Chinese in origin and tart as a Granny Smith apple, kombucha is loaded with a long list of beneficial bacteria, amino acids, B vitamins, and enzymes that deliver a cidery flavor with a kick of fizziness. If you’ve never tried kombucha, you’re in for a bit of a surprise. The acidic tang takes a bit of getting used to, but don’t let that stop you from giving this fermented beverage a try. Many claims have been made about kombucha, but its primary health benefits include digestive support, increased energy, and liver detoxification.
Kvass is a fermented beverage (pronounced kuh-VAHSS) has Eastern European roots that date from ancient times. Kvass hasn’t caught on like kombucha but is steadily gaining popularity. Russian in origin, kvass has been traditionally made by fermenting rye or barley, which gives this cultured beverage a mild beer or ale flavor—minus the alcoholic content, however.
In recent years, kvass has been created with beets, an excellent food with an extensive nutritional profile. The fermentation process enhances the healthy benefits of beets and allows the nutrients to be readily absorbed by the body.
You may have to shop online to find kvass made from beets or other root vegetables like carrots.
Finally, let me mention some other probiotic-rich favorites that count as probiotic foods, as long as you purchase the organic fermented versions:
pickles, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, pickled ginger, and sourdough ancient grains, which are used for making bread. When fermented, these standards contain colonies of good bacteria that strengthen the immune system and cleanse impurities from the blood.
friendly bacteria—like my favorite brand, Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar.
— Sprouting —
Another centuries-old process, sprouting not only makes grains and seeds easier to digest but makes their nutrients easier for the body to absorb as well.
Sprouting deactivates a compound known as phytic acid, which is found on the coating of many seeds. Phytic acid can have a negative effect on the gut because it binds with minerals and blocks their absorption into the bloodstream. Phytic acid is an example of an antinutrient that naturally exists in grains, seeds, nuts, beans, and legumes. Other antinutrients include:
polyphenols, which inhibit the healthy digestion of copper, iron, zinc, and vitamin B1, along with enzymes, proteins, and starches found in plant foods.
enzyme inhibitors, which prevent adequate digestion and upset the
gastrointestinal tract. Enzyme inhibitors not only cause digestive problems, but they can also contribute to allergic reactions and mental illness.
lectins and saponins, which irritate the gastrointestinal tract, leading to immune responses like joint pain and rashes.
Antinutrients have protective properties that help plants ward off pests and insects. When predators ingest antinutrients in plant materials, they don’t feel so good. It stands to reason, then, that when humans eat grains, seeds, and nuts with antinutrients, our GI response interferes with our ability to digest the vitamins and minerals within the plants.
To neutralize the effects of antinutrients like phytic acid, we can ferment seeds and grains through sprouting, which involves soaking grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and beans and then letting them dry so that they become easier to digest and our bodies can access their full nutritional profile. According to a medical study published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, when comparing the seeds in sprouted grains to unsprouted grain seeds, the unsprouted grains had “lower protein content, deficiency of certain essential
amino acids, lower protein and starch availabilities, and the presence of certain antinutrients.”
Sprouting grains also makes them easier to digest for people with gluten sensitivities. In a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, researchers sprouted wheat kernels for up to one week while analyzing them at different stages to observe the changes in gluten concentrations and nutrient levels.16 They found that sprouting the wheat decreased the gluten proteins substantially, while increasing dietary fiber by 50 percent.
When choosing bread, look for the term “sprouted” on the label. I don’t eat bread very often, but when I do, I like Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grains bread, which is extremely high in fiber. Organic sourdough breads can be healthy and nutritious as well.
— Toxins in Our Homes —
In an effort to make our conventional food better suited to grocery stores and supply chains, the industrial agriculture (or “Big Ag”) industry uses toxic pesticides to produce those perfect-looking but not very good-tasting tomatoes we talked about earlier. But in addition to those toxins, there are more than eighty thousand largely untested chemicals that have been introduced into our environment in the past fifty years, all in the name of progress and convenience
—and all of which drives us a little further away from coexisting with dirt. We use plastic to cover our leftovers and stick them in the fridge. We buy Teflon pans so we don’t have to scrub them. We make microwave popcorn so we don’t have to heat all that oil and make a mess.
