60% of your immune system lives in your gastrointestinal tract. These include all the tiny bacteria that you accumulated in your childhood and over years of colds and flus. The good ones fight for you and protect you, and the bad ones cause harm and disease. When we experience symptoms such as gas, bloating, heartburn, reflux, constipation, and diarrhea, these are often signs that the bad bacteria have outweighed the good ones and we need to restore the balance.
Chronic illnesses such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are examples of longstanding inflammation in the digestive tract.
Gastrointestinal inflammation can be triggered by processed food diets, food allergies, parasites, autoimmune disease, changes in stomach acid production and most commonly of all POOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. These all cause damage to our intestinal lining, creating gaps and allowing undigested food to enter into our system. Our immune systems can recognize properly digested foods, but when large poorly digested pieces enter, a full attack ensues.
The gut is the main entrance point of all nutrients into the body. Inflammation beginning in the gut travels through the bloodstream and can set up shop anywhere in the body.
- Eczema, acne, rosacea = inflammation on the skin
- Joint pain, arthritis = inflammation of the joints
- Muscle pain, fibromyalgia = inflammation in muscles
- Bloating, gas, heartburn, indigestion = inflammation in the intestines
- Worsened Depression, anxiety = inflammation in the brain
This is why working on the gastrointestinal tract must be the first place to address when working with any kind of body inflammation.