All I want is a Sandwich

So… week 2 was actually week 2 and 3. I had a few set backs so it took 14 days instead of 9 to get to stage 3 but I made it!!!

Setbacks: Ghee----not going to happen. I am kind of bummed out about this because I really do not care for the taste of coconut in my food all the time. The only 2 options I have right now to cook/pan sear foods is coconut oil and ghee until week 5. It took 2 days to figure out my stomach can’t take it yet. I had plans to bike on my days off and needed something portable to take with me to New River to eat after my workout. I steamed cauliflower and added salt, pepper and eggs and friend little “pancakes” in ghee. FOOD!!! Real food that was not boiled. I immediately ate 4 little pancakes for supper and had issues all most right away but ignored them. The next day my stomach was so swollen L  No ghee.

However last night I had avocado. Smooth creamy delicious avocado. I had it with boiled turkey and I swear it tasted to me like a turkey sandwich. It is my new favorite meal. Mmmmm.. This AM.. No issues! So I will have avocado for today and tomorrow then pick another food.

Things I learned this week:

**I can workout for 3 hours on a bowl of broth and ground beef. But 1 minute over and my body wants to shut down. Duh… not really a lesson but the fact that I am able to do it with no carbs just fat and protein is kind of exciting!

**I am NOT ALLERGIC to my cat Gnu anymore!! For real! Like….no itchy scratchy eyes when I pet her. Amazing!!!

So I wanted to kind of give you all an idea of why Leaky Gut is such a bad thing and how it affects how our bodies work. I have it from (most likely) diagnosed Celiac since I was a child.

Jordan Reasoner explains it in simple terms:

The term Leaky Gut Syndrome is used to describe the condition of “Hyperpermeable Intestines,” a fancy medical term that means the intestinal lining has became more porous, with more holes developing that are larger in size and the screening out process is no longer functioning properly. The fallout results in larger, undigested food molecules and other “bad stuff” (yeast, toxins, and all other forms of waste) that your body normally doesn’t allow through, to flow freely into your bloodstream.

So now that we have the general essentially meaningless definition out of the way let’s find out what is really going on…

The intestinal lining is the first mechanism of defense for our immune system. The outer layers of intestinal cells (epithelial) are connected by structures called tight junctions. At the tips of these cells are the microvilli, which absorb properly digested nutrients and transport them through the epithelial cell and into the bloodstream. During the normal digestion process the tight junctions stay closed forcing all molecules to effectively be screened and only pass into the blood stream through the mucosa cells (think of them like bouncers at the front of a classy bar). For reasons we will discuss later, these tight junctions can become “open” or permeable allowing un-screened molecules to flow directly into the bloodstream (think of it like a fish net with very small holes).

So, Then What Happens?

The first reaction your body has to these “foreign” bodies in your blood is to fight like hell. Initially, your Liver is called into action to work overtime and try to screen out all the particles that your intestinal lining was supposed to be taking care of. In most cases, the liver has no chance of keeping up with the constant flow of waste into your blood and all the toxins, undigested food molecules, yeast, and other pathogens start to accumulate in your body.

Now, the sleeping giant wakes up (your immune system) and it is not happy. It goes into full battle mode to fight the evil intruders and get them out of the body ASAP. More often than not, the body cannot keep up with the task at hand and the majority of these foreign bodies absorb into tissues throughout the body… causing them to inflame.

Inflammation is also an immune response and causes even more stress on your system. Now that your body is focused on fighting the large war, the little battles are starting to be ignored, like filtering out the blood, calming inflamed areas of the body, fighting bacteria, regulating the gut, etc. This process flow can lead to your body fighting itself and an array of autoimmune diseases such as Chronic Fatigue, MS, IBS, Ulcerative Colitis, and Fibromyalgia.

Now, your body will begin to produce antibody soldiers designed to fight against these foreign objects (which can be things such as the Casein protein from the milk you’re drinking, or other proteins in nuts, grains, or eggs). Even chemicals normally found in foods such as Phenols and Glycerin can now trigger immune responses when they enter the body. For instance, I immediately react to dairy of any kind. I get instant brain fog, a headache, sore throat, and horrible sinus drainage. A similar reaction happens when I eat foods high in phenols such as tomato juice. I am confident that it is all part of a reaction as a result of years with leaky gut from my Celiac Disease.

If you’re having sensitivities to more than a dozen foods, you likely have leaky gut. Any undigested foods that are absorbed into the blood stream are now considered enemies of the state, and your immune system will develop reactions to many of them, leading to food intolerances. When you have a Leaky Gut condition, the damaged microvilli along the intestinal lining cannot manufacture the digestive enzymes they need to break down the food for proper digestion. The resulting condition allows food molecules to flow into the bloodstream that have not been completely broken down into the nutrients your body needs.

Bottom Line: The foods that you’re eating are not the root of the problem; it’s the leaky gut letting the food molecules into your bloodstream. Of course, the caveat is severe food allergies such as gluten to a Celiac or deadly peanut allergies.

Diet, Chronic Stress, inflammation, yeast, medications and lack of zinc can all bring this on. It is legit big problem. I am looking forward to the next stage of this GAPS Journey (hell at times) and although it takes a huge commitment to say that one will pretty much stop eating everything they usually eat and pretty much just have broth but if you REALLY want to feel better.

If you REALLY want your body to stop fighting you.

If you  REALLY want to not be allergic to everything.

If you REALLY want to stop feeling sick on long workouts.

DO IT!!