All of these thousands of chemicals combine in repeated toxic microexposures that accumulate daily on a cellular, systemic, even genetic level—including the bacteria in our guts. Remember my young patient Blake, from chapter 3? His diet played a major role in his inflammatory health condition, but it wasn’t the only thing causing his skin issues and leaky gut—the industrial cleaners his mother used around the home were adding to his toxic load and weakening his gut even further.
Remember, it’s not only what we eat but also what we touch. Everything we press, tap, rub, or nudge sheds microbes or other molecules that are quickly absorbed through our pores and directly into the bloodstream. Our body’s largest organ, the skin, is the first line of defense for our immune system—which leaves it vulnerable to the chemical onslaught as well.
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), women use an average of twelve personal care products daily; men, six.17 Your average grooming ritual might include soap, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, hair conditioner, lip balm, sunscreen, body lotion, shaving products (for men and women), and makeup (for women). And if you have children, you probably rub diaper cream, shampoo, lotion, and sunscreen on your hands before applying to their bodies. Just using these personal care products, women are exposed to a daily average of 168 chemical ingredients, and men to 85. But if you’re cleaning in the kitchen and around the house, you’re also exposing yourself to cleaning products like dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, floor cleaner, furniture polish, glass cleaner. Each one of those negative microexposures is another opportunity for your microbiome—and your gut lining—to take a toxic hit.
A survey by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health analyzed 2,983 chemicals in personal care and cleaning products and determined that:18
over 800 were toxic
nearly 800 caused acute toxicity (triggering a rapid reaction) 314 caused a biological mutation in the living system of the body 376 caused skin and eye irritation
148 could cause tumors in laboratory animals 218 caused reproductive complications
Toxin overload is one of the main causes of leaky gut. When the gut gets inflamed over time, the tight junctions degrade and leave you more vulnerable to food particles, environmental chemicals, and bacterial waste leaking from your digestive tract and traveling into your body. While listing all of the most problematic household toxins could probably be a book in itself, here are a few of the most common:
Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). This duo
can be found in 90 percent of all shampoos and many cosmetics, toothpastes, and hair conditioners. SLS and SLES are known as surfactants, meaning they reduce surface tension in products. These toxins can irritate the skin for up to a week, causing inflammation and damaging healthy skin oils. In a study published in International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, Canadian researchers found that exposure to surfactants significantly increases the permeability of the mucous layer and actively disbands and separates tight junctions.
Parabens. Also commonly found in lotions, shampoo, shaving gels, makeup, and many other personal care products, parabens are readily absorbed into the body and affect hormonal balance, sparking scientific debate and studies regarding the risk of breast cancer and male reproductive problems.
Phthalates. These chemicals lengthen the shelf life of cosmetics, hair spray, mousses, and fragrances. Phthalates damage the liver, kidney, and lungs, affecting the body’s ability to process toxins. About one billion pounds of this chemical toxin are produced annually.
VOCs. Volatile organic compounds are common petroleum-based chemicals that are neurotoxic and are present in perfumes, aftershave lotions, toiletries, shampoos, household cleaners, furniture polishes, and air fresheners.
DEA. Diethanolamine (DEA), used as an emulsifier and foaming agent in shampoos, toothpaste, and bubble bath, is a hormone-disrupting chemical that has been linked to stomach and esophageal cancer in laboratory animals. It’s telling that DEA has been banned in Europe but is still permissible in the United States.
Triclosan. We’ve talked about this one before. The Environmental Protection Agency has labeled triclosan a pesticide, but we know it as the “active
ingredient” in antibacterial soaps, body washes, and toothpaste. Triclosan is proven to accumulate in body tissues, leading to kidney and liver issues, yet it’s been added to many consumer products to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. Triclosan is also found in products ranging from kitchenware and furniture to clothing and toys. Way back in 2004, British researchers demonstrated that triclosan made E. coli O157 antibiotic resistant after just two “sublethal” exposures—in other words, enough to hurt it, but not enough to kill it. Once it acquired that resistance, the E. coli was able to resist many
other antimicrobial agents, including chloramphenicol, erythromycin,
imipenem, tetracycline, and trimethoprim, as well as a number of biocides.19 (Hmm, I wonder what’s happened in the decade since?)
