When our digestive ability is weak, we don’t get all of the nutrition contained in the foods we eat. This is because food, including proteins and minerals, must be fully broken down by stomach acid in order for our body to be able to use it.

In fact, poor digestion of protein is one of the largest causes of muscle loss as we age: our digestive system isn’t working as well as it was when we were younger, and so not enough protein is being broken down for our body to use.

But it’s not just our cells that need this nutrition.

Specific bacteria in our colon are responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation of the neurotransmitters serotonin and GABA, the happy, calming neurotransmitters.

Did you know low levels of thyroid can bring on not only low energy and weight gain, but even affect mood and mental sharpness?

This can make thinking, problem-solving, and just coping with the everyday stresses of life, much harder.

With the rise in hormone-blocking toxins in our environment, processed foods and processed sugars, and the low amount of protein most of us consume, low thyroid is affecting more and more people, especially among women and the elderly.

In this article we dive into what thyroid is, how low thyroid occurs, how it affects our mood, mental alertness, and our ability to think and cope with the problems of everyday life and what we can do to raise it.

We know that toxins are harmful.

They stress our nervous system, create inflammatory responses in our body, raise cortisol levels, disrupt our hormones, accelerate our aging, contribute to many conditions we see in society today, and even cause trouble for our unborn children, disrupting the process by which both their nervous systems and immune systems form.

In short, they cause our bodies a great deal of stress.

And this stress passes on to us, to our anxiety levels and our mood, whether we know it or not. 

As of 2022 there were an estimated 350,000 chemicals used in the world, most of which get into our water supply.

That’s a fifty-fold increase since 1950.

And, according to the CDC, less than 100 of them are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

But how do these toxins stress our body?

How do they affect our stress levels and mood?

How do they create inflammatory responses?

And how can we prevent this?

Our body's ability to relax, de-stress, recover, and sleep deeply is heavily determined by one area of our body overlooked more often than almost any other — our Microbiome.

This colony of trillions of bacteria living in our large intestine helps produce the calming, relaxing, cortisol-lowering, and sleep-giving neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin.

These bacteria have more to do with our overall health, calmness of mind, nerve function, ability to sleep, ability to burn fat and build muscle, and even our hormones than you might think.

This colony, made up of about 500 different species of bacteria, is called the Microbiome.

But these bacteria, while being fully separate from us, act as if they were an organ unto themselves within our bodies. And what they do, amongst each other and in coordination with the cells in the lining of our colon, is truly extraordinary.

As we're in the Winter months, we wanted to provide a little information on how our immune system works and how you can prepare your body to stay as healthy as possible during this period.

Getting sick is never fun.

Our Immune System helps protect our body from harmful bacteria, viruses and toxins coming in. 

And, as there are certain things that can either bolster or weaken it, we wanted to share some key points to help make your holiday season one you can fully enjoy.

Let's dive in.

We've spoken a lot about hormones, but here we cover specifically how toxins affect these.

Testosterone levels have been dropping for decades, while estrogen levels have risen sharply.

And hormonal imbalances are now much more than just being deficient in one or another hormone.

But why is this?

There are exact chemicals in the environment now which block hormones from being created, block them from being used, disrupt their normal action, or even impersonate them entirely.

And, while this affects muscle-building and fat loss significantly, its effect goes far beyond this.

Let's dive in.

Cholesterol is very firmly associated with lifespan. Just not in the way most people think.

In fact, according to newer research, levels of cholesterol in the ranges of 210-240 are associated with longer lifespans.

And lower levels of cholesterol lead to lower levels of energy, overall health and hormonal deficiencies among testosterone, estrogen and others.

In this article we cover how cholesterol actually operates in the body, what it actually has to do with high blood pressure and how it’s not quite the villain it’s been made out to be, but a vital part of our body’s proper functioning.

In another article we covered what SIBO is, how it comes about, what feeds it, and how it creates cravings for sugar and other junk foods, preventing fat loss and causing low energy levels.

