Body Digestion

You can use clay powder internally to remove toxins by simply mixing it with juice or water. Make sure the water is either spring water or distilled if possible. Some people like to mix the powder with water, roll it into small balls, and let them dry in the sunlight. These “pills” can be flavored or left natural, and then sucked on throughout the day, like candy. This technique works particularly well for treating problems like inflammation of the gum tissue.

Either way provides the same body detoxifying benefits. In situations where I’ve been uncertain of water quality, I’ve mixed clay with the water and then waited until the clay settled to the bottom of the glass before consuming the water. Clay is very effective at removing a long list of contaminants—along with destroying most pathogens.

When you mix clay for either oral or topical use, never let it come into contact with metal. To avoid any possible reaction with metal, always use wood utensils and glass, clay, or ceramic containers.

One of the benefits of consuming clay orally, in addition to its detoxifying effects, is the wide range of trace minerals you receive. If you look at an analysis of many “consumable” clays, the number of trace minerals present is astounding. Practically every mineral you can imagine will be there—including micro-trace amounts of some known to be toxic, such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium. This has led many people to condemn the consumption of clay.

What is often overlooked, however, is the fact that various other competing minerals in these clays are present in much larger quantities. For example, zinc and copper compete with cadmium, and when present in sufficient amounts, block its absorption. This is true of other toxins as well. Clays with the right mineral content have been consumed safely for thousands of years. The key is to limit any clay consumption to ones that are known to be safe. I don’t recommend digging up your own clay for consumption unless you have it tested.

Since clay has such strong absorptive and adsorptive properties, it is best not to take it with your vitamins or at the same time you take prescription medications. Although I haven’t seen any research specifically in this area, I imagine clay has a tendency to bind to and prevent the action of most synthetic chemicals—including drugs. As such, if you’re ingesting clay I would suggest taking it on an empty stomach and then waiting at least four hours before taking any necessary medication.

Without supervision, ingesting clay isn’t recommended for someone with an intolerance for iron or for someone with high blood pressure.

There are a few things you might experience after taking clay orally. It’s not uncommon to experience easier, more frequent bowel movements. In the beginning, stools may have a stronger odor depending on the amount of contaminants. Just remember to drink plenty of water because clay has a tendency to absorb water.

Clay also has a tendency to “scrub” and cleanse the bowel walls. This results in improved digestion and absorption, which in turn translates into increased energy. Some people even report experiencing fewer overall aches and pains, improved skin conditions, and many other benefits associated with detoxification.

For more information on how to detoxify the body and remove toxins, visit www.drdavidwilliams.com.

Most people with a constipation problem either don’t recognize they have it, or they don’t want to admit it. Rarely have I ever received a “yes” answer to the question, “Are you constipated?” I’ve always received a more accurate assessment by asking the person how often they have bowel movements.

The simple truth is, you eat two or three meals a day, so you should be having two or three bowel movements a day. Anything less than that falls under the category of constipation and needs to be corrected. Don’t kid yourself with the delusion that “everyone is different” or “this is normal for me.” It could end up killing you.

For more information on common digestive problems, constipation and diarrhea, or other bowel problems, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

While much well-deserved attention is paid to soluble fiber foods, it is insoluble fiber that provides roughage and improves bowel regularity. This natural bulk also gives feelings of fullness and satisfaction, resulting in less food intake.

In the 1980s, there was a huge push promoting the benefits of fiber in the diet, particularly its ability to prevent colon cancer. Since that time, there have been conflicting studies, and, for some reason, fiber has fallen out of favor. I predict (something I do very rarely) that you will soon begin to see a dramatic increase in the ill effects of decreasing the amount of fiber in our diets. We’re already seeing an increase in many of these problems, such as widespread obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous bowel problems.

