Gut health

Prologue: I have been trying to publish this blog for quite some time. There is a lot of information, and I can't figure out the best way to present it in a concise format. But in interest of time, I am publishing it as is. I am hoping the readers can overlook the flow problems and absorb the information being conveyed. Some day I could make a TikTok video with a little dance to promote it. Today is not that day

Index:

1. Gut health - This blog

2. Musculoskeletal health

3. Neurological health

The human body is an amazing machine. It's a miracle how all parts come together to keep it running. However, when they don't, the synergies mysteriously disappear and one's health goes downhill from there.

This is a part of my health related blogs. Over last 5 years, I have made significant changes in my lifestyle and resolved pretty much all the problems I had encountered. This is important to me, because I live an active life, and at one point I felt like I was at risk of losing it because of my ailments. Many of these run in family, of which I was able to spot the signs immediately and look for remedies.

This is a summary of all changes. There are much more details to observing, diagnosing and remedying the problems than I care to share on a public forum, But I will be glad to discuss or help. I have posted a table of summary at the bottom of this post. I hope it helps anyone who has similar problem and can remedy for themselves.

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Anyone who has ever had a bad stomach day will tell you it affects everything from energy level, mood, sleep quality to nutritional deficiency and psychological health if it becomes chronic. In fact, the subsequent blogs in this series only build up on the solutions presented in this blog.

After watching serious effects related to malabsorption of nutrients and gut health in my family and running into some of those myself, I started to look into how our gut works. These are my findings, and the corresponding solutions. If you benefit from these or have a different observation/variation, feel free to post on comments below.

Acidity – One of the biggest misconceptions is that acidity is harmful for our gut health. The moment we get acid reflux (stomach acid traveling up in the throat/mouth and causing burning sensation) we reach out for an antacid to quench it.

Acids are an important part of our digestive system. And by neutralizing the acids, we completely wreak havoc on our digestion. Unfortunately, the symptoms of low acidity are very similar to excess acidity in the stomach. The food stays longer in the stomach because of not breaking down, and then it travels up, causing burning sensation. The right response is to control the reflux, but also to add more acidity to speed up the digestion process.

Low acidity in the stomach hurts us in multiple ways.

• Breaking down the nutrients. If the stomach is not able to break down the nutrients, the intestines cannot absorb it. And nutritional deficiency causes a host of related health disorders.

• This also results in nutrients passed down to large intestine, causing the gut bacteria to thrive, causing imbalance in gut biome, and also causing cramps and gas produced by bacterial activity.

• Sanitizing the digestive system. If you have ever wondered how kids can eat dirt and still not get sick, this is your answer. The strong acid in stomach is responsible for killing all the harmful pathogens that make their way to our stomach.

• In addition to obvious bacterial infections, these microbes eventually disturb the microbiome in the large intestine (lower gut).

• And if the bacteria stay in small intestine (upper gut), that causes another set of issues.

SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)

To treat low acid levels, I initially started with HCL+Pepsin tablets. Just one tablet before every meal completely got rid of my cramps and indigestion. I took that for a few weeks and then I didn’t need it for a few years until I ran into this issue again. Now I am more mindful of how I eat and manage my gut health better.

When I encountered it again, I started looking for alternatives, and I found that a few spoonsful of apple cider vinegar has the same effect on increasing the acidity. Since I am a strong proponent of natural ingredients, this is my go-to solution now.

Yes, Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is the miracle cure for digestive problems.

As I started researching for documented evidence of this effect, I saw there are multiple testimonies about ACV. And there are multiple theories to explain it, most of them keeping Acetic acid aside and focusing on other ingredients, probiotics and antioxidants for example. Hopefully this post clears the mechanism behind it.

Acetic acid IS the miracle ingredient. And it resolves the issues by lowering the PH (increasing acidity) in the stomach.

Any time I have gut distress, I take about 2-3 spoonful of ACV with water before my meals, and it cures it within two doses. Quick instructional below. ACV is very pungent, and the more water is added, the easier it becomes to drink, but it also dilutes it. Two additional points here.

• Acetic acid in vinegar is very acidic. DO NOT use metal containers or spoon at any point. Use only glass as shown in the video.
• Acetic acid can also harm enamel in the teeth. Vinegar should spend as little time as possible in contact with your teeth before going to the stomach.

Another thing I do especially when I travel is to eat in moderation. Putting more food in the stomach than it can digest can cause the same effect as having less digestive acid. I keep my food intake on the lower side when I don’t have full control of the quality of food I get to eat. But in general eating moderately is always a good strategy for the digestive process.

• Nutritional deficiency – Our body depends upon a number of micronutrients. In general, a balanced diet keeps the body nourished. However, factors like age, restricted diet, lack of sunlight, lowered acidity/enzymes etc. can create severe deficiency that require a more direct supplementation. So, in addition to fixing gut PH balance, I added some supplement. The question is not only about the nutrients, but also their bioavailability, i.e. how easily they can be absorbed and used by our digestive system.

• A multivitamin like one-a-day so I don’t have to count each micronutrient.
• Vitamin B complex – This is a big one, and a very underrated vitamin. Vitamin B12 is very important for general health, as well as neurological health, it's also a key ingredient in myelin recovery, disruption of which can cause multiple neurological problems. Vegetarians are often short on B12, but it could happen to anybody.

• Vitamin D – Needed to fight against bone density loss, cancers and many other ailments. Dark skin populations that move to cold areas often run into Vitamin D deficiency, owing to the skin being more sunlight resistant.

• Collagen: an important part of our body is collagen protein that creates connective tissues. I am still trying to figure out the best way to deliver it, but meat seems like the most effective way at this point.

• Homemade probiotic yogurt:

Probiotic yogurt provides many benefits for the gut health. But the best way to get those benefits is to make it at home and eat fresh. Follow this link for details.

References

Cleveland clinic’s take on ACV below, which still is not sure what the key factor is here.

is-apple-cider-vinegar-good-for-acid-reflux/

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/exploring-the-health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar/

A few more

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-proven-health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar#1.-High-in-healthful-substances

https://www.verywellhealth.com/apple-cider-vinegar-88768

https://www.webmd.com/diet/apple-cider-vinegar-and-your-health

Use the baking soda test from here to test if you have low levels of gastric acid.

Hypochlorhydria

The baking soda test

The theory behind this at-home is that baking soda combined with stomach acid produces carbon dioxide (C02), which will cause you to burp. For the test, you’ll drink half a glass (4 ounces) of cold water combined with a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, on an empty stomach. Then time how long it takes you to burp. If it takes longer than three to five minutes, the theory goes, you don’t have enough stomach acid.