Often, new clients will say to me: “I am here because I have a ton of food intolerances. I need to figure out a diet that avoids all these foods that I react to.”

If one food bothers you, maybe it is that food. But if 20 or 50 foods bother you, it isn’t the food, it is your gut. So while I believe that these foods are problematic, I am much more interested in getting to the root cause of their symptoms (which is usually something else) and not just eliminating a ton of good food. So what are the potential root causes?

• Microbe imbalance:
  • We have hundreds of trillions of microbes in our colons. We hope there is more good than bad, but oftentimes there is: too much bad, not enough good, or both. Sometimes there is a pathogenic overgrowth or they migrate up to our small intestine where they don’t belong and wreak havoc (SIBO).
  • Dysbiosis is the word for any of these imbalances and it causes all types of reactions to all types of foods. It can be confusing because it isn’t clear which foods; it isn’t consistently a certain food. That is because it isn’t the food. It is the microbiome imbalance.
• Digestive insufficiency:
  • We need stomach acid, enzymes, and bile to digest our food. For a number of possible reasons (antacid medication, aging, digestive dysfunction, microbe interference) we often don’t have enough of one or more of these. And that causes indigestion, heartburn, bloating… all in reaction to food.
• Motility issues:
  • Food moves through our digestive tract. It needs to move not too fast that we don’t digest and absorb, but not so slow that we feel sick or have trouble processing. We need our stomach to empty at the right rate, our food to move through our small intestine at the right rate and so on. Many people have trouble in this area for a variety of reasons.
• Leaky Gut:
  • This is a buzz word for a real thing: increased intestinal permeability. The integrity of the lining of our intestinal wall makes all the difference in whether we feel good or whether we react to foods.
• Immune imbalance or dysregulation:
  • If our immune system is overactive (perhaps because of leaky gut) we will react to foods that should otherwise be safe.
• Food sensitivities:
  • Sometimes it is food. Gluten and dairy are the most common food sensitivities. A sensitivity is similar in some ways to an allergy (and different in other ways), in that the immune system sees and responds to the protein of a food as if it is a threat. Sometimes this is temporary in the case of some of the bullets above.
  • Other times we truly can’t eat gluten anymore (like an allergy).

These are all things we dive into with clients here at Health Takes Guts, Inc. Schedule an appointment here!
Additionally, these topics are all explained at length in my ebook: Health Takes Guts® Your Comprehensive Guide to Eliminating Digestive Issues, Anxiety, and Fatigue.

For over a decade, scientific research investigating noncommunicable diseases have demonstrated a commonality among seemingly disparate pathologies. What could heart disease, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disorders, depression, arthritis, and irritable bowel syndrome all have in common? Despite the many differences between each condition, the evidence continues to suggest a key marker appearing in each: biochemical signs of inflammation.

In the human body, the inflammatory process is the natural immune activation that occurs when there is a potential threat–whether that be a wound that needs clotting, a bone that needs healing, or a potential invader that needs to be neutralized. These states of inflammation are healthy and necessary to life. But they also, importantly, are temporary. In fact, there are key cellular signals, including a class of molecules called pro-resolving mediators–that initiate the resolution of inflammation so that the immune response not only brings its heightened activity to a close, but also returns to normal function. However, what science now shows is that sustained states of inflammation are not as functional or benign as naturally occurring inflammation that arises and resolves. The continually elevated immune activity is causing what’s now often deemed “chronic low-grade inflammation,” and markers of its existence are showing themselves to be a risk factor, or component of, many conditions that were previously thought to be unrelated.

The inflammatory process itself is a cascade of biochemical activity involving an array of cell types and molecules, and it can unfold in regions all around the body.

Cardinal signs of inflammation include:

• Redness
• Swelling
• Pain
• Heat

This is easy to visualize when we think of a burn that we might incur on our finger while cooking dinner, or as a dramatic example, the shocking sight of our own knee after an orthopedic surgery. What’s more challenging to visualize, and research, is the inflammation that can occur within the body over long periods of time.

Yet, the same biochemical processes have been detected in these less visible regions.

