Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (50 page)

Tapioca: Use as flour, in pudding

Sidney Baker, M.D., promotes the idea of using beneficial whipworm eggs, called Trichurissuis ova (TSO), to calm down the immune system. These are the eggs of
one of a dozen or so “innocent” worms that live in the digestive systems of pretty much all animals. There is a good body of research indicating that TSO is safe and effective. TSO treatment helps people who have conditions that involve chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and problems with poor detoxification. Studies show dramatic remission rates in people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. TSO can also dramatically help with allergies, eczema, multiple sclerosis, asthma, hay fever, type I diabetes, and food sensitivities, and there is ongoing research in these areas. The TSO that are used therapeutically come from pigs and taste like water. The eggs hatch over a period of about 2 weeks. Then they die, since they are in a human and not a pig. To find out whether this will work for you, take more whip-worms every 2 weeks for up to 14 weeks. Either you’ll feel amazingly better or nothing will have occurred. Most people have no side effects. According to Dr. Baker, occasionally people can have some digestive symptoms, pungent smell to the urine, and rarely some aggravation of symptoms. To find out more about the research on TSO go to
http://www.Ovamed.org
. They partner with Biomonde Asia, which sells products directly to consumers. See
http://www.biomonde-asia.com
.

“It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It’s my partner.”

—Jonas Salk, M.D.

Do you have gut instincts? Do you get butterflies in your stomach when you’re nervous? Have you experienced diarrhea from anxiety? Can a job interview cause you to have stomach cramps? These things happen because your nervous system and digestive system are intertwined. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is often called “the second brain” because it has a mind of its own.

The ENS is the nervous system that runs through our digestive system. It is connected directly to the brain through the vagus nerve, although it can work entirely on its own. (In fact, before ulcer medications revolutionized the treatment of ulcer pain, surgeons cut the vagus nerve from the brain to the stomach, and the digestive system continued to operate completely!) It makes more neurotransmitters than the brain. This nervous system is found in sheaths of tissue lining the entire digestive system. Think about the taste, texture, smell, and feel of food on your tongue; this necessitates nerves for you to sense the qualities of food. You’ve probably had a toothache, stomach cramp, or gas pains, so you know from direct experience that you have pain receptors and nerves in your digestive system.

Our brain talks to our gut; our gut talks to our brain. This is a two-way communication. When our behavior changes in a certain way, our brain sends a message that changes our gut bacteria, causing low-grade inflammation and possibly GI distress. Similarly, if we have dysbiosis in our gut, it can lead to behavioral changes. (See
Figure 10.1
.) For example, leaky gut increases the incidence of all sorts of mental
dysfunction, including depression, fatigue, confusion, poor memory, and more. In people with autism it’s believed that two-thirds also experience GI issues. And 70 to 90 percent of people who have irritable bowel syndrome also experience some sort of mood or anxiety disorder, including schizophrenia, major depression, and panic disorder. And people with IBS are also more likely to experience migraines and fibromyalgia. It’s estimated that about two-thirds of adults and children on the autistic spectrum have GI dysfunction. And, in the National Institutes of Health 2004 Consensus statement, ataxia, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, and migraine are all listed as associated diseases with celiac disease. In 2009, Burk and colleagues reported that in 72 people with celiac disease, 28 percent had migraines, 20 percent had carpel tunnel syndrome, 35 percent reported a history of psychiatric disease, and 35 percent had deep sensory loss. Yet the vagus nerve responds to relaxation. Mind-body therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy, meditation, relaxation techniques, biofeedback, brief counseling, and hypnotherapy can help people gain freedom from IBS.

Figure 10.1
The enteric nervous system.
(From McLean, et al. [2009].
Gastroenterology Insights
, 1: e3.)

