I have been reading a book about digestion (Healthy Gut Guide) to help get that underway for all of us. Since our digestion controls everything we can absorb from our foods, I figured this was a good place to start. Essentially if our digestion is working at its optimum we will absorb all those superfoods and supplements so much better. If we are not absorbing them, then they are simply going to be flushed down the toilet, so to speak.
Well, I came across a chapter in this book about a condition called leaky gut syndrome. It sounds worse than it is! Basically, we have a mucous lining in our digestive system which is about one cell layer thick. It protects us from absorbing the toxins in our food, undigested food compounds and bacteria. This lining can easily become damaged, especially by taking anti-inflammatory medication. It also gets weakened by food allergies (gluten), alcohol, stress and parasitic infection.
So, what happens?
The lining protects us from absorbing all the toxins and undigested food and bacteria. When that lining is weakened, those toxins and things go straight into our bloodstream. This will make us super tired and is also cause for the body to rush into auto-response. In other words it switches on its auto-immune system on those foods and toxins that are in the bloodstream.
Once they are in the bloodstream, it also lands up coming back to the liver to clean up. As we know, the liver is responsible for controlling all toxins in the body and also our hormone balance. The more strain we place on this poor liver of ours, the more it has to work and guess what? It has to get to what it can and leave the rest in the body. This means those nasty toxins we are trying to flush out aren’t going to get out. These toxins then permeate into other organs and tissues, and that includes our womanly bits.
So, to recap: the gut is not protecting the inner body from toxins and bacteria; they land up in the bloodstream; this means the liver has to clean them up; the liver can’t do all of it, so it lands up staying in the body.
When toxins stay in the body and we give them space to do that (fat cells), it makes it really hard to heal your Endo. See, toxins cause an inflammatory reaction in the body. Of course! The body wants to protect itself so it draws attention to the area where it senses danger. This is why we experience all sorts of inflammatory responses: UTI, joint pain, bowel problems and Endo. They are all inflammatory in their nature.
The other sad thing is, when the liver is overworked, it actually produces stress by-products which actually cause damage in our oxygen-sensitive tissues (the brain, heart, blood, lungs and kidneys).
Now, without scaring you to bits…..
There is actually an easy solution to all of this leaky gut syndrome!
See, because leaky gut syndrome has to do with the mucous lining of our intestine, we can heal that lining really easily with aloe. Aloe heals the lining and protects it brilliantly.
We can add a few other things to the list to ensure our digestion is absolutely brilliant:
• Slippery elm powder
This stuff is brilliant for any of you suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. It stops diarrhea and helps with constipation. It has a healing and soothing property for the bowel.
Little tip: Get the powder form to ensure best absorption. Put a teaspoon in a cup with boiling water. Only fill half-way. Add a teaspoon of honey (I didn’t like it on its own) and stir in well. Add a little cold water and stir again. Sip slowly.
• Glutamine
This is naturally found in cabbage but honestly I tried the cabbage juice idea Jill suggests in her book and just found it nasty! You can get glutamine in a supplement and at least you will take it.
• Get plenty of anti-oxidants
These include all those yummy berries including goji berries, Acai berries and of course maca root. Raw chocolate, chia and flax as well as various spices are also great.
If you want to read more about Leaky Gut, check out this website.
I know it seems like a question of what came first, the chicken or the egg. Did we have food allergies and damaged the intestinal wall,which caused more toxins to stay in the body, which resulted in Endo, or did we have Endo, take painkillers and damage the liver? I guess it all comes down to your personal history and what you may recognize in this article. I personally think I have always been sensitive to gluten and I simply aggravated the whole body by eating it. My stomach has never felt so flat and light my whole life! I used to constantly get skin allergies, bloating and soreness in my body, even when I was a teenager, so I can’t blame it on age.
I am just working backwards on these concepts, so if there is something that doesn’t make sense, please ask.
If anyone is keen to read the book, here it is on Amazon. Healthy Gut Guide
This Post Has 14 Comments
Hey Mel! Been a while! I am looking into the GAPS diet. Check it out!
Heather from VA.
Hi Adina, I read your story and really feel for you. *HUGS* I have a very similiar story except my problems were with my urinary system, which became life threatening. And even after I had battled at death’s door, I had to battle my doctor for a referral! He wouldn’t believe me (despite the urologist telling me that I should be referred to gynae!) Unfortunately some doctors can’t think ‘joined-up’ so they can’t see you as ‘joined up’ either or think beyond their compartmentalised training. So I strongly disagree with those doctors that believe endo is not a serious and even life threatening condition. It’s really really hard when those in authority just don’t believe you and you end up not believing in yourself!! You are doing the right thing in following your instincts. If this helps, I found Endometriosis for Dummies really informative. Page 97 talks about intestinal endometriosis. Hope this helps.