Fiber has decreased dramatically as our food supply has become more and more processed. To make matters worse, low-carb diets like Atkins and South Beach often shun the complex carbohydrates that contain insoluble fiber or roughage. The most commonly consumed “vegetable” in this country is now French fries. Food manufacturers have increasingly removed insoluble fiber from processed foods, to both lessen the gritty texture and make ingredients easier to combine.

Insoluble fiber, the portion of the plant that can’t be broken down by your digestive system, provides a valuable service. The fiber absorbs water and swells, making the stool bulky, soft, and easy to pass. (This is why you always need to increase your water intake when you increase the fiber in your diet.) Without adequate fiber, bowel movements slow and toxic material remains in contact with the intestinal walls longer. The foreign material causes inflammation, and additional toxins are reabsorbed into your bloodstream. These additional toxins increase the workload of both your liver and kidneys. The slow-moving stools also lead to a condition called diverticulitis.

Diverticulum: Latin for “You Don’t Want to Know”

In the early stages of the disease, as your intestines struggle to remove toxins and waste material, small, pea-sized, irreversible pockets called diverticula develop. Waste material becomes trapped in these pockets, which often expand and become inflamed, resulting in diverticulitis. If the pockets rupture, the resulting infection and inflammation in the abdominal cavity can prove fatal.

Not surprisingly, the treatment for diverticulosis (the condition before inflammation sets in) is to increase fiber and promote bowel regularity. At the same time, I would also highly recommend the use of probiotics and fermented foods like sauerkraut and others to help re-establish good bacterial flora in the lower bowel at the same time. I don’t recommend the long-term use of over-the-counter fiber products like those mentioned earlier. It is my experience that long-term use of these products seems to deplete various minerals, which can lead to all kinds of seemingly unrelated problems. This just doesn’t happen when the fiber comes from a wide variety of foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, dried beans, popcorn, brown rice, and bran.

For more information on common digestive problems, bowel irregularity, or a list of the highest fiber foods, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

While everyone sings the praises of the low-carb diet, there’s one offshoot of this trend that rarely gets mentioned, however, and that’s constipation. While the more common low-carbs diets such as Atkins or the South Beach diet both advocate salads and various vegetables, in practice they are often low-fiber diets, and that can quickly lead to bowel regularity problems. Reports are that about half the individuals who go on these diets, or variations of them, experience constipation problems.

The fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by the pharmaceutical companies. GlaxoSmithKline has experienced a jump in sales of its fiber laxative, Citrucel. Procter and Gamble has also started promoting its Metamucil product as a “zero net carb” product to help with the bowel regularity problem. Both of these companies see this as a huge opportunity to begin marketing their regularity products to younger consumers instead of just the geriatric crowd.

And, thanks to this diet fad, their target audience is changing to a younger age group. These two products are just part of the $350-million laxative market, and companies know that the sooner you get a customer hooked on one of these products, the greater the chance the customer will end up staying with them for life.

I have a better suggestion for you, if you have bowel regularity problems from a low-carb diet or other cause. Rather than opting for one of these fiber products, start including oats and oatmeal in your diet. Oats are not carb-free, but their benefits far outweigh their carb content. Oats are one of the simple solutions that inexpensively eliminate and prevent dozens of bowel problems.

For more information on bowel changes or other common digestive problems, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

In the 1980s, the big “discovery” was the importance of fiber in the diet. There were dozens of reports explaining how high-fiber diets could prevent heart disease, colon cancer, and dozens of other problems. For a while, high-fiber diets were all the rage. For reasons unknown to me, they fell out of favor. If you want to lose weight or maintain a proper weight, a diet rich in fiber can help.

There are two kinds of fiber in food—soluble and insoluble. In a nutshell, insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water and is considered “roughage.” It swells and softens the stool, and it also scrubs and stimulates the intestines as it passes through. It helps protect against constipation, cancer, and the formation of pockets and inflammation in the colon.

On the other hand, soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms sticky gums and gels. A good example is much of the fiber found in oats. Soluble fiber foods tend to absorb certain compounds like toxins, bile acids, cholesterol, et cetera. They also slow the digestion of food, which improves insulin regulation and helps prevent diabetes.

