WELLNESS

The 4 R Program : Heal your gut, Heal your life

August 26, 2016

Gut health is essential to our overall wellbeing. The more we learn about the gut, the more we realize that the digestive system and its function has a major impact on ALL the major systems of the body. It can effect the health of your endocrine system, your cardiovascular system, and if you read THIS post, you know it can even affect your mental health. I cannot stress how important gut health is. In Chinese medicine the gut is referred to as the seat of health, and it is said that “death begins in the colon”. When our gut is unhealthy it can become leaky resulting in what is called “leaky gut syndrome”. In a leaky gut, there is inflammation in the gut that causes damage to the lining of the gut. This results in microscopic holes in the lining that allow small proteins from the foods you eat to escape into the bloodstream. When this happens your body identifies these proteins as foreign because they are in an area of the body they aren’t supposed to be. Your body then launches an attack on these harmless proteins which causes further inflammation and damage to healthy cells. That’s leaky gut in a nutshell. So if you are someones who has suffered with any of the following symptoms, then your gut could be leaky and in need of an overhaul:

  • Digestive Issues such as gas, bloating, reflux, diarrhea or constipation
  • Seasonal allergies or asthma
  • Autoimmune disease of any kind
  • Mood disorders such as depression, anxiety or ADD
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, acne
  • Hormonal disorders such as PCOS and PMS
  • Thyroid issues
  • Metabolic syndrome and blood sugar imbalances
  • Joint pain
  • Weakened immunity
  • Brain Fog
  • Food allergies or intolerances
  • Candida
  • SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
  • Recurrent vaginal or urinary tract infections

So what do you do if you struggle with some of these issues? There is something in the holistic community called the 4 R Program that is the go to method for healing a leaky gut. No one seems to know who originated the plan ,but it has been widely adopted as the most effective way of treating a damaged gut. It is fairly simple to understand and follow. As I am not a doctor, I urge anyone interested in doing a program like this one to consult with their doctor, or even better, find a functional medicine doctor to work with who has experience with this program.

The 4 R Program

The 4 R Program consists of four steps to healing the lining of your gut. These steps include REMOVE, REPLACE, REINOCULATE, REPAIR. Hence the four R’s. So let’s go into a little more detail.

  1. REMOVE – In this stage we want to “remove” all of the things that could be triggering the inflammation response in your gut. This is where an elimination diet comes in. By removing the most common allergens, as well as some medications that can increase gut inflammation, we give the gut a rest and the space to begin the healing process. A lot of people have food intolerances that they are not even aware of. Most people think  of allergies as sneezing, itching, asthma or hives. When it comes to food the reactions can be a bit more ambiguous and nuanced so people don’t recognize them as an “allergic” or inflammatory response. Reactions include fatigue, brain fog, headaches, digestive upset, mood and skin changes. The most common foods that people react to when they have leaky gut are gluten, dairy and corn. Other potential irritants can be soy, nuts, eggs and nightshades. Everyone is an individual so really any food could be a problem, it takes a bit of detective work but is well worth it. After eliminating these foods, if you see improvements, add one back at a time with no less than 3-5 days between foods. Preferably a week between foods. If you react then you know to eliminate that food for a longer period of time until your gut heals and you can try again. In addition remove NSAID’S like Advil because these cause a lot of gut irritation and inflammation. I’m sure you’ve heard of the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding from taking too many Advil, same concept. If you have reflux and are on Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI’S) like Prevacid and Prilosec, these reduce how much acid your stomach secretes. This can be harmful because it reduces your ability to breakdown and digest food which allows for more of those proteins to get through your leaky intestinal lining making your gut more inflamed and actually making your heartburn worse in some cases. However for those with serious acid overproduction and things like peptic ulcer’s you may need to take this medication. Check with your doctor. For those of you just trying to avoid the discomfort of reflux, there are some natural methods that can help without reducing your guts ability to break down and digest food.  After you have removed irritants for a few weeks and are feeling better, you move on to the next stage which is…
  2. REPLACE – Now we want to give your gut a little help in the digestive process. Here we add in things like digestive enzymes, I like these. You could also try something like Bitters, or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water before your meal. This will help aid your body in digesting all those proteins we talked about, further reducing the inflammation and allowing your gut to repair itself.
  3. REINOCULATE – Now we want to reestablish a healthy ecosystem. Your gut is primarily made up of bacteria. These bacteria determine the health of our gut to a large extent. When your gut is inflamed and leaky, it allows a lot of the bad bacteria to thrive, and becomes inhospitable to the good bacteria that we need for good digestion and health. So we want to add in some fermented foods such as raw cultured veggies, sauerkraut and kimchi (only raw with live probiotics), yogurt and kefir (if you have no issues with dairy). A good quality probiotic supplement with a broad range of lactobacillus and bifidobacter species will help as well.
  4. REPAIR – And last but not least we want to repair the lining. Now that we’ve got everything in place, we want to do the final renovation so to speak. There are certain supplements that can help to repair the gut. Please check with your doctor before starting any supplements to figure out the dosing and if they are right for you. Some that are really effective are:
  • L-Glutamine – This is an amino acid that has great capacity to heal the intestinal lining. DO NOT TAKE IF PREGNANT.
  • A good quality multi-vitamin for essential nutrients including vitamins A,C,E and selenium.
  • Extra zinc in the form of zinc carnosine has been shown to be very valuable.
  • Tumeric – This is a potent anti-inflammatory herb that will help to bring inflammation down and heal the lining.
  • DGL Licorice – DGL is a form of Licorice where the  glycyrrhizin has been removed so that it won’t raise blood pressure. DGL is incredibly healing and soothing for reflux, indigestion, and ulcers. Take the recommended dose before meals.
  • Marshmallow root is another gut healer/soother. You can take this in tea form to gently heal the gut.
  • NAG (N-acetyl glucosamine) – NAG helps repair the junctions between intestinal cells. It is these junctions that become damaged in leaky guts allowing proteins to escape into the bloodstream.

That is the basic 4 R plan. If you want to hear more detail about it from an actual doctor who is qualified to make more specific recommendations, check out this PODCAST by Aviva Romm MD from Natural MD Radio. She is one of my favorite holistic practitioners and her podcast is a wealth of free information on how to improve your health.

So let’s do this! Let’s heal our guts and start enjoying life to the fullest again!

INjoy,

xo

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR AND THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. THE IDEAS EXPRESSED HERE ARE BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING AND ARE ONLY HERE TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO MORE RESEARCH ON YOUR OWN BEHALF. PLEASE CONSULT WITH A DOCTOR BEFORE CHANGING YOUR DIET OR ADDING SUPPLEMENTS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING AS SOME SUPPLEMENTS MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE.

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