Why Bother with Probiotics? Probiotics - Part 2

1. The human body contains roughly 10 trillion human cells. However, the intestine contains 90 trillion bacterial cells! Within this bacterial biomass there are about 1000 different species and the capacity to dramatically impact on health if the balance of good and bad bacteria is seriously disturbed.

2. Increases in certain bad bacteria are known to produce neurotxins which cause paralysis of the bowel that leads to constipation.

3. If bad bacteria bind to structures in the small intestine called "Peyer's Patches" in greater numbers than good bacteria the immune system will switch towards a more inflammatory response and reduce our resistance to infection.

4. Bloating in the small intestine can be caused by an overgrowth of yeast or bacteria or both. What we eat feeds the overgrowth and produces gas which is trapped in the gut, hence the bloating.

5. An overgrowth of bad bacteia also can cause the small intestine to 'leak' by compromising the barrier properties of the small intestine. So harmful bacteria can travel across the wall of the intestine into the bloodstream triggering auto immune diseases in those of us who are genetically predisposed.

6. If large food molecules "leak" across the broken barrier into the bloodstream antibodies form to fight the 'invasion' leading to food sensitivities to these foods.

Allergies & Detoxing

We've been inspired this week to include a section about "causes & triggers" of CFS in our e-book. We've had a nephew undergo allergy testing for nuts who needs an epi-pen. This is the 3rd child in our very close circle of kids (neighbours & family) who now has an epi-pen for nuts and it's just made us realise how common these allergies have become.

Allergies are often part of the symptomatic make up for a chronic fatigue sufferer(& other chronic "western illness" sufferers). We have both developed allergies far worse, than we ever had as children, following CFS. We both were mildly allergy prone as children so for those who say it's all genetic, We do not deny that genes play a part.

However, from what we've read, allergies, and many of the other symptoms of CFS seem to be at least triggered, if not caused, by the following 3 things in the body;
*toxic chemicals
*other toxins caused by fungi & bacteria overgrowth
*heavy metals in the body (including the mother's body for babies, both through breast milk & the placenta).

These can all damage or change cellular structure or function, disrupt the endochrin system by upsetting hormone producing glands, even change DNA, and wear down the major organs of the body.

How do they get into our bodies?

Many of these toxins & heavy metals are;
*ingested in contaminated foods(ie pesticides, insecticides, animal medication & air & waterborne pollutants)

*ingested in drinking water (we have read statistics from UK that claim 700 chemicals/heavy metals in one glass of unfiltered tap water - we will find out the Australian stats for our book)

*breathed in from our environment.

*absorbed by the skin from personal care products or cleaning products at home or in work environments. (Your skin is an amazing organ it absorbs so much that is then sent off via the blood to other organs. Rub garlic or onion on the sole of your foot, it will be absorbed into the bloodstream and you'll be able to taste it within about 5 minutes)

*caused by overgrowth of candida and other "bad" fungi & bacteria in the body that exhausts the immune system & produces a bi-product that toxifies the system, causing allergies & skin irritations (among other things). The overgrowth can be caused by: carbohydrate (sugar) heavy diet, too many antibiotics & medications (eaten in meat as well as prescribed), stress, toxins & heavy metals.

The body is like the proverbial camel's back. There will be signs that things are getting heavy as we overload it but it will keep going until that final straw. Allergic symptoms are often a sign that it is overloaded. Plus they contribute further to the overload of the immune system so it becomes a vicious cycle.

We've talked a little on this blog already about detoxing your home and your body through diet. This blog outlines a bit more thoroughly one of the reasons why we think detoxing is important.

We'll outline heaps more of this in our e-book & include more more ways to detox.
We will make it available for free on this site soon. Probably chapter by chapter due to the iminant arrival of Baby #3. So keep a look out.

Diets that have changed our lives.

1. Gerald Green's The Anti Candida Dietary Regimen formulated by Nikki Zalewksi . (We found this in a little book called the ABC's of Disease by Phillip Day a medical researcher from Britain. We heard him speak and bought the book at the seminar. (Both these links are to Phillip Day's website www.credence.org . We would honestly recommend all of their publications. Not all that well edited but great life-changing info for people with chronic illness, allergies, cancer, or people who want to avoid them.)

The diet is basically - absolutely no yeast, no sugar(including sugary vegies such as root vegetables) no lactose, no gluten. Avoid most processed foods especially processed meats.

This diet made the most significant difference to our health. At the height of our CFS we both had live blood testing on the advice of a Naturopath. In both our cases we had ridiculous numbers of Candida Albicans in our blood stream.

This is a damaging fungi present in everyone's gut but out of control in many people because of our high carbohydrate western diet. It gets into the bloodstream through a tiny perforation in the bowel one day, then multiplies in the bloodstream depending on how healthy or unhealthy you are. Apparently 70% of people in Western civilization would have it in their bloodstream to some degree. Look at your tongue in the mirror. Does it have a white coating? This is a sign of Candida Albicans - often known as Thrush.

When we found the Anti Candida Diet we thought 'we need this'. (Craig's tongue was completely white and slimy to the tip, Lauren's was white but not so slimy to the tip) So we tried it.

At first we thought what DO we eat? It looked like the ultimate alfalfa diet but that was because we didn't know much about using nuts & seeds for cooking at that point. But we were diligent and prepared to do anything because we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We threw out everything in our pantry that didn't suit the diet.

Craig was not working at the time but living on the lounge and Lauren was working full time. We had no children so we could experiment with cooking on ourselves. Lauren did most of the cooking and Craig admits he never would have done it if he didn't have a crazy and desperate wife who is prepared to try new ideas. Lauren admits she would have given up very quickly if she didn't have a husband with great consistency and follow through.

The diet suggested 3 months. We did it for 12 months with no breaks. The difference in our lives was so worthwhile and it created some awesome habits which we now consider 'normal' and can't believe we ever didn't. After that we began to relax a little and moved onto the Food For Thought Lifestyle Regimen by Philip Day. We basically live by that now (Except when Lauren has given in to sugar cravings while pregnant.)