The highest fiber foods include fruits and vegetables (with the skins left on when possible), beans, and whole grains. Stay away from such refined foods as white flour, cream of wheat, oat flour, cornstarch, and white rice—all of which are low in fiber.

From a dietary standpoint, high-fiber foods are very versatile. Some, like beans, can be the main course, while others, such as fruit, popcorn, and raw vegetables, make excellent snacks. High-fiber foods generally are very low in fat and are made up mostly of high-quality proteins and complex carbohydrates. The fiber itself has no calories, yet provides bulk and a sense of fullness. Fiber isn’t the cure for obesity, but a high-fiber diet with proper nutrition can definitely help you lose weight.

A high-fiber diet decreases what is called “transit time” in the gastrointestinal tract—the time it takes for food to move through your body. A shorter transit time results in less formation and absorption of toxic material into your system. Be aware, though, that higher-fiber diets require an increase in fluid intake. As you start to add more high-fiber foods, be sure you’re drinking plenty of water.

Estimates are that most adults consume between 10 and 15 grams of fiber a day but should be taking in at least 25 to 30 grams. Eating 30 grams a day has been shown to reduce the weight gain that seems to gradually accumulate as one gets older.

For more information on the health benefits of fiber or a list of the highest fiber foods, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

When your body produces inadequate amounts of bile salts to digest fat properly, it will instinctively develop a dislike for fats. Answer the following questions sincerely to determine how well your digestive process is taking place:

• Do you like fatty meats?
• Do you like sausages?
• If fatty meats are not something you like, do you like items such as crisp-cooked bacon or a snack such as pork skins?
• Do you like lamb?
• Do you like salmon?
• Do you like fish only if it isn’t oily or “fishy”?
• Do you like flax oil?
• Do you like nuts and/or seeds?

If you answered “yes” to the first few questions (and don’t have indigestion, bloating and gas when you eat those foods), you’re probably producing adequate amounts of bile salts. The further down the list before you answer “yes,” the more likely it is that you’re having problems digesting fat.

If fat digestion is an issue for you, I suggest using bile salts. There are several bile salt products on the market, and many can be found in your local health food store. I use the product called Cholacol from Standard Process. I recommend taking two tablets immediately before a meal.

For more information on fat digestion, digestive enzymes, or overall body digestion, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

Probably 75 percent of all the patients I've worked on have had problems with bloating and gas or flatulence. This is mostly due to not being able to digest protein adequately.

Protein takes a lot of hydrochloric acid from the stomach to be broken down. A deficiency of this hydrochloric acid production is probably one of the most common conditions after age 50, since research has shown that at age 50 the stomach is only releasing 15 percent of the amount of acid that is released at age 25. A more alarming figure is that 35 percent of all individuals over 65 do not secrete any hydrochloric acid at all.

If the protein isn't broken down completely, then it has a tendency to ferment and putrefy. When this occurs, you will have the bloating and gas after eating, fullness, heartburn, and sometimes vomiting.

Let me tell you the simplest way to stop the problem first. Eat the protein foods at the beginning of the meal! Most of us in the United States will eat a salad before the meal, and the carbohydrates that make up the salad require no hydrochloric acid. The stomach dumps all the hydrochloric acid in to begin with and then when the protein food (meat, fish, beans, cheese, etc.) needs the acid, there is none left. So always eat the vegetable salad either with the protein food or after, but never before.

Now, if the above is still not enough to stop the problem, you may need to help the stomach out by taking some hydrochloric acid with your meal. I always recommend betaine hydrochloride, which you can get at your local health food store. One really important point to remember here is to take one or two tablets after you eat. Whatever you do, don't take them before or during the meal, because you want your stomach to produce and secrete as much acid as it can first, then you add the additional acid needed.

