High amounts of preservatives in modified foods have been linked to the wide arrangement of digestive problems we are experiencing now a days. Yet, probiotics are only one of the steps found in the gut rehabilitation process.
Man today, especially in modern countries, has more digestive problems than any other generation because of the widespread and pervasive use of preservatives in our foods and the drastic increase in modified foods in our diet.1 It is an epidemic in the United States, where food is more highly processed and less nutritious than anywhere else on Earth. The high sugar and carbohydrate intake is a fuel that promotes the fungus (like Candida) growing in our guts. The preservatives in food designed to kill bacteria in bread, cereal, and canned and dried food products are killing the good bacteria that we need in our guts. Further, widespread and overprescribed antibiotic use disrupts the body’s bacterial balance, resulting in numerous digestive-related problems.2
While there is a rising effort to stay away from processed foods and reduce our carbohydrate and sugar intake by eating healthier, local, organic produce, we are a nation plagued with disease and obesity because of our dietary habits. We must learn to correct and maintain healthier alternatives and lifestyles. It is just as important to repair the debilitated state in which we now find our guts as it is to support the other systems of our body.
If you have tried probiotics, then you know that they can have a positive effect. You have also seen them all too often fail to make a significant change. Allow me to shed some light on why that might be. If your front yard were a huge crabgrass/weed patch, would you sprinkle thousands of dollars of high-quality seed on it, expecting a beautiful lawn to emerge? Of course not. You would first get rid of the weeds. The bacteria and fungus in an imbalanced gut have covered every square inch of livable space. They protect themselves with exotoxins and make it virtually impossible for any new bacteria (the good ones from your probiotics) to grow and survive. There’s no room at the inn. Expensive probiotics either die or just move on down the tube feeling sad and pooped. This provides no net gain.3
Consider this three-pronged approach to the gut rehabilitation process. The first step is to get rid of the weeds; kill off as much of the bad bacteria and irritating fungus as possible. The second step is to re-seed the gut with good bacteria, which will aid in digestion and keep out the fungus. Third, we need to repair the damage that has been done to the epithelial lining of the intestines by the fungus and bad bacteria. This can be done holistically and naturally.
• Kill off bad bacteria and fungus
• Re-seed the gut with good bacteria
• Repair the damage to the gut
To accomplish the first step, we need a broad-spectrum antimicrobial that is biocompatible but kills bacteria and fungus significantly. An enhanced aqueous silver colloid of better than 40 ppm will accomplish this nicely. It is best taken on an empty stomach and in bolus dosing of two ounces every two hours. This can be continued for two or three days, with one eight-ounce bottle per day being consumed. Remember that mixing a colloid of silver with anything containing salt will ruin it, and food tends to make it less effective. Taking the colloid on an empty stomach and not eating for an hour afterward maximizes the effect.
ALTERNATIVE HEALTH
.."It is just as important to repair the debilitated state in which we now find our guts as it is to support the other systems of our body."...
After two or three days of that protocol, you will have attenuated the bacteria and fungus in your gut significantly. Another side benefit of this is that the level of H. pylori in your stomach will also be dramatically reduced. While you won’t “sterilize” the gut (it’s simply not possible in this manner), you will make room for important beneficial bacteria to live and thrive. This is of critical importance.4
It is imperative to select a good quality silver colloid. Some are 10 to 15 parts per million (ppm), which is simply too weak. It will not kill enough bacteria and fungus to make the process viable. Others seek to increase the silver content by compounding the silver with a citride, a sugar, or a protein. These colloids can have concentrations of 250 to 500 ppm but are relatively ineffective. The very act of compounding the silver atoms so that you can suspend more of them renders them far less antimicrobial. When tested in the lab, they don’t kill even as well as the 15 ppm pure colloids. A 45 ppm pure or enhanced silver colloid will provide you with the best kill and the broadest effectiveness.5,9
Once you have knocked down the population of bad bacteria and fungus in your gut, it’s time to re-seed with the probiotic of your choice. This will reestablish the fauna of bacteria necessary to support proper digestion and nutrient extraction from your food. The probiotic ingestion should continue for at least a month.
