The Wall We Should Worry About Building is the One in Our GUT
As Washington is deciding whether they want to keep funding the government, President Trump has once again stated that the Wall is Coming! It will be see-through and Glorious!
I can’t say I disagree, our focus should be on building a wall. A wall to prevent all unknown and foreign from entering our sacred lands. The wall must be strong, tightly sealed across its many miles and maned by brave soldiers who are only called into action when absolutely needed. If we architect this impenetrable wall properly, passage will only be viable at monitored checkpoints and granted only after a thorough vetting. Then, and only then, will the migrant(s) be permitted to pass and bring multitudes to the land beyond.
As for Trump’s wall…
What I’m speaking too here is the important stuff! Our essential barrier from the outside world, all that is good and beneficial may pass but pathogens beware! The wall that needs to be built is our Gut Wall!
The walls to your temple – your gut lining – has the surface area of a studio apartment and final say on who shall pass along to the blood stream and who will be kicked out the back door (literally). Its outer most layer is composed of a mucus cell membrane which has a very strict guest list, eagerly awaiting entrance are nutrients, proteins, toxins, pathogens and trillions of microbes(bacteria) who’ve established a permanent residence on-top this mucus layer. Some beneficial, even essential and other nefarious with set agendas. This membrane holds exclusive entrance to the hottest club in town- the blood stream! Just as any premier club, once you get through the door you’re patted down. Here our immune system steps in and grills every guest that seeks to enter (and have the night of their lives), intruders are quickly identified and swarmed.
Inflammation is the word that describes the body’s immune system response to perceived harmful situations. Small bouts (acute) of inflammation are actually good, but once this becomes a constant (chronic) occurrence things get serious. It can lead to all sorts of issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, IBS, arthritis, eczema, psoriasis, depression, anxiety, migraine headaches, muscle pain and chronic fatigue…Whoa!
So what leads to this inflammation of the chronic distinction?
Several factors, one key player is the food you consume. You are not alone in enjoying one of the top pleasures of modern society – aka Food, your gut flora(bacteria) gets in on the party too. When you eat foods rich in fiber your gut bacteria begins drooling in excitement and thanks you by breaking down these tough plant carbohydrates to extract extra energy and nutrients for us. Fibers basically chocolate for bacteria. What about diets that lack fiber?
Study shows that when microbes are starved of fiber, they can start to feed on the protective mucus lining of the gut, possibly triggering inflammation and disease.
Oh Boy! Don’t wanna piss these guys off or they’ll literally start eating our wall of protection. No Mercy Huh? Now the stat that the majority of Americans only consume half (15g) of the daily recommended fiber (30g) is a little more troubling. Just like any “HUGEEEE” Wall, over time it will begin to crumble due to years of wear and tear. Continuous maintenance and up-keeping is a necessity, hmmmmm is there a humorous (yet informative) political annalogy coming here? If you don’t “maintain” your gut wall those bad hombres are gonna start chowing down on it! And once they get through that tasty mucus layer the border patrol has no choice but to step in – there’s your chronic inflammation. Most illegal microbes, toxins and pathogens will be stopped but some will begin to slide by.
This can escalate to the point where the cell membranes lining the gut begin to loosen, allowing larger particles though (such as Gluten), leading to all sorts of gut dysfunction and can setting the stage for all those nasty issues above.
We must build a Wall! But how do we build it and once we build it how to we maintain it?
The four keys to building a BIG, GLORIOUS, IMPENETRABLE WALL are:
- A healthy diet with plenty of Plants and Fiber
- Keeping stress in line
- Limiting Environmental Toxins
- Forming a “Good” community of Gut Bacteria
As with any public project a cost (or tax if you will) comes along with it. Discipline, self-control and awareness will need to be paid upfront, prices vary, but lower significantly as time goes on. Many of these keys can be accomplished by adapting a diet that consists mainly of Real Whole Foods rather than foods that are packaged and boxed. For some, it’s a major lifestyle move that’s difficult to implement and even harder to follow through with. But keep in mind, this is a marathon, small steps week by week, month by month, will lead to BIG changes. All culminating with a “Ohh Shitt” moment where you realize how much better you feel physically, mentally and emotionally.
So I leave you with this….
There’s No Bette time to Start Building….
…..Just watch out for those damn Mongolians