The ENS consists of two layers in the intestinal wall, the myenteric plexus and the submucosal plexus. These two layers control muscles and secretion of neuro-peptides, neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine), and nitric oxide. In fact, we produce the same neurotransmitters that work in our brain in our gut. Neurotransmitters can have local or systemic effects. For example, 90 percent of our serotonin is produced in our digestive system to help regulate peristalsis, smooth-muscle contraction, and mucosal secretions. Serotonin is best known for its role in the brain. Without adequate amounts of serotonin we have insomnia and are depressed.
Table 10.1
shows some of the common neurotransmitters, where they are produced, and their primary actions.

Table 10.1
Examples of Neurotransmitters and Their Actions

For the ENS to control itself, it’s necessary to monitor the intestinal lumen (the inside of the intestinal tube). There aren’t nerves running through it; instead, it sends messages through intrinsic primary afferent neurons (IPANS). They do this by using a system of gut hormone–producing cells called enteroendocrine cells (EC). These are distributed widely throughout the digestive system and secrete at least 16 hormones. These hormones are mainly found in the epithelium, but some are also found in the mucosal layer, neurons, central nervous system, and pancreatic islets. These are often called gut-brain peptides. These neurochemicals send messages to the gut telling it to initiate peristalsis; relax; secrete enzymes, hormones, or hydrochloric acid; or respond in some other way.

Table 10.2
shows what’s currently known about enteric hormones, where they are produced in your body, what stimulates their release, and what action they promote.

When you are experiencing stress or feeling fearful, anxious, or worried, the sympathetic nerves slow down GI secretions and motility. In extreme stress, they shut down digestion. Conversely, when you feel relaxed your parasympathetic nervous system signals gut secretions and peristalsis, and digestion works easily. This is probably the origin of the after-lunch siesta. On the other hand, when you are stressed, or perhaps eating on the run while you drive through traffic, your digestive capacity is compromised.

Continued stress in our body and mind affects the body’s ability to heal and perform. Because the digestive tract repairs and replaces itself every few days, it is one of the first places where our bodies alert us that all is not well. Stress and emotions play a major role in many digestive problems, such as ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea, and GERD, and these conditions often respond to stress-reduction techniques. Stress also plays a role in autoimmune issues. This happens when the nervous-immune system begins reacting to normal foods and environmental triggers as if they were dangerous. Rest and relaxation help to restore nervous-immune balance.

Deep breathing, meditation, prayer, spending time in nature, gardening, yoga, tai chi, painting, and other relaxing hobbies all tell our nervous-immune system that all is well. We spend so much time in the outer world that taking time for our inner world brings us into better balance. Often with my clients I find that resting two hours each day during the daylight hours can do wonders for all sorts of health issues. Try it for three to four weeks and see what happens!

Table 10.2
Enteric Hormones and Their Main Functions

Our relationship with food begins in the brain. We think about going to a restaurant and having a specific dish; we go to the market because we have a taste to make something specific; we begin to prepare a meal because soon we’ll be hungry to eat it; we aren’t hungry, but we walk by an ice cream store and soon are eating a cone. We eat emotionally because we are upset, angry, lonely, depressed, happy, celebrating, procrastinating, rewarding ourselves, and a myriad of other reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with our body’s need for nutrients.

Manufactured foods are designed to stimulate our tastes for fat, sugar, and salt. Flavors are layered upon layer to “sing” to our brain a song that makes us feel rewarded and indulged. This stimulates the release of serotonin and dopamine, and then we want more of that food. So we continue to eat, even when we aren’t hungry.

This emphasizes the importance of eating in a relaxed manner and appreciating the food you are about to ingest. Many people call this “mindful eating” or “gentle eating,” which simply focuses our awareness of the flavors in each bite. Sounds pretty simple, yet most of the time we are eating mindlessly instead. Some people find that taking time to say grace and to look at and smell the food, as well as making a special time and place for eating, can dramatically enhance their total digestive function more completely than can enzymes, bitters, or other digestive supplements.

“All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; third, it is accepted as self-evident.”