And don't forget to practice these good habits either:

1. Eat smaller meals.
2. Chew all the food extremely well and eat slowly.
3. Never eat if you are not hungry or if you are upset.
4. Don't eat raw fruits and raw vegetables at the same meal.

For more information on bloating and gas and other common digestive problems, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

Algin—a non-digestible fiber from brown seaweeds like kelp—is a secret weapon in fighting body toxins, especially mercury.

When algin absorbs water, it expands into a gel, providing a bulk laxative effect. It also binds to various toxins like mercury, cadmium, and even radioactive materials.

Heavy metals like mercury have a half-life of 15 to 20 years in the human body, meaning it takes that long for just half the mercury to be eliminated without any help. This helps explain why symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, memory loss, nerve pain, et cetera, are often the first symptoms of chronic toxicity.

Fortunately, you can fight back with algin. It is readily available and relatively inexpensive. Nature’s Sunshine makes an algin product that can be found in health food stores and or online. I recommend taking two capsules with each meal for 10 days to help detoxify the body naturally.

For more information on body toxins, how to detoxify the body, and eliminating body toxins, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.

With all the attention that H1N1 influenza was getting this winter, it’s no surprise that a powerful probiotics study was completely ignored in the mainstream media.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, an international team of researchers evaluated the effects of using a daily probiotic supplement, added to milk, on cold and flu symptoms in 326 children. The children were 3 to 5 years of age and the study lasted 6 months.

One group of children received a placebo. Another group received Lactobacillus acidophilus, and a third group received a combination of L. acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis.

Relative to the placebo group, the single and combination probiotics reduced fever incidence by 53 and 72.7 percent, coughing by 41.4 and 62.1 percent, and runny nose by 28.2 and 58.8 percent, respectively. Antibiotic use was reduced by 68.4 and 84.2 percent, relative to the placebo. And compared to those getting the placebo, the single and combination probiotics users had reductions in days missed from school by 31.8 and 27.7 percent. (Pediatrics 09;124:e172–e179)

I would love to see a longer term follow-up study with these children to see what effect using the probiotics could have on preventing the development of food allergies—which now affect 4 percent of children 17 years old and younger in this country. The number of children diagnosed with food allergies has increased by 18 percent between 1997 and 2007. The true number is probably higher, since this figure is based only on visits that were actually reported to emergency and outpatient departments and physician offices. (Pediatrics 09;124:1549-1555)

At this rate, we’re looking at a huge problem in the making—or, from the pharmaceutical industry’s point of view, a huge marketing opportunity. Get your kids (and family) reaping probiotics’ benefits now to avoid trouble.

For more information on probiotics benefits, body digestion, or bowel regularity in general, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site. While there, you can also sign up for Dr. Williams’ FREE eLetter or subscribe to his monthly newsletter.

Prebiotics are substances that bacteria feed on or ferment, and are necessary to maintain a healthy bacterial balance. Most prebiotics are oligosaccharides, or long-chain sugar molecules. They’re considered to be indigestible fiber, and they mostly are, at least from our perspective. But from the perspective of the bacteria, they’re quite digestible.

Whey is a particularly effective prebiotic because of the sugars it contains. (There’s one more reason to start your day with a whey protein shake.) However, many other foods and compounds are also effective as probiotics. One that’s gotten some exposure lately is inulin, from chicory root.
 
Another that’s receiving increased attention is the kiwifruit. Studies from Hong Kong and elsewhere show that eating kiwi decreased constipation and laxative use in constipated patients by improving bowel transit time. (World J Gastroenterol 07;13:4771–4775)

Some of the benefit of kiwi comes from the fiber contained in each piece. The fruit also contains enzymes that aid in digestion and improve bowel motility, the pulsations that help move food through your digestive tract. I know that kiwi isn’t the cheapest variety of fruit available in your grocery, and it’s a very seasonal item in most parts of the country. In addition, the participants in the studies I mentioned were eating around three pieces of the fruit a day.

