Is poor digestion the root of all illness?

There are plenty of sexy supplements out there, things like creatine, BCAA's, magnesium and zinc all promise bigger muscles, less fat and a great looking physique. However I rarely get asked questions about supplements such as digestive enzymes and probiotics. You don't really see them in magazines or as topics of discussion on internet forums. As a result you would think that they are of no value, just a ruse from supplement companies to make more money. But the fact is they are all valuable and I would recommend them to everyone, after all you are what you eat, no?

Well almost, as I have said before in a previous article; you are what you eat, assimilate and absorb, which very different.

Digestive enzymes are endogenously produced proteins which are used to help accelerate the breakdown process of food in our gut. The process is vital and allows broken down amino acids, sugars and fats to enter our blood stream and be used productively, for growth, repair and recovery.

So what if you have undigested food in your gut. Surely not being able to properly digest your food would not be such a bad thing, especially if you wanted to lose body fat? You get all the pleasure of eating without the knock on effects of the calories.



If only life was that simple.

When partially digested proteins lie in your intestines, unfortunately they don't just pass through. Due to high levels of stress, micronutrient deficiencies, inflammation, drugs, antibiotics, alcohol, high exposure to chemical toxins and bad foods such as wheat and trans fats (doughnuts); most of our guts are damaged and have microscopic holes in them. The condition is called leaky gut syndrome, or gut permeability and those large partially digested proteins get to enter our blood.

In the blood they are recognised as pathogens, and they evoke a non-specific immune response. The result of this is high levels of inflammation and symptoms such as acne, foggy head, low mood, bloating, gas, loose or foul smelling stools and constipation. This is how we develop a food intolerance.

Every time the offending protein enters the blood, the same thing will happen. The bad news is that things like wheat, eggs and dairy produce this response to some degree in almost everyone, but they don't have to.

The first thing you should do if you are concerned that you have food intolerances is to take a food intolerance test. Following from that, if your suspicions have been confirmed you should take time to eliminate the offending foods from your diet.

Over the next 3-6 months you need to rebuild your gut lining. The way to do this is by eat a diet free from intolerant foods and chemicals and by supplementing your gut so you can feed your body properly.



You should be taking:

L-glutamine
omega-3 fatty acids
zinc
multi vitamins
probitoics
digestive enzymes
HCL (if it is low)
pre-biotics (kefir, yoghurt)

What you will gain from all this is a fully functioning immune system and a fully capable digestive system which can tolerate most foods. If you have a damaged gut then restoring it will allow you to make huge gains in a very small amount of time, reduce your risk of chronic disease and most of all help you to lose fat as fast as possible.