Bestselling author Don Colbert, MD, explains in his new book, Dr. Colbert’s Healthy Gut Zone, without hesitation that fantastic health benefits are realized when the gut heals itself.
Colbert urges his readers to feed the good bacteria by consuming veggies, proteins, beverages, fermented foods and other foods that support the growth of good gut bacteria. He further explains that doing so also simultaneously starves the bad bacteria. “Starving the bad is the other half of the equation, and it simply means that we should avoid, minimize or eliminate foods that cause pain, inflammation, leaky gut, bloating or irritation. If it hurts your gut, don’t eat it.”
According to Colbert, this concept of feeding the good and starving the bad is what your gut wants and needs. It is the perfect recipe for healing the GI tract.
Colbert provides a list of the seven causes of a leaky gut (increased intestinal permeability) so that his readers know what to avoid, minimize or eliminate:
— Antibiotics.
— NSAIDs.
— Acid-blocking meds.
— GMO foods.
— Chlorine in drinking water.
— Pesticides.
— Intestinal infections.
“Starving the bad means not putting any more of items 1-6 into your body than you have to,” explains Colbert. “The biggest hurdle for many will be the fact that they are taking medications (items 1-3), whether doctor prescribed or over the counter. Abruptly stopping may not be advisable, and you may need to wean off meds such as antibiotics, acid blockers, NSAIDs and aspirin under your doctor’s care or under the care of a functional medicine doctor.”
Clearly, the gut needs a break. What does Colbert suggest to readers? “I don’t recommend stopping medications right away. Focus on healing the gut and let the body respond. The end goal is to add nothing to your gut that hurts it in any way. If it takes a few weeks before you can do that, then so be it. But the sooner, the better.”
When the good bacteria are in control of the gut and the gut wall has healed, that is when the inflammation usually subsides. Many times, symptoms disappear, food sensitivities decrease and sicknesses, even diseases, fade away.
To get to that point, starving the bad is required, according to Colbert. These common enemies must first be removed from a daily diet:
— Gluten.
— Sugar and certain carbohydrates.
— Dairy.
— Lectins.
— Artificial sweeteners.
— Emulsifiers.
— Saturated fats.
The shift away from these common enemies of the gut is more dramatic for some people than for others, but it needs to happen, nonetheless. “The quicker, the better, but if it takes you a while, that is fine,” Colbert encourages his readers. “What is most important is that you are making lifelong habits of starving the bad bacteria while feeding the good bacteria. This is an ideal lifestyle, and your gut will be happy!”
Colbert’s newly released book is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, Christianbook.com, Indiebound and Walmart.
Don Colbert, M.D. was a board-certified family practice doctor for more than 25 years in Orlando, Florida, and most recently in Dallas, Texas. He is also board-certified in antiaging medicine through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and has received extensive training in nutritional and preventative medicine. He is the author of three New York Times bestselling books, including Let Food Be Your Medicine, The Seven Pillars of Health and Dr. Colbert’s “I Can Do This” Diet along with bestsellers Toxic Relief, the Bible Cure series, Living in Divine Health and Stress Less. He has sold more than 10 million books and treated more than 50,000 patients in his years of practicing medicine.
Dr. Colbert’s Healthy Gut Zone is published by Siloam, an imprint of Charisma House.
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