It is not critically important to have the most expensive probiotics available. A healthy gut has over 200 types of bacteria. Most probiotics have only a few dozen.6 The most important task is to make sure that you have provided a good environment in which the good bacteria can multiply and thrive. You will have provided this environment where they’re not fighting to survive when you cleared out most of the bad bacteria and fungus in the previous step.
The third step is to repair the epithelial lining. Antibiotics, preservatives, and sugar have allowed a fauna of pathogens to eat away at your intestinal lining, 24/7 for years. This tissue needs to be healed. The reduction in the mucus layer caused by Candida overgrowth leaves the microvilli unprotected, which allows direct contact of the food to the tissue, and your immune system believes that to be an invasion. It causes the immune system to live in a continual state of heightened response. Inflammation severely reduces the body’s ability to fight actual infections, and the constant inflammation will cause a host of other systemic symptoms. It will also dramatically reduce the ability of your gut to absorb nutrition and synthesize vitamins.7
To facilitate healing, one should take a mixture of herbs designed to heal the tissues, increase mucus to protect the region, and reduce the local inflammation. This will facilitate the reconstruction of the epithelial lining and restoration of the insulating mucus layer. We suggest plantain, licorice, aloe vera, peppermint, marshmallow root, and slippery elm bark. These can be encapsulated or made into a tea. Again, taking the capsules or drinking the tea on an empty stomach is best. When food is regularly being introduced into the gut, encapsulated herbs are better than tea because they tend to release in the area most in need of repair.8
Of course, building new tissue requires some very basic building blocks. Take 2,000 mg of Vitamin C, 10,000 IUs of Vitamin D, and a good B-complex daily. Taking 250 mg of magnesium will also help support the mucus layer.
The GI tract is critical for absorption of nutrients through digestion and the proper operation of your immune system. A nonfunctional or poorly functioning digestive system can cause a myriad of health problems because it produces nutritional deficiencies and a compromised immune system. Diseases such as arthritis, autoimmune disorders, and many skin conditions have been traced to problems of the gut. Obviously, conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, SIBO, and Crohn’s are problems of the gut. Without a digestive system, you would die. So why is it hard for us to appreciate that, with a poorly working digestive system, we will be in poor health?
Kill, re-seed, repair. Put your gut back on track and watch your health improve.
Steven Frank is an innovative herbalist for Nature's Rite. His concoctions and decoctions have helped thousands achieve more comfortable healthier lives. Mr. Frank has spent more than a decade doing medical research and has numerous patents in the healthcare arena. His specialty is antimicrobial techniques. Mr. Frank can be reached for comment at 800-991 7088 or [email protected].
References
1. https: www.nicUk.nih.gov 'health-information health-statistics digestive-diseases
2. Antibiotics as Major Disruptors of Gut Microbiota Ramirez J, et al. PMID: 33330122 PMCID: PMC7732679 DOI: 10.3389/ fcimb.2020.572912
3. Rountree R. The human microbiome — Humans as super-organisms. Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 2011;17:70.
4. Lynch SI/ et al. Targeting gut flora to treat and prevent disease. The Journal of Family Practice. 2016;65:2369.
5. Super Neti Juice us. antibiotics: internal microbiology testing; Klearsen corporation 2005, online http://www.natures-rite-remedies. com/holistic/pdf/supernetivsantibiotics.pdf
6. Rajilic-Stojanovic M, de Vos WM (2014) The first 1000 cultured species of the human gastrointestinal microbiota. FEMS Microbiol Rev 38: 996-1047 doi: 10.1111/1574-6976.12075. PubMed ID 24861948
7. Pelaseyed T, et al. Immunol Rev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 Jul 1. Published in final edited form as: Immunol Rev. 2014 Jul; 260(1): 8-20. doi: 10.1111/imr.l2182. PMCID: PMC4281373 NIHMSID: NIHMS644456PMID: 24942678
8. Andrew Chevallier, F., 2000. Encyclopedia of herbal medicine. In: J. Jones, ed. Revised 2nd Edition. Great Britain: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
9. Antimicrobial Testing of Silver Colloids and Silver Iontophoresis, Amber Cornelius and Steven Frank, 2006. Pp 154-165.
