Our digestive tract is very important for our overall health.

When it’s running smoothly we have good digestion without discomfort where the foods we eat are fully broken down into useable nutrients for our body.

Our stomach kills off most harmful microbes entering it, and if they aren’t killed off there, then they are in our small intestine where 80% of our immune system exists for this exact reason.

Once any of these microbes are neutralized, our intestine opens what are called tight junctions to let the nutrients from our food through and into our bloodstream.

Further down we have our colon, where trillions of bacteria live, consuming left over food and producing vitamins, amino acids, and neurotransmitters like GABA and serotonin which are then absorbed through the wall of our colon and sent to our brain or elsewhere. This is our microbiome.

And how well our digestive tract is doing, our gut, parallels fairly closely how well we are doing, both physically and mentally.

However, if harmful microbes do make it in and take root, evading our immune cells, along with toxins, these can cause real trouble.

This protocol aims to address these harmful microbes, ridding our digestive tract of them, while at the same time building all aspects of our digestive tract back up to optimal levels.

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.

This is the second article in the Autoimmune Series.

In the last article we covered what autoimmune conditions are and what they’re actually doing in the body. But in this article we’re going to cover how they come about.

What actually causes them.

And it starts in the gut, our first defense against illness.

We've spoken about what free radicals are, how they occur, how they affect our aging, stress levels, energy levels, hormones, skin, and much more.

And about what oxidative stress is, when free radicals reach a tipping point, causing gradual destruction throughout our body over time.

This causes high stress levels, both physically and mentally, poor sleep and recovery, lowered energy and mental focus, lowered health, and reduced longevity over time.

But there’s one free radical that’s worse than any other, and which not only causes more harm, but even the creation of new free radicals in a chain reaction of destruction in our body.

These are called hydroxyl radicals. And they speed aging and the development of many other conditions more than anything else.

They're caused by toxins and pollutants in our food, water, and air, cigarette smoke, chemicals in processed foods, and sun radiation.

If you’ve heard about hydrogen water and how good it is for you, this is why. It’s what neutralizes these. And it’s quite helpful.

But understanding what they are, what they do in our body, and what we can do about them is essential for optimum health and longevity.

Let's dive in.

In today’s world, from the viewpoint of our bodies, they’re under constant attack.

Harmful toxins come in through our air, food and water, and even our clothing and personal care items. And these are at levels over 50 times that of just a few decades ago.

And they are affecting us quite significantly.

On top of that, our processed foods not only contain harmful chemicals, but have key vitamins and nutrients processed out of them. The exact nutrients our bodies need to fight or neutralize the harmful chemicals coming in.

As just one example, if you were to buy beef, you should be able to expect that it has one ingredient: beef. Nothing else. Why would it?

However, unless you’re buying completely naturally raised, certified organic, 100% grass-fed and finished beef, what you’re actually getting generally includes Antibiotics, tranquilizers, pesticides, animal drugs, artificial flavors, industrial wastes, and growth-promoting hormones.

Just to name a few.

Not quite one ingredient.

But what do you think these chemicals do in our body? How do they affect us?

Because that’s just one food source. We have the same things happening in vegetables and fruits today, and almost all of our processed, packaged or boxed foods.

We get literally thousands of chemicals in through our water sources, drinks, and even our skin care products and our clothes.

What does this do to our body?

Well, look at the amount of physical conditions occurring in society today. These either didn’t exist or were in most cases quite rare just four or five decades ago.

Look at stress levels, hormonal imbalances, and common allergies today.

And look at how fast aging is occurring in our younger generations, with members of Gen Z appearing to age faster than Millenials, and Millennials aging faster than Gen X and Boomers.

This is a real thing.

So let’s dive in and see exactly how these chemicals affect us and what we can do about it.

There are certain things that accelerate aging, destroying our cells, far beyond anything else.

You’ve probably heard of them, but never gotten a real explanation for what they are or how they work.

They’re called free radicals.

These are incomplete molecules in our body, caused naturally or through toxins, harmful bacteria, radiation, and ingredients in many processed foods.

But while they do occur naturally on a lower level, when they’re too high, they cause destruction throughout our body.

They can affect our skin, creating dry or sagging skin over time, or lead to disruptions in our skin.

They affect our hormones and hormonal balance.

They lower our energy levels while raising immune activity.

They affect our cardiovascular system, injuring our blood vessels.

They can break down proteins in our cells, harm our DNA, and even cause mutations.

And they raise stress levels throughout our nervous system, making it harder to relax, recover from workouts or activity, or get good, deep sleep.

In short, they’re not good. And as they’re at an all time high with today’s environmental pollutants and chemicals in our foods, we need to take active steps to neutralize them to prevent damage in the body.

So let’s dive in.

In this article we want to give you a window into the life of an elite athlete and find out how they train on a daily basis, and how they ready themself for an international tournament.

Because, whether you’re training to elite level yourself, or just trying to stay fit and healthy, what they know and do could work wonders for you.

We want to know how they prepare, both physically and mentally, and even strategically.

What is their training cadence, diet, workout regimen, and mind set?

What is their recovery protocol and sleep routine, and what other tricks do they have?

In short — we want to know what it takes to become the best?

And to find out, we asked one of the best.

Meet Mitchell Saron, a Filipino American, right-handed saber fencer who is, quite literally, one of the best on the planet.

Let’s dive in.

Electrolytes are necessary for hydration, energy, recovery, and mental clarity.

They power our nervous system, regulate our water levels, allow our cells to function, and are key to protein synthesis, recovery, and even brain function.

And they're vital for fat loss.

Lack of electrolytes can cause dizziness, cramps, headaches, exhaustion, mental confusion, and even affect our heartbeat.

But they are exact minerals and they're needed by the body in exact ratios.

Too much of one and not enough of another can actually exacerbate the problems they're supposed to address.

In fact, the wrong ratio can even cause dehydration and bloating, not to mention weight gain and slower recoveries.

We’ve all seen energy drinks advertised on social media, by influencers, and even by athletes.

And the number of people drinking these on an almost daily basis has been growing for years, affecting their sleep, mood, nervous system, heart health, weight and overall health and energy levels.

Even some elite athletes have begun drinking them, causing trouble down the road.

These energy drinks have high amounts of caffeine, and higher amounts of straight sugar, often under the guise of several different ingredients so you don’t see quite how much is in there.

 So let’s look at what they’re actually doing in the body, how they give that first energy high, then crash, and their effects down the line.

We know about amino acids, hormones, and how different foods affect our ability to build lean muscle, burn fat and stay healthy. 

But if we want to achieve maximum levels of energy, recovery, health and performance, and build the most lean muscle, then we need to go down to the cellular level. 

After all, our bodies are just one big mass of some 100 trillion cells all bonded together. 

How well we're doing is an exact reflection of how well our cells are doing.

Many people think of bodybuilding as just trying to build the biggest muscles we can. And that’s not quite true.

Bodybuilding is about building one’s ideal physique. And, while that includes achieving bigger muscles, it also means achieving balance, symmetry and aesthetics.

But there are those who do try for building the biggest muscles they can, which there is nothing wrong with.

Unfortunately, many of them employ substances which, while helping to achieve their goals faster, and in some cases achieve more than they could naturally, also result in serious health conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, something which is becoming more and more prevalent amongst bodybuilders today.

In this article we’re going to cover the use of steroids and insulin injections, why they're used, how they work, and how these significantly increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes down the road.