For those reasons, I’ve been looking for substitutes for kiwi. It turns out that the best substitute is a concentrate of kiwi itself. This concentrate maintains all the enzyme activity of the whole fruit, while packing the prebiotics into a much more convenient form.

Prebiotics are often combined with probiotics to create what’s called a synbiotic. Research in animals shows that synbiotics can help reduce the risk of colon cancer. (Food Chem Toxicol 2009 Dec 21)

Synbiotics also improve healing in patients who have undergone surgery or experienced significant injury. Trials in Greece with trauma patients showed that treatment with synbiotics reduced inflammation and the risk for pneumonia and blood infections, as well as length of stay in intensive care and the amount of time spent on mechanical ventilation. (J Trauma 09;67:815–821) (World J Surg 06;30:1848–1855)

If you find that you’re currently taking a probiotic supplement, and you’re not seeing the probiotics benefits you expected, it could be due to a lack of appropriate prebiotics.

For more information on probiotic benefits, body digestion, or bowel regularity in general, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site. While there, you can also sign up for Dr. Williams’ FREE eLetter or subscribe to his monthly newsletter.

As I was sitting eating my crunchy, delicious 15 day–fermented sauerkraut recently, I ran across a study showing that infectious digestive disorders are among the biggest risks to our military troops who are deployed overseas. Every month, about 30 percent get infectious diarrhea. Those who had experienced even just one incident had six times the risk for subsequent functional diarrhea and four times the risk of developing irritable bowel syndrome.

The medical records of personnel deployed in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom indicate the fourth leading cause of their visits to Veterans Affairs medical centers was chronic gastrointestinal disorders. As many as 20 percent of these patients have conditions that have persisted for five years or longer after returning home.

It’s not hard to understand the high incidence of this problem, considering the stress these soldiers are under and the less-than-sanitary conditions they’re exposed to. What is hard to understand is the way these men and women are being treated.

Typical treatment focuses on the use of antibiotics to wipe out the offending bacteria. Patients are then switched to over-the-counter diarrhea treatments and bulking agents when the problem persists. Knowing what we know today, I’m amazed that probiotics aren’t being used to correct and ultimately prevent diarrhea symptoms.

I don’t have cost figures, but I’m certain that adding a daily probiotic supplement to their regimen would be an extremely cost-effective method to prevent many of these problems. And the fact that probiotics aren’t used following every round of antibiotics is absurd.

For more information on diarrhea treatments, body digestion, or bowel regularity in general, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site. While there, you can also sign up for Dr. Williams’ FREE eLetter or subscribe to his monthly newsletter.

Practically all grains contain gluten, but wheat is one of the most commonly consumed grains found in our food supply—primarily in the form of flour and bread. Cut out the bread and white flour from your diet. (It’s not that easy at first.) Depending on your degree of dependency on gluten, you may experience “withdrawal” symptoms for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

Most people (doctors included) don’t understand that there is a proven additive element to gluten consumption. Gluten is a protein, and when your body isn’t able to completely digest and break down the protein, you end up with forms of biologically active peptides that interact with opiate receptors in the brain. These are the same receptors associated with extremely addictive opiate drugs like heroin and morphine. Studies have found that there are as many as 15 opioid sequences in a single molecule of gluten, and the peptides in gluten can be as much as 30 times more addictive than morphine. (FEBS Lett 92;296:107–111) (FEBS Lett 93;316:17–19)

Considering its potential addictive properties, it’s understandable that gluten withdrawal may be associated with symptoms such as:

• intense food cravings,
• irritability,
• depression,
• mood swings,
• fatigue,
• disorientation,
• insomnia, and
• brain “fogginess.”

From my personal experience in utilizing gluten-free diets, the withdrawal symptoms are not that intense in most people. However, keep in mind that a more serious withdrawal is indicative of a stronger addiction to wheat, and all the more reason to stick with a gluten-free diet.

