Why this Single Organ Powerfully Dictates Whether You're Healthy or Sick

March 18 2012

By Dr. Mercola

The interview above features Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a Russian-trained neurologist with a full-time medical practice in the UK.

She treats children and adults with autism, learning disabilities, neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, immune disorders, and digestive problems, using her Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Nutritional Program.

Below, I also interview Caroline Barringer, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP), who is an expert in the preparation of the foods prescribed in Dr. McBride's GAPS program.

We first met at the November 2011 Weston Price Wise Traditions event, where we had the opportunity to enjoy some amazing fermented vegetables that her company prepared for our dinner.

I started incorporating them into my own diet and after a little over a month of daily use, was surprised to find that this minor change has dramatically decreased plaque formation on my teeth, which has been a chronic problem for me.

Caroline has been involved with nutrition for about 20 years, and is now one of Dr. McBride's chief training partners, helping people understand the food preparation process.

The importance of your gut flora, and its influence on your health cannot be overstated. It's truly profound.

Your gut literally serves as your second brain, and even produces more of the neurotransmitter serotonin—known to have a beneficial influence on your mood—than your brain does.

Your gut is also home to countless bacteria, both good and bad. These bacteria outnumber the cells in your body by at least 10 to one, and maintaining the ideal balance of good and bad bacteria forms the foundation for good health—physical, mental and emotional.

The challenge is to identify strategies to optimize that bacterial population, so that you can live in a beneficial, symbiotic relationship where they nourish you, help you fight disease, and optimize your health. This is where the GAPS Nutritional Program comes in.

"Heal and Seal" Your Gut to Reverse Disease

I have been a strong advocate of nutritional therapies for many decades. That certainly gets you to a level of health, but the introduction of fermented foods, and the "heal and seal" process that Dr. McBride has developed can help take your health to the next level. So I'm thrilled to announce that we'll be conducting a series of interviews and videos expounding on these principles.

I'm firmly convinced that if we can share this information with enough people and reeducate them about some of the most important basic processes that have been abandoned over the years, large amounts of people will start to recapture their health!

Here, we begin by discussing the basic principles for how to implement the GAPS program. GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. It also stands for Gut and Physiology Syndrome.

"In terms of Gut and Psychology Syndrome, we are talking about the functioning of the brain of the person," Dr. McBride explains. "Any dysfunction of the brain is usually connected to what's going on in the digestive system. In Gut and Physiology Syndrome, we're talking about the functioning of the rest of the body. Hippocrates… made a statement that all diseases begin in the gut. The more we learn now with all our modern scientific tools, the more we realize just how correct he was."

In terms of Gut and Physiology Syndrome, we're talking about all forms of autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases and conditions, such as:

Multiple sclerosis Type 1 diabetes Rheumatoid arthritis Osteoarthritis
Lupus Crohn's disease Ulcerative colitis Chronic skin conditions
Kidney problems Urinary conditions Allergic and atopic conditions Degenerative conditions
Chronic fatigue syndrome Fibromyalgia Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) Inflammatory bowel diseases

If you're suffering from any of these conditions, or virtually any other health challenge, you'd be wise to implement the GAPS program. While Dr. McBride's book is called Gut and Psychology Syndrome, the nutritional protocol for addressing physiological and psychological conditions is identical. She is working on a second book, which will be called Gut and Physiology Syndrome, but in the meantime; please refer to her original book, as the practical dietary information will be the same.

"Once you heal and seal your gut lining, and once you make your digestive system healthy and working properly again, you'll be surprised how many various symptoms in your body originated from your digestive system. Most [symptoms] start disappearing, because the health and the disease are usually born inside your digestive system. That's where they originate from," she explains.

More go to:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/18/mcbride-and-barringer-interview.aspx?e_cid=BestOf1_Article3

 

© Copyright 1997-2012 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.