06/19/2024
I have been teaching this for years…people this is simple but a challenge. Start with eliminating processed food!
Can you eat your way back to health?
Possibly.
Can we take a person with autoimmune disease and optimize their health with food?
In my book THE AUTOIMMUNE CURE I share the story of a patient of mine, Professor Larry Smarr who, after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, radically changed his diet to now live symptom-free for the past several years.
Larry’s experience suggests that food may be the most important lever.
In my medical practice, we use food-based recommendations and supplements first to optimize the gut flora and immune conversation, and limited research supports this approach.
But I can tell you that the simple question of which food is best to heal autoimmunity is complicated.
Two important steps are
🔘 reduce or eliminate triggers
🔘 seal the gaps in the gut.
I’ll address the elimination diet in upcoming posts but first, let’s look at leaky gut.
Increased intestinal permeability, also known as leaky gut, is one of the triad of factors that we believe lay at the root of autoimmune disease.
Leaky gut can cause chronic inflammation, which in turn causes the immune system to be reactive all or most of the time, setting the stage for the onset of autoimmunity.
There are key nutrients that can help with gut health and barrier integrity.
👉L-glutamine is the amino acid with the most evidence.
It is necessary for maintaining intestinal barrier function, immune response, and amino acid homeostasis. It gets consumed at higher rates when your body is stressed. L-glutamine is a key source of energy for the lining of the gut, including both enterocytes and immune cells.
When given orally or intravenously, L-Glutamine is like a seal for the gut wall: it increases the height of intestinal villi (finger-like projections into the lumen of the small intestine, which allow greater nutrient absorption through more surface area), stimulates gut cells to grow, and maintains gut integrity, which in aggregate may reverse leaky gut.
👉Dose: 1,000 mg 3x/day before meals. Amino acids should be consumed on an empty stomach.
More things to repair your gut barrier:
▪ Vitamins A, B, D, zinc
▪ Bone broth–based soups
▪ Give up alcohol
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