The E.C.H.O. Foundation

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Illness and Food

Our Gut

Brain/Gut Connection

Bacteria in the Gut

Antibiotic Overuse

Articles of Interest

Although areas of health such as ayurveda and nutrition have long known about the importance of food and digestion, few doctors in the Western world will admit there is a connection between food and chronic illness. Ask your pediatrician about putting your child on a special diet and you most likely will hear sighs and chuckles.
Doctors of Western medicine are taught to treat one symptom at a time and one organ at a time. We have allergists, heart specialists, gastro specialists, eye doctors, neurologists, dermatologists, etc. They break down the body into separate components, but the truth is, the body works as a whole and without the intake of food, these components would stop working and the body would shut down and die.
We are what we eat. Isn't it true that a few glasses of wine will effect our thoughts. What about having a headache and ingesting a pain reliever, or eating certain foods that make us dizzy or lightheaded. Saying what one ingests does not have a neurological impact on us is false. Now it is true some things like alcohol pass through the gut more rapidly and most foods are eliminated through bile and urine but what happens when a person has leaky gut, high yeast levels or an imbalance of gastrointestinal flora. And then there are the ever so popular food allergies and sensitivities. Some foods simply set off an autoimmune response causing things like rash, swollen mucus membranes, headache and even death. A food reaction is not always easily seen, the onset can be slow and often not connected.  Food allergies and sensitivities run high in our children. Little by little the allopathic doctor is putting down his prescription pad and seeking alternative answer. Children are making great strides and even recovering with diet and lifestyle changes.
If you are not familiar with names like Elaine Gottschall, Jordan Rubin, and Lisa Lewis perhaps you should know that these are people that cured disorders like Crohn’s, Celiac and autism through dietary changes. We feel food is a vital source of energy and life but can also be a source of death and disease. Sometimes just changing the foods you eat will be enough to restore health but often more is needed. What happens however, is when one begins their journey into dietary changes, they often learn about other healthy choices.

Our gastrointestinal system is our "second brain" There are just as many nerve endings and nerve impulses in the gut then in the brain. Have you ever been nervous and felt nauseous. Have you ever gotten butterflies in your stomach?

Then there is always the example of malnourishment. Have you ever skipped breakfast and gotten a headache or crankiness or even found it hard to concentrate? Without the absorption of nutrients the body has no fuel. Without getting into the scientific details of digestion, we can safely assume that if the gut is in dismay and not obtaining the nutrients from food, the body and brain can not function properly. A strong component of digestion is the enzyme production of the pancreas. Enzymes are responsible for breaking down large molecules of protein, fat, and starches. Some have found relief by simply adding enzymes to their diet but the ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for supplements and have the body produce these enzymes naturally. Again changing food sources will help this.

 

 

Although many physicians deny the brian/gut connection, we have seen published medical literature showing it is indeed true. . As early as 1923, Dr. H. Burak, a French scientist implicated a harmful strain of E.coli produced a toxin that exerts itself on the nervous system. Dr. Burak concluded this toxicity produces a pathological sleep with delirium, resulting in psychotic type mental confusion or schizophrenia.

Around the same time, Drs. Buscaino of the University of Naples, Italy reported most schizophrenics suffered from an intestinal disease and their bacterial population levels were abnormal.

In the late 1970’s till the 1980’s, a number of published reports showed patients who have undergone surgical shortening of the small intestine experienced unusual neurological problems. The surgery decreased their ability to break down and absorb food. They showed symptoms such as aggressiveness, disorientation, blunted judgement, abusive behaviors, slurred speech, staggering gait, confusion and delirium.

More recently researchers such as Dr. Karl Reichelt of Norway, Dr. William Shaw of Great Plains Laboratory, Dr. Robert Cade at the University of Florida and Dr. Paul Shattock in England have demonstrated a similar relationship between autism and dietary peptides.

