By Leslie Why Reap
I have had limited feedback on my blogs with the exception of the first one I posted entitled “Progression to Paleo.” I pretty much got taken apart piece, by out of context piece, by a hardcore Paleo-ite (yes I made that up). Oh yes and then there was my mom consistently and persistently emailing me after every post to say, “It’s great! What do you think about making them shorter?” Well today this was corroborated by one of my closest friends so….“Mom, you have been validated.” Well, at least I have three readers!
So I spent my work week perfecting the template for my updated Nutrition Plan offering. It has a new moniker, “The Anti-inflammatory and Alkaline Approach to Excellent Health.” I spent hours weaving together the critical elements of: immune system, gut microflora (bacteria), blood pH levels, chronic inflammation, and disease to create what I hope to be a cohesive and compelling fabric so to speak. This high nutrient, healthy fat, low/no grain, low glycemic approach will meet the needs of even the staunchest of grain and sugar addicts. I also learned a few things along the way . . .
Ah-ha!
You have 2-3 pounds of bacteria in your gut! Wow, really? 70% of your immune system cells are housed in your gut. Not a surprise. But 2-3 pounds of good and bad bacteria, little guys (and girls I guess) tooling around down in there doing their thing…Wow, that’s quite a colony. 100 Trillion bacterial buggers to be approximate. WHAT are they doing? Ialready knew this but thought you might not. They are training and developing your immune system. They are actually digesting the food that YOU eat, extracting critical nutrients (or trying to anyway). Perhaps one of their most important tasks...the good bacteria are the police. They are keeping the undesirable buggers and their cousins, fungals and yeasts, in check, kind of like permanent martial law. You don’t want to see what happens when the fungals, yeasts and other bad guys start to out number the good guys…your immune system starts to breakdown and anarchy reigns. Although I am guessing several of you may already be experiencing this immune dysfunction and not have a clue as to why. Take a look at what and who you are feeding those 100 trillion. Are you feeding the good guys or the bad guys?
Bananas rot from the inside out. Cheese rots from the outside in. Which food is alive? Yes, bananas are the “live” food here. I guess this was not an “ah-ha” as much as it was just a really good analogy (that I borrowed). So it turns out that we humans rot from the inside out as well. What does that mean? It means that just because you look okay on the outside, doesn’t mean your internal terrain (your microflora) and therefore, your immune system, is intact, healthy and thriving. Here are some external warning signs that let you know the bacterial balance inside might be heading toward anarchy (aka, that you are over feeding the bad guys): repeated sinus, ear and eye infections, constipation, diarrhea, gas, IBS, stomach pain, allergies, headaches, fatigue, skin eruptions (hives, acne, excema) athletes foot, nail bed infections, hormonal imbalances and strong carbohydrate cravings (sugar feeds yeast!)
Here is my pitch:
It is not a new one, but hopefully it is one that brings to light the simplicity of what is going on in the USA today. It is a message that can be easily grasped by the public at large…ready to grasp? Here we go:
Poor Diet and Lifestyle Choices = Acidic Body (altered pH) = Inflammation = Pain = Stress = More Inflammation = More Pain = Damaged Tissue = Chronic Inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation + Poor Diet + Stressed Lifestyle = “Dis-ease,”
Disease and Early Death.
Stop the madness, break the cycle.
You choose, health or dis-ease. Any questions?