Spearmint is used in Healthy Gut for cooling, soothing and keeping the digestive system healthy.

Did you know that you have space inside your body that is not “inside” your body? That’s right, your entire digestive tract is a sealed “pipe” running right through the middle of you. As strange as this idea may sound, this process is a very important feature of the human body and essential to proper digestion. Everything you eat and drink is broken down in this system, scrutinized by your immune system and then filtered through your liver and kidneys before it is allowed “inside.” This process is designed to screen out viruses, bacteria, parasites and numerous other components of food that the body cannot use or sees as harmful, as well as pulling out nutrients for the body to use.

So what happens if your “pipe” has holes in it? There’s a medical term for this issue called “leaky gut syndrome.” The most common cause in western society is overuse of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen. These drugs are also called NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and they effect the production of something in your body called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are chemicals that are responsible for inflammation, but also happen to regulate the process of repairing many tissues. When the body doesn’t have enough of these chemicals, the lining of the intestines has tissues that are not always repaired properly. This lining consists of a layer of tightly packed cells called “villi.” They are very robust, but never the less are constantly dying due to the harsh environment caused by digestion. Under normal circumstances the tiny holes they create as they die are filled in and repaired almost instantly by the surrounding live villi. However, things such as NSAIDs, some other over the counter drugs and some medical conditions can cause this process to be impaired. This contributes to a more permeable intestinal lining, creating the opportunity for foreign organisms and rogue proteins to escape your digestive tract.

It’s needless to say you don’t want any creepy crawlies getting out of your digestive tract, but why care about the proteins? Undigested proteins floating around in your body can be bad news. Your body will recognize them as an invader and launch an immune response to attack them. The problem with this is that once the attack has started, your body may not be able to distinguish between your own tissue and its original target. This can be a contributing factor in many auto-immune disorders.

The constant flow of waste and toxins, comprised of not only proteins, but also undigested food, bacteria, viruses,  fungus and even parasites, into the bloodstream, overtaxes the liver as well as the immune system.  Because the body cannot keep up with this overwhelming task, the waste and toxins are absorbed into the tissues of the body creating inflammation.  Because inflammation is also an immune response, it again overstimulates and overtaxes the immune system furthering the cycle and making it harder for the body to focus on healing the digestive system.

Symptoms of leaky gut are not the same for everyone, but signs this is an issue for you can be digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating or inflammation, multiple food sensitivities, immune disorders, low-immune function, candida and skin rashes.  Having a large number of food sensitivities indicates the body is reacting to the components in the food because they are floating in the bloodstream causing havoc instead of in the digestive system, not necessarily because the food itself is bad for you.  Healing leaky gut is the long-term solution to being able to correct food sensitivities and get the immune system back on track.

So what to do about all this? First, try to limit your anti-inflammatory use. An ibuprofen here and there is fine, but if you find yourself taking an anti-inflammatory daily, you may want to consider an alternative and natural option (like Turmeric) in order to cut down your use of over-the-counter medicines. The use of Turmeric daily can have the same benefits as an anti-inflammatory medicine without the harmful side effects. Learn more about Turmeric. To repair your digestive system and get your system back on track, Healthy Gut is an all-natural and safe remedy to heal, soothe and correct. Hanna created this formula, originally calling it Tumee, with excellent results. Healthy Gut is a blend of Chamomile, Spearmint, Gentian, Wintergreen, Slippery Elm, Marjoram and Meadow Sweet and Kroeger Herb Products is producing this master formula according to her recipe! Healthy Gut not only maintains a healthy digestive system but also promotes the health of villi in our intestines, leading to proper absorption of nutrients while maintaining the integrity of intestinal walls. “Hot gut” and the discomfort caused by other leaky gut symptoms can be soothed and corrected with Healthy Gut and an added bonus of this blend of herbs is that it naturally promotes our body’s detoxification process.

Healthy Gut and Turmeric work well together as a team to promote your good health so consider supplementing your diet with the two, together. Leaky gut and an unhealthy digestive system can impact how you feel physically, causing pain and discomfort from inflammation, but can also impact your overall health as time goes by. Correcting leaky gut and digestive woes is important in the body’s ability to absorb and utilize the nutrients it needs from food to create, heal and repair the body. Healthy Gut promotes a proper pH level in your system, soothes and heals and works in conjunction with your body’s natural processes. No fillers, binder, or flowing agents… just pure relief for a healthy digestive tract! Learn more about leaky gut and Healthy Gut in our Learn Section.