Would you like to get better sleep? Memory? Or less impact from stress?
You can have all of this by simply improving the relationship that you have with food. In this presentation, I cover how the gut-brain axis connection is influenced by food and how you can benefit from it.
This presentation was delivered to the Preventative Health Group of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, TX by Dr. Arland Hill, DC, MPH, DACBN.
Post virus fatigue has a tendency to linger on. Anyone that has ever dealt with the flu can vouch. Yet, even the most severe flu associated fatigue will rebound in time. But what if it does not? What if the fatigue drags on for months, and even years. You will likely start to think you are one of the unfortunate ones who seems destined to suffer from unrelenting fatigue. And the likelihood from comments I have heard from those just like you is that you have tried resting, napping, medications and even taking control yourself. Unfortunately, you only feel marginal improvement at best.
Rest assured your fatigue is real. And viruses are a well established cause. The logical connection is that the virus is causing the fatigue. This seems even more logical if your doctor has found evidence of a virus or you have a history of one, for example “mono” (infectious mononucleosis). In reality, this connection may not be as straightforward as it appears.
Should I take a probiotic or prebiotic? Answering this question was fairly easy when probiotics were the only option to choose from. Any symptoms that you had low probiotics, whether inconvenient excess gas or a severe autoimmune condition, meant you applied the “add and subtract” theory. You know what I am talking about. If you are low you add more with a supplement. But I want to pose a different thought process for you. Is adding a probiotic really enough?
We have all dealt with uncomfortable bloating and gas. Let’s be real. You have probably even been embarrassed by it once or twice, or even more. We have all been there. The occasional bloating and gas is not ideal, but it is not exactly abnormal either. You eat something you shouldn’t have or you encounter a stomach bug are possible causes. For the most part though these tend to pass. Then what is abnormal?
Abnormal bloating and gas is you dealing with this every day for an ongoing period of time. That is not good. In fact, it is a big red flag. If this is you, chances are you and Dr. Google have probably already formed a doctor-patient relationship. I will tell you a little secret. I actually was curious and asked Dr. Google myself what causes these symptoms. The good “Doc” gave me a couple of resources (aka. search engine results), all of which seemed to say the same thing. Yet, I noticed there was one cause that seemed to left out of all of these resources.
I have found some topics to be far more confusing than they should be when talking to my patients. There is no better example of this than deciphering an allergy or sensitivity. The lack of understanding I have come to understand has nothing to do with the person I am trying to educate. Instead, it is related to misinformation they have received. In short, they have been told their reactions are either an allergy, or nothing. But there has to be more. How can the extremely complex immune system not be reacting if you are experiencing symptoms?
This conversation does not have to be be complicated. I have two goals in sharing the following information, both of which benefit you.
It might seem logical to think of brain fog as a brain issue. However, is this really the case? Brain fog affects us all at times, but where do you turn when you feel like you are living in a fog. If your new normal is not being mentally quick on your feet, forgetting where you placed things or why you went into a room, it might be time to take a deeper look at the cause of brain fog.
The unfortunate truth is that brain fog is a complaint that is ignored or pushed to the side too often. As frustrated patients often report to me, they were told that it was simply a sign of aging. Some say that have been told that it was linked to depression. Others say they are left with no answers or hope and to return for another visit if it gets worse. This later is called watchful waiting. I don’t know about you, but that does not invoke a sense of comfort to watch and see if something gets worse.
Most of the time healing a leaky gut requires supplementation. Names like glutamine and probiotics typically top the list. They do a good job and I frequently recommend them. But even the best supplementation is limited if the food you eat is sabotaging your efforts. I like to think of food as medicine, because it is. One thing I learned early on is that food is either healing your body or destroying it. That is equally true of the gut. To heal leaky gut, the right foods are essential.
Leaky gut contributes to a long list of symptoms and diseases. Most are not easily associated with a problem in the gut. However, it is amazing the benefits one experiences when nurturing the gut. Unparalleled and lasting effects can be seen by enhancing the relationship the gut has with the rest of the body.
Are you looking for ways to increase motivation? If so, then you are a member of a much larger group than you probably realize. Many people suffer from low motivation. Often when I discuss this topic with patients, the response is that their motivation is not what it should be. “I have to drag myself out of bed in the morning.” “I have trouble getting the things that I need done every day completed.” These are typical comments.
I have proof the gut is not the cause of autoimmunity. I know this is the complete opposite of everything that you have probably been told or read online. That said, I firmly stand my position. I will proclaim that the gut is not the cause of autoimmunity because I have definitive proof. Don’t believe all the hype. If you zero in on the gut as your target for addressing your autoimmune condition, you are doomed. You will fail.