Illness & Gut Care FAQ

Read this FAQ from my perspective as a parent of a child with special needs for more information about how the Gut affects the Brain and creates the process of illness.

All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. If you use any of this information — you do so with this website’s encouragement to communicate with licensed medical professionals when making decisions about your health, presumably having done your own research, and in full knowledge of this website’s policies.

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed – only converted from one form of energy to another. This means that a system always has the same amount of energy, unless it’s added from the outside.

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Law_of_conservation_of_energy

The Nerve Systems

In brief:

It all starts with the Gut, or what is called the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) or “Second Brain”.

The things the Gut does goes to the Brain, or what is called the Central Nervous System (CNS).

The path between them is the vagus nerve (the Gut-Brain Axis point through which they each affect the other, which runs from the face, through the torso, to the abdomen).

The Brain regulates all the other nervous systems —

• Peripheral Nervous System
• Voluntary & Involuntary CNS-area Nervous Systems (Somatic, Autonomic)
• Other Involuntary Nervous Systems (Sympathetic, Parasympathetic, Enteric)

— And all those other systems eventually lead back to the Gut. It’s a cycle.

The way in which the ENS is regulated is through gut bacteria, called the gut microbiome — this is why antibiotics and vitamins can affect the body the way they do. Affect the gut, and the system follows.

And so, we come full circle.

What goes in the Gut is what comes out after the Brain responds to input.

The body operates like any other organism: A car (body) needs fuel (food), clean water (even a pet’s water is replaced every day), and affection (love in the form of self-acceptance).

Gut bacteria — the gut microbiome — affect chemical processes. For example, serotonin levels (the chemical that helps us be happy people) begins in the Gut.

When healthy things go in, then health is the outcome.

When chemically-made substitutes are what’s put into the body, less-than-spectacular health is the result. I mean, who doesn’t know not to put sugar in a car engine?

Health is the simplest equation I’ve ever seen. And I can’t begin to explain how awful I am at mathing.

What happens when the body is fueled by too many chemicals?

The Gut’s bacterial microbiome becomes impaired and enters dysbacteriosis (dysbiosis).

When the microbiome is impaired and has entered dysbacteriosis, then the Gut and nervous systems that follow do not operate as they should.

Without things operating as they should, the Gut weakens.

When the Gut is weak, then stress is able to widen those gaps further, as stress corticosteroid suppresses the immune system of the Gut.

After stress further weakens the Gut immune system, then people become ill. The thing is, due to the habits that modern societies live by, the way forward to fixing the issue has become too large for people to see.

An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure.

Benjamin Franklin (http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/fire.htm)

“But being sick isn’t that simple!”

From MY perspective that PREVENTION IS KEY, it can be.

And so far, everything I’ve done has only improved my daughter’s health. My daughter was “supposed to” die so many times — the doctors told me. Before she was born, when she was being born, maybe right after. Maybe 2 weeks alive. Or maybe she would by 8 weeks.

She’s FIVE YEARS OLD as of 2020, y’All.

To this Medical Mom and her husband who either had to fix their daughter who was born “incompatible with life” or lose her. That’s been the stakes I’ve faced since before she was born in 2015, until just recently when I realized the process of illness at the time she turned 4 years old.

My daughter has been my “impossible” case study. She has been my muse. It’s a story too much like Dr. Frost in Batman, except (thankfully) nobody’s on ice.

For four years, I’ve been on my toes in the face of doctors who’ve told my family to give up, to not waste our energy, to stop trying to be “Dr. Google”. But I can’t agree more than with this sentiment I recently read: So I did what any person who feels let down by their doctor does; I turned to Google.

I’ve watched fellow Trisomy families mourn their fallen Warriors — and I don’t believe it’s any mistake those children, and some who grew older, were called Warriors. They have paved my way in learning how to help my daughter– And anyone else willing to make the changes.

