The Immune System Starts in Your Gut

Almost 70% of the immune system is in the gut. When your immune system is activated by incompatible foods, it can cause a wide range of symptoms: IBS, migraine headaches, weight issues, joint pain, skin and respiratory problems, ADD/Hyperactivity, fatigue and more.

Once you understand the link between food and your intestinal health, you can activate or deactivate your immune system at will.

"The liver receives blood directly from the intestines,
as well as from the heart. Blood from the intestines and heart then mix
together in the liver."
www.merck.com

What foods activate the intestines and thus the immune system? You guessed it: raw fruit, raw vegetables, steamed vegetables, steamed whole grains, legumes, beans, extra-virgin olive oil, honey, 100% pure maple syrup, fresh organic herbs, sea salt, apple cider vinegar etc.

What foods deactivate the intestines? Cooked animal meat, pasteurized dairy, cheese, all foods containing preservatives, refined sugar, refined salt, anything in an aluminum can, white flour, "whole wheat" bread, salad dressing, ketchup etc.

The more non-foods that you consume, the more likely you will cause damage to the intestinal wall.

"When the gut becomes hyperpermeable, all sorts of gunk can get
through and run loose in the body. When this happens, the immune system
kicks into gear to stop these invaders. Typically the immune system
escorts the invader out of
the body quickly. However, this task often falls to the liver, which may
be quite overworked and not able to do this immediately. If not removed right
away, the troublesome particles and complexes can migrate through the body and
settle in any of the different tissues they pass by. This leads to
inflammation in whatever part of the body they settle."
www.enzymestuff.com

How do I know if I have intestinal damage? This is the beautiful part. You can figure it out right now, using whole foods. Test your personal metabolism: drink carrot beet juice tomorrow morning. Time how long it takes to exit your body: your poop will be beet red. If it takes 12 hours, you probably do not have a highly permeable gut and you have a good metabolism. If it takes 3 days or longer, you have too much putrefaction going on in your intestinal walls and need a good cleaning; nothing a month on carrot/beet juice for breakfast every day won't take care of!

Celiac disease is a chronic digestive disorder that is caused by an intolerance to gluten. Gluten is a component of wheat including durum and semolina flours.

"When a person with celiac disease consumes gluten, damage to the
small intestine results...and causes the lining of the small intestine to
swell. As a result, tiny hairlike projections called villi suffer damage and
destruction, which impairs the body's ability to absorb vital nutrients. Malabsorption becomes
a serious problem, and the loss of vitamins, minerals, and calories results in
malnutrition despite an adequate diet."
Prescription for Nutritional Healing
Balch, M.D. and Balch, C.N.C

Putrefaction is the build-up in the intestine of undigestable foods. A healthy small intestine, large intestine and colon push all the food through the gut in a normal transit time of 4-12 hours depending on the density of the food. But non-food-stuffs that the body is not equipped to digest are stored in the intestinal wall. The fabulous internal brain continues to try to process these chemicals, plastics, stripped down carbohydrates and make them into usable substances. But while they are stored they start to punch holes in the intestinal wall causing permeability which leads to "leaky gut". A leaky gut begins to distribute this trash all over your body. Also, the parasites which are a normal and predictable aspect of ingesting food can now escape to dangerous parts of the body.

"Intestinal parasites are parasites that populate the gastro-intestinal
tract in humans. They can live throughout the body, but most prefer the
intestinal wall. The mucoid plaque buildup provides an ideal
breeding environment for parasites. Means of exposure include:
ingestion of undercooked meat, drinking infected water, and skin
absorption"
Wikipedia

Scary? Not really. You can return your gut to health with every trip to the refrigerator and grocery store. You can boost your immune system any time you want. Just make the choice to eat to Feed Your Body.