Proteins if normally digested will break down into amino acids. An improperly digested protein will result in a peptide. Casein, a protein in milk will break down into the peptide, casomorphine. Gluten, the protein found in the grass family (wheat, barley, oats and ryes) will break down into the peptide gliadinomorphine. Notice the ending of these peptides…morphine. If one lacks the proper enzymes to break down these proteins there will be an opioid or morphine effect. Symptoms are spaciness, poor focus, and an inability to respond properly. They are on a "morphine" high. This is why so many are characterized as "being in their own world." It also commonly effects, speech, emotions, learning and pain threshold. There are hundreds of success stories from parents who have removed gluten and casein from their child’s diet. This is not just in the case of  autism.
Completely removing grains and dairy or using sprouted grains, and fermented or raw dairy has helped ailments such as Celiac, allergies, asthma, crohn's. A.D.D and more.

The gastrointestinal system is loaded with all sorts of interesting characters. We are loaded with an abundance of bacteria. People always assume bacteria means dirty little germs that make you ill. This is not the case. The bacterium in our gut serves many purposes. One is to eat away decay and rotten meat so to speak. The bacterial waste is then flushed out through urine and feces. Ecoli is an example. The ecoli is not making you sick , but high levels of ecoli signify there is an overabundance of dis-ease, decay and toxins in your gut. In a healthy intestinal tract, microbes live in a state of balance. An overabundance of one type inhibits the activity of other types. When the intestinal bacteria are unbalanced one can overrun the system with its waste products or toxins. Doctors may prescribe antifungals or antibiotics to destroy the microbes that are in excess.

We need to find out why particular bacterial levels are high, not just eliminate them. If we do this, they will surely just return.

Yeast is a good example. So many doctors will give medication to eliminate the yeast levels. It is true that high yeast levels cause all sorts of distress but why are the yeast levels so high? It too is there for a reason. Usually it protects the lining from heavy metals like mercury. We see so many children with this problem and it just won’t go away. The yeast may be reduced temporarily but most often returns to do its job to protect. But having too much yeast will generate leaky gut and malabsorption. Again we have an unbalance of pathogens (bad guys) and probiotics (good guys).
Quite often we will see high bacterial levels after the use of antibiotics. Anti means against. So when a person is using antibiotics they are destroying all the bacteria. Remember we need a balance of good and bad microbes. If we destroy the good flora along with the pathogens often we will see bacterial infections reoccur. This is certainly true in the case of ear infections. It is not uncommon to have yeast problems after a round of antibiotics. You may have heard of eating yogurt after or during a round of antibiotics. This is because yogurt contains Lactobacillus, a strain of probiotic flora, that can combat pathogenic organisms and reduce their toxic byproducts.
Replenishing the body with probiotics such as Lactobacilli may give the pathogens some competition and appear to diminish symptoms but until one removes the cause of dysbiosis , true healing will not occur. If a person has to continuously treat with alternating probiotics then this is not a cure but a temporary bandage.

We so often see children taking antibiotics for every little ailment. Is this because the mother is insistent upon it or because we have  some doctors that like to fill prescriptions. If a patient leaves empty handed they may feel the doctors visit was a waste of time. In some situations, it just may have been a waste of time and money. Antibiotics can be life saving but not all illnesses are life threatening. We can clear up ear infections by simply placing garlic oil in the ear. In some cases of infection, we should not interfere at all and let the body take care of itself. We remind you the bacteria is there for a reason. Something has gone amuck. Allowing the body to do its job teaches the body how to fight off natural occuring germs and strengthens the immune system. We can however assist the body in this process by drinking lots of fluids, taking things like vitamin C and echinacea and eating foods that have healing properties. Rejuvenate the healthy cells and the sick and decaying cells will have no choice but to leave. We have to create an environment of homeostasis to prevent pathogens to override. This is impossible if we continue to consume foods loaded with pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, dyes etc.
With change in our diets and treatments to promote healing and remove toxins we can reverse much that has been done.
 Please see our treatment page for more information on  diets and treatment options to restore balance and regain health.
Remember healing is a process that takes time and patience. There is no magic bullet.
Every child is different, genetically, socially and economically. Do the best you can do with what you have and never give up.

 

Brain Effects of Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15800379

Baby study links antibiotics to asthma

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4212

       

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