Following this initial period, if you’re like the majority of individuals (75–80 percent), you can expect to experience a long list of benefits. Just a few commonly reported improvements include:

• fasting blood sugar levels improve,
• LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels drop,
• HDL cholesterol increases,
• bowel problems disappear,
• joint pains subside,
• excess weight begins to fall off,
• energy levels improve, and
• headaches subside.

For some reason, there’s a misconception in this country that celiac disease is a rare condition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Numerous studies have shown it to be a very common yet under-diagnosed problem. In the general population, celiac disease affects one in every 130 to 300 individuals, and is associated with a 95 percent genetic predisposition.

Celiac disease is actually an allergy to certain storage proteins found in grains, called glutens. If you have celiac disease, the allergies to the glutens in wheat, rye, and barley are so severe that many tissues throughout the body can be destroyed. In addition to celiac, many people cannot properly digest gluten, leading to gluten intolerance.

Although celiac disease and gluten intolerance can result in the destruction of the mucosa of the small intestine, you may not experience outright bowel problems or intestional issues. Instead, you may exhibit symptoms such as:

• general poor health,
• fatigue,
• depression,
• weakness,
• joint pain,
• osteoporosis, and
• nighttime bone pain associated with the loss of calcium.

Since these symptoms can result from other problems, the diagnosis of celiac disease might not be made for years, if ever. And during that time you could needlessly suffer from skin problems, cancer, or dozens of other serious diseases.

There’s a critical connection between bowel problems and the nervous system that doesn’t receive much attention in most medical circles. In fact, in testimonials concerning the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, you’ll find that many individuals have seen a dramatic improvement or even complete reversal in such problems as schizophrenia. The same is true when bowel problems are corrected with probiotics or many of the other digestive cleansing methods I’ve discussed in this blog.

Generally, those in conventional medical circles haven’t been able to grasp the connection between toxins in the bowels and neurological disease. (Most still believe the cause of IBS, ulcerative colitis, and similar bowel problems is totally unknown.)

Between 60 and 70 percent of our immune system is located in the digestive tract, which makes sense when you realize it’s one of only three direct connections our body has to the outside world (our skin and respiratory tract are the others)—making it one of the places we are most exposed and vulnerable.

A breach in the gut wall—common in individuals with IBS, Crohn’s disease, and chronic constipation and diarrhea—is commonly referred to as “leaky gut” syndrome. This state allows toxins, bacteria, yeast, fungi, viruses, and incompletely digested foods to enter the bloodstream. An excess of these pathogens creates additional acids, fermentation byproducts, waste, and toxins that eventually overcomes our gut’s defenses.  

That’s why it is vital to maintain bowel health. It’s one of the most effective methods of improving your overall immune function. It can help prevent or reverse many of the neurological diseases on the rise in both children and adults.

Once these toxins and other particles breach our body’s protective barriers, they cause inflammation throughout the body and can often cross the blood/brain barrier, where they then interfere with the circulation and flow of nutrients to the brain—which in turn impairs consciousness, speech, cognition, and behavior. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that digestive and bowel problems are one of the principal complaints of people of all ages with depression, “brain fog,” irritability, schizophrenia, and seizures—even children with autism. It also should be no surprise to see these problems resolved when the bowel problems are corrected.

If you or your loved ones suffer from one of these neurological problems, getting rid of body toxins and restoring the bowels to normal is one thing you don’t want to overlook.

The use of probiotics is preventive medicine at its best. For this very reason it’s important to constantly replenish your body’s supply of these important life-sustaining organisms, which you can do easily with a daily probiotic supplement. And to that you can add my favorite—a nice daily helping of homemade sauerkraut to reap full probiotic benefits.

When you are looking to detoxify the body, you must start with the basics—your diet. To kick off a truly effective cleansing detoxification program, you should try what I call the “weed and feed” program.

The idea is to first cleanse the bowels of any harmful or large numbers of undesirable bacteria, fungi, yeast, and parasites; heal any damage that has taken place; and then re-establish a healthy population of beneficial bacteria.

