it, their need for it, is often highly emotional and also potentially physical because of this opioid mechanism.
Food was never intended to fulfill this role for humans. Yet, on a physical level, it is possible that the opioid effect some foods have the potential to create (when a leaky gut is occurring), is one of the factors behind food addictions. This mechanism may be a reason why some people overeat or eat and feel like they can’t stop. This is an area that deserves much more research, time, and money as the opioid excess theory may be involved in numerous health conditions as well as obesity. Much research has already been done in relation to children with autism and adults with schizophrenia where these “exorphins” (opioids from an exogenous source—consumed from outside as opposed to having been made by the body) have been found to play a role in the expression of symptoms of these conditions.5 Food not only has the capacity to affect our body shape and size, but also our mood, and our digestion of some foods may be incomplete, leading to the generation of an opioid effect and addiction to particular foods. If you suspect this process is going on for you, omit all sources of that dietary component (gluten and/or casein) for a trial period of four weeks. The first four to seven days will likely be the most difficult, but persevere. The results may be enormously worth it. If you do omit significant dietary components from your diet for extended periods, it is important to consult a health professional to make sure you do not miss out on any nutrients essential for your health.
TCM perspective on digestion
The spleen rules digestion in TCM. TCM considers that each organ has its own vital energy, as well as there being whole-body energy. If spleen energy is down, you will feel your usual hunger for meals, but as soon as you eat even a small amount, you will feel full and possibly bloated. Your short-term memory is likely not to be what it once was, and you may possibly feel as if you eat like a bird yet your weight continues to escalate. You can eat and exercise with a real commitment, but if your spleen energy is low, from a TCM perspective, your body fat may not budge.
Stimulating spleen energy can make a real difference. Acupuncture will do this, as will bitter herbs and warming foods. Bone broth can be particularly beneficial for healing the gut and is also nutritionally dense. You’ll find more information about this and a recipe at www.drlibby.com.
Spleen energy will decrease in the first place from what is simply described as overthinking. The busy mind, relentlessly thinking of the next thing you need to do, takes energy away from the vital process of digestion every day, according to TCM principles. The spleen may also lose some of its strength if the liver or kidney (adrenals sit on top of the kidneys) energy is overbearing or low. Working with a wonderful TCM practitioner can also assist you to heal your gut.
Food combining
Food combining is not a dietary strategy I was taught at university. I share it with you here, though, as having worked with clients one-on-one now for more than two decades, I get to see what works and what doesn’t work for people. And although science cannot explain the intricacies of why this approach helps some—not all—people significantly (I can hypothesize why it works), I include it here as a potential strategy to assist a digestive system that has a tendency to bloat and be unpredictable.
In clinical practice I’ve seen food combining enhance digestion, energy, vitality, and fat loss, and it can be a great way to combat a bloated tummy. It involves never eating animal protein with carbohydrate-rich foods. In practice, that means no meat with potatoes. No hamburgers in buns. It means that if you eat meat, chicken, or fish, you need to eat it with vegetables that have a high water content, not starchy ones, such as potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, corn, or any other starchy foods such as pasta, bread, or rice.
If you eat vegetable protein, such as one of the many types of lentils, chickpeas, beans, or tempeh then, under food-combining principles, you do not eat meat with these foods, but rather any vegetable at all, including starchy ones if they appeal. If you feel like eating rice then, with food combining, it needs to be a vegetarian meal. Seeds and nuts are also best eaten with vegetarian meals due to the vegetable protein content of the nuts and seeds. Based on food-combining concepts, oils and other foods rich in fats including avocado can be eaten with either animal-based meals or starch-based meals.
Another principle of food combining is that fruit can only be consumed as your first food of the day and not again during the day. You are also encouraged to omit all refined sugars, artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, and preservatives. I know people who live by the concept of food combining and feel spectacular. I know others to whom it makes no difference.
If you want to try it, but it seems a little extreme, apply the zigzag principle. This means that most of the time you follow food-combining practices (“zig”), but one day a week—or two to three meals a week if you’d prefer—you relax and “zag.” This way, food combining becomes a sustainable way to live, as you are able to socialize without feeling restricted and can also eat the foods you might love, just not every day. It is a structured way of eating on which some people literally thrive, and I have seen it truly change people’s lives. For others, though, food combining would take every aspect of joy out of their lives. It is not for you if you feel like this. Use the zigzag principle if you do want to use food combining, or apply other strategies in this book to help support digestion or other pieces of your weight-loss—essentially your optimum health—puzzle.
Signs your digestive system needs support
Reflux and/or indigestion
Recurring bad breath
Recurring bad taste in your mouth
Recurring diarrhea
Recurring constipation or faecal impaction
Intermittent bouts of diarrhea and constipation
Bloated, abdominal distension
Excessive wind (based on your perception)
Offensive odor to flatulence
Pale stools
Black stools
Frothy stools
Poorly formed stools (put simply, the ideal stool looks like a sausage)
Food visible in stools
Gut pain (all gut pain needs to be investigated by your doctor first)
If you have traveled and had diarrhea (and this has ceased), but you haven’t felt the same since
Your tummy makes noises and you can hear them, particularly at night
Unexplained fatigue (other causes ruled out)
You feel lousy/worse
after eating
You regularly overeat
You burp/belch a lot; even water sometimes makes you burp
You feel like you are becoming sensitive to foods, or more and more foods
You feel stressed regularly
You experience what I refer to as “incomplete evacuation”
You rarely feel hungry (and this is not due to overeating)
You feel hungry. You start eating but then you feel full very quickly
You feel “addicted” to some foods
You take medication regularly
You have taken antibiotics many times
You tend to experience low moods
You have been diagnosed with depression (80 percent of serotonin is made in the gut)
You bowel habits are unpredictable
Your skin is congested, breaks out easily and unpredictably, or tends toward redness/inflammation.
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DIGESTION SOLUTIONS
Digestion is central and essential to every process in our bodies, which is why, although digestion is not a weight-loss puzzle piece on its own, I wanted you to read this section first, as it is the base from which we’ll build. So, whether your focus is weight loss, optimizing your health and wellbeing, and/or improving a challenging or a diseased gut, understanding your digestive system is a crucial step on your way to exploring even more fascinating aspects of your health and solving your weight-loss puzzle.
Slow down! Chew your food.
Eat real food. Avoid processed food. Provide your body with what it has the equipment to digest.
Include fats and/or proteins with each meal, as you are less likely to be hungry again quickly and more likely to easily eat less total food across the day, than if you simply eat carbohydrates on their own.