Love Your Kids Guts

Our Children are Our Future.  Good Gut Health is the Key to Our Future.

(All disease begins in the Gut. Hippocrates, 460-370 BC)

A healthy digestive system with a good bacterial population is to the body as healthy soil is to the roots of a tree.  One cannot thrive and flourish without it.  “A well-functioning gut with healthy gut flora holds the roots of our health”  (Campbell McBride, p.25). 

“The absolute number of living cells in our bowel is about nine times more than there are cells in our bodies, so we’re essentially 10 per cent human, 90 per cent poo,” says gastroenterologist Professor Thomas Borody, head of the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney. The Poo Dr Borody refers to is the bacteria that reside in your gut.  It is essential for your health and survival.

When the ecosystem of our gut flora is disrupted and imbalanced it affects the body in many ways.   

NUTRITION – When good bacteria are depleted, nutritional deficiencies can occur as they are essential for digestion and absorption of nutrients from food.  Such deficiencies interupt normal bodily function & brain development as well as the immune system.

Eating a healthy diet full of good vitamins, minerals and healthy fats can be of little benefit if the gut is not efficiently digesting and absorbing them.  Beneficial bacteria are also required to produce a supply of Vitamin K, B vitamins & amino acids.  

IMMUNITY – Damaged Gut Flora leads to a malnourished, deficient, compromised, unbalanced and intoxicated immune system. 80-85% of our immunity is dependent on having good bacteria in the gut.   It is often the body’s first line of defense against invading pathogens.   This type of immune disfunction can result in inflammation and auto-immune disease in the body (ie.irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, psoriasos & eczema).

When gut dysbiosis occurs (too much bad bacteria to good bacteria) large undigested proteins (like gluten and casein) can enter our blood stream, causing food intolerances and allergies.

BRAIN FUNCTION – Bad bacteria in the gut can also release toxins into the blood stream, having adverse affects on the brain.  We rely on the ecosystem of our gut to protect our bodies from toxins.  A symbiotic relationship with friendly bacteria is essential to shield our naturally porous intestines and protect the body and brain from the effects of toxic substances from external and internal sources.

“An unknown number of various neurotoxins are produced by abnormal flora in the gut…these are absorbed through the damaged gut wall into the blood and taken to the brain” (Campbell-McBride, p.50).   Dr.Campbell-McBride explains that when a child’s brain is clogged with toxicity it does not allow the brain to develop properly, interfering with the development of social skills, communication skills and instinctive play.   Such toxicity in children presents as the “Gut and Psychology Syndrome”  (GAPS) as proposed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.  

“Apart from childhood learning disabilities: autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and various learning and behavioural problems, there is another group of conditions which fit into the GAP Syndrome.  These conditions are schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, manic depression or bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder” (Campbell-McBride, p.7).

Good Gut Health is the answer to many health problems that burden our society today.  Including cultured foods in your diet on a daily basis will make a difference to you and your family’s health.  

Reference:  (2012,Campbell-McBride,N. Gut and Psychology Syndrome)