Hi Adina. It certainly sounds like you have been on a treturous journey with endo and your bowels. I would get your bowels sorted first. I have done a few articles on ways to heal the bowels – type in “digestion” into the search box and you should find them. I would strongly recommend Physillum Husks, Gluatamine and Dandelion to help you heal those. It could be that you have blood in your bowels from the colitis, so please don’t necessarily think it is endo in there. You should probably get that checked though as if it is blood in the bowels, just to make sure. I am glad you are looking at counselling as many of the pains we hold in our body are directly linked to our emotions and the pains we hold with those. Your liver has probably taken a beating – so be good to it with diet and a good liver tonic 🙂 Hugs to you Adina and hope your naturopath is able to help you.
Wow thanks for this blog! I would say that my first health complication was that I was born a girl. I missed a lot of school as a kid because of my period. (My mom and Doctors said it was all in my head-I was too young to be having these problems) The only treatment I got was birth control pills which sometimes helped and sometime made it worse, nsaids and vicodin. You give a 13 year old enough opiates and she’ll shut up. I had quite a pill habit till I flushed them all at 17 and have tried to not take pain meds since. I gave up on seeing doctors and finding out what was wrong with me. In my 20s I stopped menstruating but for a couple times a year which was fine because at least I wasn’t suffering(I still had PMS symptoms at times even when I wasn’t bleeding). In 2006 my husband and I really wanted to start a family so I found a gyno because I hadn’t cycled in 6 months. She diagnosed me with PCOS and got me cycling again with progestin. With my first cycle I started having rectal bleeding and I was then diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis I have been struggling with UC since. I have been telling every doctor I have seen that there is a direct link between my menstrual cycles and my colitis flares. I have GI symptoms when I ovulate and menstruate. Mostly they look at me like I’m crazy. (sorry if this is graphic)Yesterday as I peered at the stuff coming out of me I thought it looks like I am menstruating out my anus I thought of endometriosis. I did a google search for endometriosis colon. I couldn’t believe the amount of stuff I found. I am mad that none of the doctors I have told there is a link ever thought of it. I have an appointment to see a new gyno and hopefully find out if I have endometriosis. I have been following the GAPS diet to heal my gut which I think has helped but I still miss work because of pain,enemia,weakness,and frequency of bowl movements sometime 30-50 a day. I think I have a ways to go to heal my gut and I am working with a nutritional therapist to balance my hormones. I think the next step may be counseling. I can’t tell my story without bursting into tears. There is something there that I am very emotional about that I am totally not in control of. Thanks again.
Aloe Vera – about 30ml, twice a day and Slippery Elm depends a little on your personal situation. Usually, twice a day with heaps of water. Take both at least 15minutes before eating. If your digestion is completely out of wack, start off slow and build up to more on both.
Hi Liz. It does depend a little on the situation. Many women with Endometriosis who have hysterectomies often can’t remove everything, so they still have an ovary left or one of the organs that still produce hormones. Having a hysterectomy also doesn’t get to the source of the problem of why we have Endometriosis. It all originates from the liver and it is important to recognise that though we might cut out parts of ourselves, the problem will simply move somewhere else. My mom had it and now has digestive inflammatory conditions.
Check out this article on it:
http://endoempowered.com/just-take-it-all-out-i-need-relief-what-you-need-to-know-about-having-a-hysterectomy/
Melissa, I’d like to know how much aloe vera juice you consume, as I’d like to try this. Same for Slippery Elm. Please advise.
Question that I haven’t found an answer to, as of yet: It appears from what I’ve read that one still experiences problems even after a hysterectomy, is that right? So removing the uterus or part of the uterus doesn’t stop those endometrial blisters/cysts from causing pain after surgery? If this is the case, why would we undergo such a surgery?
Thanks Julie. Great week! I am glad to hear you have had so much success already. I found the slipper elm yuck on it’s own but honey solved that one perfectly!
Love it when we can fit into clothes we thought we had to throw out 🙂
Hi Tani. I will write an article on it for us all. It is definitely connected. Some of us experience obvious candida but some of us just have “inner moisture” in the body. Interesting that progesterone creams make it worse. Thanks for the idea 🙂
It is my pleasure Janine! Aloe is a great start!
Hi Melissa,
Enjoyed reading your article this morning. The slippery elm supplement has done wonders for me.:) I just started drinking the aloe juice yesterday.:) It’s actually not that bad the taste. I have switched more to a vegetarian diet in the last month, and I cannot believe how much that has already made a difference. Yesterday, it was exciting that I was able to put on pants that have not been comfortable since I was so inflammed before. I am starting to see my old body return.:) Hope your having a great week!
~Julie
Hello 🙂 I was just wondering what experience has been had with candida + endo? Here is the National Candida Society website in the UK. It’s interesting because Dr C Tomlinson advocates that all hormonal products including bioidentical progesterone can worsen candida.
http://www.candida-society.org/ncs/index.htm
Hi Mel, thank you for your blog. I had a hysterectomy at age 37, and have endo. Now, at 46, had been on injection for past 3yrs which controlled the monthly bleeding and pain. I am tired of this so I am now ready to try aloe vera. I found your blog just 2 days ago by the way. Thank you once again.