Chlorine. Commonly used in municipal water systems as well as backyard pools, chlorine is also found in many household cleaners. A recent study published in the journal Water Research found that chlorinating water not only increased the prevalence of antibiotic resistance among known bacteria, it also increased the number of brand-new antibiotic-resistant genes. That’s right: our drinking water is actively encouraging the evolution of antibiotic resistance.
This, as I mentioned before, is just a partial list. Consider that you likely run into these seven classes of chemicals daily—along with dozens more. Your goal should be to minimize your exposure to potentially harmful toxins that are proven to not only damage your gut lining and create antibiotic resistance, but affect your body’s endocrine system, leaving your thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands even more vulnerable than before.
— Solve It with Essential Oils —
One of the ways I suggest my patients stay clean and use proper sanitation—yet not go overboard—is by choosing natural plant-based products such as essential oils. These aromatic compounds are extracted from plants that contain gentle antimicrobial properties. For example, tea tree oil, also known as melaleuca, has 327 medical studies to date proving its benefits as a gentle topical antimicrobial.
A little tea tree oil mixed with water or coconut oil is a much safer hand sanitizer than the bottles of brightly colored gel you’ll find at the drugstore.
Essential oils are extracted directly from the bark, flowers, fruit, leaves, seeds, or roots of a plant or tree. A steaming process distills the oil, separating it from water-based compounds. Even one drop of one of these highly concentrated oils can have a powerful health benefit. The reason I say highly concentrated is that it takes 150 pounds of lavender flowers to make only sixteen ounces of lavender essential oil and sixty-five pounds of red rose petals to make just a single fifteen- milliliter bottle of rose essential oil—which can sell for up to a thousand dollars!
Think about those incredible ratios when you purchase a small vial of essential oil.
Essential oils have very small molecules that easily penetrate your cells. These molecules differ from fatty oils made from vegetables and nuts, which are much larger and cannot penetrate your cells, so they aren’t therapeutic in the same manner. When you apply vegetable oils to the skin, they can clog your pores.
Essential oils, on the other hand, are transdermal and will soak right into your skin.
Check out the Eat Dirt recipes on page 245 for step-by-step instructions on how to make everything from toothpaste to toilet cleaner using essential oils.
Once you learn how easy and pleasurable—and inexpensive!—nontoxic home and body care products made with essential oils can be, you’ll be hooked.
BONUS: For more DIY home remedies and recipes with essential oils you can download my eBook as a free bonus at: www.draxe.com/DIY-Guide
TEFLON: THE TIME SAVER THAT COULD BE KILLING US Pots and pans coated with Teflon or nonstick surfaces are potential health hazards. The chemical that creates its trademark surface—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)—releases toxins when heated. And what else do you do with cookware but heat it?
In fact, DuPont, the maker of Teflon, has commissioned its own studies that show that when Teflon is heated to 680 degrees Fahrenheit, six dangerous gases are released, two of which are known carcinogens. If 680 degrees sounds hot to you, it is, but the Environmental Working Group determined that a Teflon pan can reach 721 degrees Fahrenheit in just five minutes.
To protect you and your family, I recommend these safe cookware choices:
stainless steel cast iron
ceramic
glass bakeware
These tried-and-true kitchen cookware choices have stood the test of time. Add a little butter or healthy coconut oil in the pan and start cooking.
Sure, you’ll have to pay more attention to foods sticking to the surface, but it’s well worth it in the long run to protect your family from toxins.
— Gut Protectors: Practice Earth-Friendly “Chemistry”
—
You can begin to protect yourself against environmental toxins with these strategies. You’ll learn more about each of these approaches as we move through part 2.
Organic foods are the healthiest foods on the planet. You’ll never go wrong when you fuel your body with food that hasn’t been grown with pesticides and herbicides or raised in stockyards with antibiotics and hormones.
