Herbs for Health Column by Su-lin Sze |
“How resilient is YOUR gut?” When the Great Body Detoxifier becomes leaky...
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One of the most common conditions that I see in clinic is Leaky Gut Syndrome, a combination of symptoms that both directly and indirectly involve the gut. These include:
- Food allergies or intolerances
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- Poor digestion and absorption of nutrients
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- A tendency to swing into both diarrhoea and constipation
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Such signs reflect that the integrity of the gut wall is compromised, and therefore both beneficial nutrients and toxic waste materials are leaking out of the gut and into the body, leading to a state of Auto-intoxication. This may lead to ulcerative colitis, cancer and other diseases of the digestive system in the longer term. In the short term it means two things:
1. you are becoming more and more toxic and prone to illness
2. you are not absorbing the full goodness of the dietary or nutritional products you consume
In iridology the standard sign of compromised gut health is called Radii Solaris and I see this in all of my clients with a leaky gut. It resembles the expanding rays around the sun and is classified into two levels – minor or major. If you can see Radii Solaris in your irises, it would be worthwhile visiting an iridologist for further examination.
| Minor Radii Solaris |
Major Radii Solaris |
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When toxicity spreads through the body it puts added strain on to other detoxification organs or systems such as the liver and the lymph. This will in turn cause liver underfunctioning and lymphatic congestion. Associated conditions like Candidiasis will flourish where gut integrity is poor, and will build on the symptoms listed above to make your life pretty miserable. So it is crucial to treat the gut as the first stage in any healing program. The gut wall needs to be made less permeable so that leakage of substances into the body is limited.
Common causes of a Leaky Gut include the use of Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel disease, stress, poor dietary choices, food allergies and intolerances, long term alcohol consumption, use of antibiotics and aspirin.
Natural treatments for a Leaky Gut |
There are a number of herbal remedies and nutritional supplements that will see you well onto the way to recovery and better digestion. Herbs are powerful medicines that can enhance the health and integrity of your gut and can regulate digestion, bringing positive changes relatively quickly. Nutritional supplements provide important nutrients such as Glutamine, which form part of the gut wall and are crucial in treating a leaky gut. There are no side effects involved when you treat yourself naturally with herbs and supplements at the correct dosage. Aloe Vera Juice is helpful as well as Slippery Elm served twice daily in warm water. These will be useful supplements in restoring health to the gut wall.
Always see a professional herbalist for your prescription and dosage. Never self-prescribe without knowledge of herbal actions and contraindications.
What you can do in your lifetstyle |
I call the gut the Great Body Detoxifier, and it is controlled and directly affected by the nervous system; the Great Body Regulator. So remember that supporting your nervous system is the key to better digestion. Work on improving how you handle stress with activities such as exercise, meditation, art therapy, dancing. One of my favourite stress busters is unstructured time where anything goes. Be it sleeping on the verandah, or colouring in, watching the ocean, reading or writing. If you like to receive, aromatherapy massage will bring together the medicinal qualities of plants along with the hands-on nurturing of a massage.
For more information and how to contact Su-lin |
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