• The redness associated with inflammation is due to dilated arteries allowing increased blood flow to the site of damage.
• Swelling arises once endothelial cells (flat cells that line the continuous sheet of tissue wrapping around blood vessels and body compartments) have leaked protein and water at the site.
• Immune cells are activated to inflame the site.

Modern research investigating these processes have detected specific signals–molecules, that can communicate to the immune cells–that are secreted at these sites and then promote the inflammatory cascade. As it turns out, these cascades can unfold anywhere in the body because immune cells not only circulate in the blood, but also take residency in tissues and organs themselves. Evolutionarily, these abilities are incredibly beneficial. Modern humans evolved to have hyper-active immune systems, an ability to store surplus energy (fat tissue), and blood that’s quick to coagulate upon insult.

With these ancient processes underpinning much of human immune activity, the inflammatory connection between modern noncommunicable diseases makes sense. But what’s triggering these unrelenting inflammatory cascades?

Part of the answer to that question is a second question: what is even older than the immune system?

Metabolism.

As it turns out, protecting the cell (immunity) is an ancient system. But using energy to fuel cellular activity (metabolism) is even older.

One of the major biological stressors of modern life is the frequent onslaught of nutrition into the gastrointestinal tract. Food, and all of the compounds that arrive with it, is the outside world. Every time a human being eats, it’s a stimulating process not only for the organs involved in digestion and absorption, but also for the immune system. Importantly, approximately 70% of the immune system is housed within the gastrointestinal tract, and it must conduct surveillance at each meal of all food consumed. At every eating opportunity there is a complex interaction between the host immune system and the environment.

Not only is frequent eating associated with increased immune activity, but the food itself is dramatically different from what humans evolved to consume. One of the signatures of the modern food environment is the processed, hyper-palatable meals and food products that are now cornerstones of daily living.

Modern human G.I. tracts are coping with:

• Refined grains
• Alcohol
• Sugar
• Hydrogenated oils
• Emulsifiers
• Preservatives

These not only can cause acute damage during the digestive process, but it perpetuates the low-grade immune activity that can’t resolve–because the offending agent appears three, four, or even five times a day.

Fortunately, there is an antidote to this prevalent issue. As it turns out, one of the most powerful tools to reduce inflammation is also food. Recent evidence has found there to be strong associations between a healthy diet–like the Mediterranean diet–and reduced systemic inflammation. A healthy, anti-inflammatory diet can promote a reduction in fat mass, which has some anti-inflammatory effects on its own, help calm inflammation from powerful molecules in the food itself, and reduce inflammation because the meals contain few irritants.

Benefits from an anti-inflammatory diet include:

• Whole food sources like leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats all have properties that provide the body with amino acids, antioxidants, polyphenols, and other phytonutrient compounds that can neutralize free radicals, quell inflammation, and promote healing.
• Complex carbohydrates like fruits, potatoes, vegetables, and winter squashes are wrapped in a fiber matrix that has been shown to feed the microbiome–the microbial environment in the human colon.
• Feeding these colonies with diverse fuel sources has been associated with increased diversity in the microbiome, which tends to have systemic anti-inflammatory and immune-supportive effects.

When paired with lean proteins and healthy fats like avocado and olive oil, the entire meal provides an array of benefits that help support healthy immune function in the G.I. tract as well as intestinal integrity, fullness, and satisfaction. Additional functional foods, such as probiotic items like kefir and sauerkraut, can also be included to support diversity in the microbiome plus offer beneficial compounds they contain called postbiotics. These bioactive chemicals, like polyphenols, short chain fatty acids, and enzymes, appear to help support the immune system and decrease inflammatory responses.

In contrast to the processed foods that can impair tight junctions, trigger immune responses, and promote potential leaking in the gut, these whole food sources are an example of the natural relationship between environment and host. Thoughtfully tailoring the diet to include predominantly anti-inflammatory, whole foods is a critical component of promoting long-term health not only in the gastrointestinal tract but in the whole body.