And I’ve parsed my daughter’s health inside and out. I had to. My mind either wouldn’t let go, because I love a good puzzle, or Spirit threw me a bone at each of my weakest times. And I learned to believe in the impossible — because, had I not, then I wouldn’t have believed it was possible to push forward against the tides that kept trying to take her.

The answer I received when I went looking, FOR FOUR YEARS, is that —

not including physical conditions that require surgical intervention (such as removal of the the intestinal atresia she had at birth, the PDA coil cath correction, her need for a secure feeding option in the form of her g-tube, and umbilial hernia repair) —

when my family was told that her hospitalizations were due to “symptoms related to Trisomy 18“ —

(many in common with so many other conditions… intussusceptions, reflux/GERD, migraines, mood changes, allergies, “chemical imbalances”, and other extreme symptoms) — which SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE —

come from an IMBALANCE IN GUT BACTERIA.

And in my mind, “balancing gut bacteria to prevent physical illness” becomes a doable task.

Every. Person. Deserves. To. Know. This.

Illness & Gut Care Reading Materials

This Reading List includes affiliate links that I use to support my work. At no additional cost than what you buy on your own, I may receive a commission if you make a purchase.

• Mayer E. The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. 2018.
• Carson R. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
• Keen M. Living Low Oxalate: When Oxalate Rich Foods Destroy Your Health. 2018.
• Gray E. The Low Oxalate Diet Handbook: Walkthrough, 200+ Foods to Eat & Avoid, 21 Delicious Starter Recipes, Index of Medical Condition Relationships Such as Kidney Stones, and More. 2018.
  
• Freedman R, and Barnouin K. Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense Guide For Savvy Girls Who Want To Stop Eating Crap And Look Fabulous. 2005.
• Greger M. How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease. 2015.
• Bokma C. The Low-Oxalate Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook: 75 Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Yeast-Free, Low-Sugar Recipes to Help You Stress Less and Feel Better. 2018.
• The Allergy Chef. The Corn Free, Gluten Free, and Top 8 Allergy Free Cookbook. 2018.
• Richardson K. The “I Can’t Eat Anything” Cookbook: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Corn-Free, Nightshade-Free, Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free, and Virtually Dairy- and Nut-Free Recipes. 2019.
• Plumb L. Ayurveda Cooking for Beginners: An Ayurvedic Cookbook to Balance and Heal. 2018.
  
• Axe J. Eat Dirt: Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to Cure It. 2017.
• Sonnenburg J & E. The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-term Health. 2016.
• Kellman R. The Microbiome Diet: The Scientifically Proven Way to Restore Your Gut Health and Achieve Permanent Weight Loss, 2015.
  The Microbiome Breakthrough: Harness the Power of Your Gut Bacteria to Boost Your Mood and Heal Your Body, 2018.
• Pritchard G. Healthy Gut Cookbook: 150 Stage-By-Stage Healing Recipes to improve your digestive health. 2016.
  
• Christensen E. True Brews: How to Craft Fermented Cider, Beer, Wine, Sake, Soda, Mead, Kefir, and Kombucha at Home. 2013.
• Miloo. Kombucha Starter Kit. Premium Kombucha Brewing Ingredients included and Fresh Kombucha SCOBY, Durable Glass 1 Gallon Mason Jar, Temp Strip, PH Tests and Funnel included.
• Scheintaub L. Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen: 100 Recipes Featuring the Bold Flavors of Fermentation.
• Shockey C. Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes & Pastes. 2014.
  
• Hemenway T. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition. 2009.
• Bradley F. Rodale’s Vegetable Garden Problem Solver: The Best and Latest Advice for Beating Pests, Diseases, and Weeds and Staying a Step Ahead of Trouble in the Garden. 2007.
  
• Ask Healthy Jess @ https://www.askhealthyjess.com/
• NEW: I believe in Entegro Flourish BECAUSE it’s helped my daughter so much! Please feel free to get some of your own Flourish through my personal Entegro Consultant page! If you have questions, please ask using the ChromoChallenges Facebook group messenger. I’m happy to get you any answers you need. (The official website email is currently experiencing some technical issues.) Thanks!

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