Written by: Joel Evan, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Though I generally don't speak in absolutes, the following foods I list are the main culprits for increasing leaky gut and future health problems. Like Hippocrates said, "All disease begins in the gut." So if you slip up and eat any of these foods, it's okay, but don't make it a habitual activity. Instead, refocus and feed your gut the foods that promote good bacteria and drive out the nasty bugs.
Simple Sugars & Starches
Unfortunately, you already know this, but sugar is public enemy number one (including fruit). Whether it's glucose, fructose, or sucrose, or any simple sugar, they are promoting the proliferation of nasty bugs in your gut. The truth of the matter is fruit was meant to be eaten in the summer and fall, not all year-round. Further, the nasty bugs love sugar and feed off of it (so do cancer cells). Cutting down on your sugar intake is one of the best things you can do to drive out the nasty bugs, help rebalance your gut bacteria, and lose weight. Some of the highest sugary snacks that should be avoided are grapes, mangoes, ripe bananas, apples, pineapples, and pears.
Sugar Substitutes
What's worse than sugar? Sugar substitutes. Substitutes such as sucralose, saccharin, and aspartame have been shown to alter your gut microbiome, encouraging bad bugs to take over. Consuming sucralose, such as Splenda, promoted higher blood glucose and insulin levels in humans than did drinking water. Not only do they produce toxic compounds in your body, but these artificial sweetens also promote weight gain. Artificial sweeteners still trigger the sugar receptors on your tongue, which triggers a response to the brain that your body will receive something sweet, therefore, prepare to store fat. The problem occurs when the brain realizes those empty calories didn't do anything and feels cheated from not receiving glucose to use as energy. The brain then tells your body to go back and get more sugar.
Conventional dairy
Got milk? I hope not. Most people who have issues with milk products complain of lactose intolerance, which is why they feel pain, discomfort, and bloating. In reality, it's the casein A1 protein causing the autoimmune attacks. Luckily, you still have many options, such as goat, sheep, water buffalo, or cows that do not produce the A1 mutation. Cow's milk is also loaded with insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, designed to make calves grow quickly. Unfortunately, we were created to grow slowly, and especially as we age, growing rapidly can become problematic.
Bad Fats
There's good fat, and then there are bad fats, but fat is not bad in itself. The worst fat to avoid that is causing metabolic havoc are those found in vegetable oils. Research revealed that those living on vegetable oils are rarely satiated and chronically seek junk food. Vegetable oils make us hungry in two ways. First, it activates hunger, and second, it interferes with satiety. Vegetable oils make us hungry by switching on the same kind of powerful hunger signals that smoking marijuana generates. And it interferes with satiety signals by driving up brain inflammation. Avoid fats like peanut oil, grapeseed oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and partially hydrogenated vegetable or canola oil.
Joel Evans, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Joel Evan is a health coach and integrative health practitioner that helps his clients get to the root cause of their issues so that they can start living the best version of themselves. After suffering from his own health issues as a young child such as allergies and an abnormal bone growth, and then watching his children suffer from gut issues and an imbalanced immune system, Joel has made it his mission to develop strategies and protocols that can rebalance the body so that his clients can be more vibrant, more joyful, and more confident so they can go out and crush their goals and impact the world in a bigger way. Joel is also a Neufit electric stim physical therapist and has helped several clients get out of chronic pain, and recover from surgery and neurological disorders. Joel is also the host of "The Hacked Life" podcast where he's had the chance to sit down with some of the leading health experts in the world, such as Dave Asprey, Dr Mindy Pelz, and Dr John Jaquish. His motto: "Live Healthy, Live Happy."
