Gut health is a big topic these days, and with good reason since the health of our microbiome affects inflammation, our brain health, and could be contributing to, or even causing some of the health issues we're experiencing.
I see so many people in various support groups recommending all sorts of cleanses and detox flushes. Before I tell you why I don't recommend following this advice, there is something you need to know when it comes to your gut.
We all have yeast, bacteria, and usually pathogens in our gut. If your body is healthy, it will keep everything in check and keep yeast from overgrowing, bacteria under control, and help fight off pathogens. So, if we're experiencing an overgrowth of candida for example, that means there are imbalances in our body that are causing our immune system to not function properly, and the yeast has the perfect environment to flourish.
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Often times once we clean up our diet, address nutritional deficiencies, imbalances, and detox pathways, our body is able to take care of normal levels of yeast, bacteria, and pathogens on its own. The body wants to heal and has the ability to heal itself when given the right tools.
How do we determine what deficiencies and imbalances we have, as well as the support our detox pathways might need?
We must run the tests that give us that information. These tests are a genetics test, full panel bloodwork, organic acids test, and DUTCH test. You can read more about these tests in my blog post titled 6 Functional Labs That Get to the Root Causes.
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When people do cleanses or go straight to doing liver flushes when the body isn't ready, it can actually cause more harm than good. Oftentimes the die off symptoms people claim to have are mitochondrial damage and the body getting further out of balance.
Gut work done the correct way can be tough on the body, so I can't imagine doing a flush or cleanse when the body isn't ready. This can lead to more damage and be counterproductive as well. It's best to go in a certain order and work on the nutritional needs that your body has first, then work on the imbalances and detox pathways. After you've worked on those things for about 6 months, then your body should be ready for gut work.
Just like it's important to run the proper tests to see what is going on in the body, what deficiencies, imbalances, and detoxification needs it has, it is just as important to run the proper tests to see what yeast, bacteria, parasites, and protozoa you have. Don't just guess based on symptoms, test so you know for sure. Many of the symptoms of yeast overgrowth could be due to other imbalances, for example. I use the Parawellness test for parasites and protozoa and the GI Map test for bacteria and yeast. It's really important to work with a practitioner who knows the best protocols depending on what the tests results show.
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