All disease begins in the gut

Food is the most powerful tool at our disposal, every meal is an opportunity to either undermine or increase health and vitality.

The digestive system operates from NORTH TO SOUTH 

What happens in the brain and stomach has a critical impact on what goes on in the liver, gallbladder and small intestine where food is absorbed and the large intestine where our gut flora live. 

So how does our digestive system work ?

Digestion begins in our brain where the sight or smell of food triggers our mouth's salivary glands,  as it enters our mouth its chemically and mechanically broken down. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach breaks food down and gets rid of pathogens like parasites, viruses, bacteria, yeast and H Pylori. This mix enters the small intestine where the pancreas releases enzymes, further breaking down our food and tagging food molecules to be rebuilt as our DNA. When fat is detected, the gallbladder releases bile acids making it easier for the body to use. The small intestine has villi or finger like projections that increase its surface area by 60-120 times for greater absorption. Here, food passes through a valve into the large intestine where gut bacteria breaks down undigested fibres that feed our gut lining cells. Our gut microbes produce a range of important nutrients and others like water and bile are recycled.

What can go wrong?

Stress puts our nervous system into a state of fight and flight failing to trigger our digestive juices like saliva and stomach acid, and the contraction of the muscles as we swallow and begin digesting our food.

When we don't chew our food properly or eat too fast, the rest of digestion process is compromised. This food can't be broken down properly or nutrients absorbed, which can damage our gut lining as well as feed bacterial overgrowths and other infections
In the stomach, low acid is very common and means our first line of defence against viruses, yeast, bacteria and parasites is gone, leading to infections further south 

Low stomach acid along with low digestive enzymes also means our food isn’t broken down and can't reach the right acidity (pH) for it to be rebased into the small intestines. Our food ferments and goes rancid until it escapes up our oesophagus through reflux or GERD 

Eventually, this undigested and unsafe food goes into the small intestine, where it damages the lining causing intestinal permeability or leaky gut. These overly large food particles and pathogens get through to our blood stream on the other side
There they put our immune system on high alert, which causes inflammation, allergies, food sensitivities and even autoimmune disease
The valve between our small and mostly sterile intestine can jam open, resulting in bacteria escaping into the small intestine where it doesn't belong. This is called SIBO and can result in intestinal damage, malabsorption, toxicity and terrible symptoms .
In the colon, too few good bacteria and too many bad bacteria, yeast or parasites produce toxic waste. This alters our acid-alkaline balance, creates more leaky gut and can even lead to serious illness.

A major factor to damage the gut microbiome, is Gluten and due to the hybridisation of wheat,  it now contains much more gluten and much less nutritional value than years ago. Similarly, the highly refined sugar, processed and junk food  diet make the gut and gut wall vulnerable to damage.

What goes on in our gut has a direct link to our brain (The Gut brain axis) and most of our immunity, brain function and emotional wellbeing resides here so it's vital to keep it healthy.