Resistant starch is just that: starch that is resistant to digestion. This type of starch isn’t digested, absorbed, or used as fuel by the body.  Although digestible and absorbable carbohydrates are an integral part of a strong and balanced diet, resistant starch (RS) provides some additional health benefits most are not aware of!  Have no idea what I am talking about?  Read on!

Starch is a type of carbohydrate that is digested and turned into glucose for the body to use immediately for energy.  Starch is found in foods such as bread, pasta, rice, beans, and potatoes. RS is a type of starch that is “resistant” or unable to be digested by digestive enzymes in your small intestine.  As a result, RS passes through the gut into the large intestine where your gut bacteria ferment it. RS is a prebiotic: food for probiotics.  The beneficial bacteria in your gut uses prebiotics as fuel. By eating RS, beneficial bacteria can proliferate and colonize in your large intestine leading to countless health benefits.

RS also helps with weight loss as it improves satiety. RS has also been shown to help improve insulin resistance, as it is not digested and does not raise your blood sugar.

So where can you find these incredible starches?  There are 5 different sources of RS, based on how these starches are reacting with digestive enzymes in the body:

RS1 — Physically Inaccessible: Cannot be broken down due to thick outer cell walls (legumes, whole and partially milled grains, seeds)

RS2 — Resistant Granules:  Resistant to digestion due to starch’s crystalline structure (fruits such as plantains or green bananas, raw potatoes, or high-maize flour)

RS3 — Retrograded Starch: When starchy foods – such as potatoes, or rice- are cooked then cooled, the starch changes from digestible to a resistant form of starch making it harder to digest. These foods have to be eaten cold. If reheated, the starch returns to digestible.

RS4 — Chemically Modified:  Where starches are modified to optimize the structural and functional characteristics and nutritional properties

RS5 – Amylose-Lipid Complex: Stearic acid-complexed high-amylose starches.

RS1-RS3 will be the easiest to incorporate into your diet.  You may already be doing this and not even knowing it – great!  If you are, how much should be consuming?  Integration of RS into the diet should be slow as too much may cause bloating or gas, especially if these foods are not commonly found in your diet already. RS needs vary per individual, but most research suggests aiming for an intake of about 20 grams per day to obtain the health benefits.

One such benefit is the production short-chain fatty acids, such a butyrate.  Butyrate is not only the primary source of energy for your large intestinal cells, but research supports butyrate is also responsible for regulating cellular homeostasis with actions including: diarrhea control, reducing oxidative stress in the gut, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and immune modulation properties.  This makes RS a very beneficial fiber for treating leaky gut and reducing inflammation.

Now the important information – how can you incorporate RS into your diet!

• Use Canned chickpeas and make your own hummus for sandwiches or a dip! Find recipe here.
  • Add canned beans (black beans, kidney beans, mung beans, etc)
  • Add to your leafy green salad
  • Make a cold three bean salad
  • Add lentils to a soup or salad
• Overnight oats (raw oats soaked in yogurt, milk or non-dairy milk and refrigerated overnight)
  • Add in your favorite oatmeal toppings (fruit, nuts, etc). Find different recipes here.
• Cooked then cooled potatoes
  • Homemade potato salad
  • Puree cooked white potatoes to create a chilled garlic potato soup
• Cooked then cooled rice or pasta
  • Try cooking rice, potatoes, beans, and pasta a day in advance and cool in the fridge overnight
  • Homemade pasta salad
• Green bananas or Plantains (before they are ripened and yellow)
  • Make a smoothie
  • Slice and mix with yogurt and oats for breakfast
  • Easy Plantain Tortillas (served cold). Find recipe here.
• Raw Potato Starch Flour (used in supplement form) or sprinkled on your food. Do not heat or bake with.
  • Add to your yogurt, overnight oats or smoothie
  • Mix in with your salad dressing
  • BUY à Bob’s Red Mill (purchase here) or find in the baking aisle of your local grocery store
• Hi-Maize Flour (used in supplement form) or sprinkled on your food. Do not heat or bake with.
  • Add to your yogurt, overnight oats or smoothie
  • BUY à King Arthur Flour makes a Hi-Maize Natural Fiber Flour (purchase here)