Fermenting foods is not only a way to preserve foods but an excellent way for your body to receive much-needed probiotics in the gut. Fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut, pickled carrots, and kimchi supply the gut with useful microorganisms.
Experiment with soaking and sprouting. When grains, nuts, seeds,
legumes, and beans are soaked or allowed to germinate, they transform into abundant nutritional sources with vitamin C and vitamins B2, B5, and B6. Consider doing a “makeover” of your home or living space with your
personal and skin-care products and home-cleaning products. Clean out your under-the-sink cabinets and medicine cabinets and replace those toxic products with nontoxic brands recommended on the Environmental
Working Group website or stocked at your natural food store.
Living in a world with this much toxicity can certainly be stressful.
Unfortunately, stress—all by itself—is a contributing factor of leaky gut. Let’s look at how the nervous system in your gut factors into your health—and how taking care of yourself and slowing down might be the best thing you can do to repair your gut.
8
Our Stressful Lives
O
ne of the biggest (and most often overlooked) causes of leaky gut is emotional and mental stress. Stress makes us sick, wears us out emotionally, and can exacerbate just about any health condition you can think of. In fact, more than 75 percent of all physician visits are for stress-related ailments—many of them related to the gut.This is no coincidence. The mind-body connection is not a philosophy; it is a biological fact. The microbes and nerve cells in the gut communicate with each other and the brain constantly via what’s known as the gut-brain-microbiota axis.1 At the center of this axis is the vagus nerve, a thick bundle of nerves that runs along the spinal column, connecting the hundred million neurons in the gut’s enteric nervous system to the base of the brain at the medulla.2 This connection is at the root of that “butterflies in the stomach” feeling we get when we’re excited—or the “kick to the gut” we feel when we’re stressed.
In addition to this direct gut-brain connection, our millions of enteric nerves—
collectively known as our so-called second brain—have their own receptors that react to the presence of certain gut bacteria and metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids. This second brain is responsible for producing 90 percent of the body’s serotonin (the neurotransmitter of contentment that’s known to soothe anxiety and depression), as well as more than 50 percent of our dopamine (the neurotransmitter associated with excitement, learning, and reward). When the microbial balance is off in our gut, pathogenic microbes can interfere with the production of these neurotransmitters in many ways, including gobbling up
needed nutrients that support mood, and secreting toxic chemicals that interfere with hormone and vitamin synthesis. When we’re not able to produce optimal levels of these neurotransmitters, we are more likely to experience heightened stress and a lifelong tendency toward mental health challenges such as chronic anger, addiction, anxiety, depression, and more.
These mechanisms operate in a constant feedback loop—the fewer good microbes you have, the fewer positive neurotransmitters, and the more pronounced your response to stress becomes. The more stress hormones you produce, the greater your inflammation, which further irritates your stomach lining, increasing your likelihood of developing leaky gut—which leads to increased levels of pathogenic bacteria and yeast overgrowth. A 2014 study published in the journal Gut found that emotional or psychological stress greatly increased the risk of leaky gut and inflammatory bowel disease.3 Even short bouts of stress can trigger or worsen leaky gut. In one study, researchers monitored participants’ stress response to a stressful event (in this case, public speaking) by measuring their cortisol levels, and then assessed their gut health.
They found that the people who released the most cortisol in reaction to the stress also experienced the greatest change in their intestinal permeability.4
I believe one of the primary contributing factors to my mother’s cancer diagnosis as well as her leaky gut was her propensity for chronic stress. She was the mother of three kids and worked five days a week teaching children with special needs. A devoted wife and mom, she drove us kids to after-school activities, cooked dinner most nights, and did the housekeeping.
Looking back, I don’t know how she did it all. Because of her busy schedule and emotional stress, my mother constantly felt overwhelmed and struggled with exhaustion. It wasn’t until the second time she was diagnosed with cancer that she followed my advice to not only change her diet but also make real changes to her life that would help reduce her stress. Besides devoting more time to her two favorite outdoor (and “dirt”-centric) hobbies—horseback riding and gardening—Mom also:
Cut back on work hours until she eventually shifted to a part-time position with twenty hours a week
Took Sundays off