But there is another aspect to SIBO which has more destructive and far-reaching effects.

There is something called Leaky Gut, where there are actual microscopic perforations in the intestinal lining that is meant to protect our internal organs from the harmful bacteria, parasites and toxins coming in through our digestive tract.

And it's behind a significant number of physical conditions common today, from hormonal imbalances, stress and poor sleep, to liver and kidney trouble, heart trouble, skin issues and even premature aging.

So let's see what it is and what SIBO has to do with it.

The Gut Health Protocol & 30-Day Challenge starts today!

On this protocol we address Acid Reflux, GERD, IBS, Candida, H. Pylori, C. Diff, Leaky Gut, SIBO, Gluten Reactions & Much More.

We address hormone and energy levels, mood, the ability to burn body fat and increase muscle gains.

We address sleep, stress levels and overall mood.

We address cravings for sugar that derail our diets or fat loss attempts.

We address bloating and a protruding stomach.

And we improve overall health and longevity.

This is probably the most important protocol we have released, because it truly affects every aspect of our overall health.

Our gut is the chief entrance to our body.

And its ability to break down foods into nutrients our cells need to function, to balance our hormones, to provide key neurotransmitters for our brain and nervous system, and to prevent harmful toxins and microorganisms from making it into our bloodstream is more important than any other aspect of our body to ensure our overall health, energy levels, and longevity.

But let’s go a little deeper.

Our digestive tract’s ability to fully digest and absorb protein determines, in large part, our body's ability to build muscle and lose body fat.

It affects our energy levels, hormones, inflammatory responses, and overall health.

It affects our gut and our ability to repair intestinal lining that has been damaged by toxins and harmful bacteria.

And when protein isn’t properly digested, this triggers a sequence of actions involving our immune system that leads to higher levels of cortisol, the hormone that prevents fat loss and breaks down muscle.

It leads to lower energy and mood, hormone issues, Leaky Gut, and even to our immune system mistaking our own cells for harmful bacteria and toxins, and so attacking them.

Even more, without full digestion, our body receives less of the protein we consume in a form it can actually use.

So we get less protein for muscle, properly balanced hormones, cellular repair and upkeep, and overall health and energy, while at the same time we’re eating more that goes to waste.

This is a big deal. Due to processed foods and sugars, many of our digestive tracts don’t function at optimal levels, preventing a significant amount of the food we eat from being fully broken down so our body can use it.

Beyond this, improper digestion leads to not only heart burn, acid reflux, GERD, gas and a bloated stomach, but also allows for harmful bacteria, parasites, and fungi to take root, further causing us trouble.

Everything hinges on protein. Or, more specifically, the essential amino acids protein provides, which is what our body actually uses.

So, understanding exactly how digestion works and how to keep or get it working properly is very important.

Welcome to the Gut Health Guide, Protocol & 30-Day Challenge!

Our gut is one of the most important aspects of our health.

If our gut is generally healthy, so are we. If our gut is not healthy, then neither are we. It really is that simple.

But about two thirds of Americans are living with gut issues.

Acid reflux, heart burn, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Gas and bloating, causing a protruding stomach that can’t be “exercised off.”

Leaky Gut, SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), Candida, H. Pylori and C. Diff.

Gluten reactions.

An imbalanced microbiome causing higher stress levels, poor energy, and much more.

If we want the healthiest body we can have, with high energy levels, an easy time maintaining our figure, healthier skin, a calmer mood, hormonal balance, lean muscle, and good sleep — then we need to take control of our gut.

This is the third article in the Autoimmune series.

In the last two articles we covered what autoimmunity is and what causes it.

And in this article we’re going to talk about how to address it.

When we look at addressing some kind of physical condition, we can look at it from two different angles: addressing the symptoms and working to suppress those, or locating the root cause that is creating the condition, and keeping it created on a daily basis, and address that so that it is no longer being continually created.