As of today, about 42% of Americans are considered clinically obese. This is a large rise from the 1970’s when only about 10% were.

To combat this, recently, many have turned to the medication, Ozempic. This is a medication originally approved for the treatment of diabetes, but which has shown results in lowering appetite and blood sugar levels, and so allowing for loss of body fat.

However, it works by bypassing the body’s natural systems and in some cases lowering the body’s ability to naturally perform these actions as the body gets used to receiving it.

And, for some, it can come with severe side effects to one degree or another: increased risk of heart attack, bowel obstruction, gallstones, thyroid cancer, vision loss, muscle loss and weak or brittle bones especially for those in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, and severe stomach paralysis.

Not to mention the possible permanent lowering of digestive ability once off of Ozempic, along the return of the body fat lost, if the situation that originally brought about the obesity has not been addressed.

So understanding this medication, how it works inside our body, what it can and can’t do, its long term side-effects, and what to do if you intend to take it or already are is quite important.

This is the end of the Gut Health 30-Day Challenge. Now it’s time to take a step back and see where we are, and where we go next!

The goals for this program were:

• Digestion significantly improved and heartburn should be gone or noticeably lessened.
• Bowel movements will have normalized.
• Cravings for sugar or junk food should be gone or severely diminished.
• Any extra inches around the waste caused by bloating from gas should be fully or mostly gone (this is a bigger deal than most people realize).
• Hormones will be in much better balance.
• Mood and energy levels will be much higher and stress levels will be lower.
• It will be easier to relax, to fall asleep and to stay asleep.
• Skin health will have improved, quite visibly in some cases.
• Mental ability will have improved for some.
• Longevity will have increased.
• It will be much easier to lose fat on a diet and get through the “cravings hurdle.”
• It will be easier to add muscle, especially for those in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
• And, if HRV levels were measured at the beginning of the challenge, these should now be higher.

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.

There is an idea that if we have GERD, Heartburn or Acid Reflux, this means we have too much stomach acid.

Due to this, many people take stomach acid neutralizers or acid blockers, known as PPIs, to make their stomach less acidic and calm it down.

However, these only give a temporary solution, and in the long term actually make the problem worse.

This is because it’s not high levels of stomach acid that cause acid reflux and GERD, but the exact opposite — too little stomach acid.

This is an example of only addressing the symptom instead of the cause, allowing the cause to continue on, slowly worsening over time.

This lessened stomach acid leads to foods, especially proteins, not being fully broken down into a form our bodies can use. So we don’t get the nutrients we need, no matter how much we eat.

And, harmful bacteria are allowed to take root in our stomach and intestines, raising cortisol levels, lowering energy levels, stealing nutrients needed by the cells, preventing muscle gain, causing sugar cravings and more.

And, of course, we get GERD, Acid Reflux, Gas and Bloating.

So lets see what’s happening here.

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.

Here is your very short, very simple schedule for use on the Gut Health 30-Day Challenge.

You can print this out and keep it with you or put it on the refrigerator to run your day.

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.