Overall it’s roughly a two-week program that begins with a 24-hour fast, where ideally nothing would be consumed except purified water. (Chlorinated water is not recommended, because it is not particular about which bacteria it kills—even the beneficial types in the bowel.) If one can’t fast on water alone for 24 hours, a homemade vegetable broth or the low-sodium version of V8 juice can be included, but under no circumstances should you add any fruit, juices, or other foods or drinks.

After the first 24 hours, steamed vegetables and light salads can be gradually added to the diet. (Yeast products, sugar, and starchy foods such as potatoes and rice are not allowed.)

Days 2 and 3 begin the “weeding” of your colon as “broad spectrum” natural antimicrobials are added to the regimen. The standard antimicrobial is garlic, preferably fresh—which has been proven effective against eliminating an extremely wide variety of harmful bacteria, fungi, yeast, and viruses while at the same time sparing the beneficial forms of bacteria. You can achieve these effects by simply consuming two crushed garlic cloves twice daily with your meals.

Beginning on Day 4, and through the remaining two weeks, you need to heal any damage to the bowel and re-establish the growth and dominance of the beneficial bacteria. In addition to adding specific supplements (such as a good probiotic), you can now gradually begin to introduce more and more fresh foods into your diet.

During this period it is important not to consume sugar, alcohol, caffeine, wheat products, or high starch foods such as bread, potatoes, and rice. Steamed or stir-fried vegetables are highly recommended—particularly high-sulfur foods such as cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cress, kale, mustard, radish, and turnip. Cabbage is one of the most researched (and also one of my favorites)—steamed, stir-fried, or fermented as sauerkraut. Onions, asparagus, and artichokes are also good choices.

Legumes (beans and peas) may also be introduced. Keep in mind, too, that these last few items are higher in fiber—which will be  a great help for IBS and other bowel problems, but may need to be introduced later if diarrhea is an issue. The timing of when and how much can be eaten will vary from individual to individual.

Meat can also be gradually added (begin with chicken, fish, or lamb), and it is generally easier and best to do so in the form of broths, stews, or soups. Slow-cooked (not instant) oatmeal is a good addition at this point. Dairy products may also be included. Start with the fermented ones first (such as yogurt).

As you begin to re-introduce different foods, be alert to any changes in bowel changes or symptoms. You may have to discontinue certain foods and add them back later when you see improved bowel regularity.

I am a big fan of anything that aids common digestive problems, as well as more serious conditions like celiac disease. That’s why I am such an advocate of papain.

Papain is a digestive enzyme derived from papaya. Research has shown that taking papain supplements (500 to 1,000 mg with meals) can help digest wheat gluten. It often works so well that with supplementation many celiac disease patients can once again eat wheat products without problems (Gut 64;5:295-303)! Papain can be a godsend to those people who have a gluten intolerance or allergy and must meticulously avoid wheat-containing products.

Finding papain in lower dosages combined with other digestive enzymes is easy to do. You will also find a large selection of papaya tablets. Locating papain by itself is more difficult. One source that sells papain by itself is Nutriteck. It comes as a powder, which can be taken by weighed doses. If you take it in bulk form, make sure you take it with meals. Remember, this is the same stuff used to tenderize meat. It can do a job on your tender lips and mouth if it stays there long enough!

For years, I’ve told my subscribers to chew their vitamins. Clinical research has shown that there is more to digesting something than simply dropping it in the stomach and forgetting about it. You should chew (or at least taste) all of the vitamins you are taking! Nutritional substances are really foods either concentrated or extracted in some way or another. It’s not so much the chewing that seems to be the important thing here, but instead it’s the mixing of the saliva that makes the difference.

However, digestive enzymes are the one exception to this rule. You should NEVER chew or suck on any digestive enzymes!

Digestive enzymes often contain acids and substances that are found only in the parts of the digestive system that are able to handle their caustic properties. Chewing or sucking on these substances cannot only remove enamel from your teeth, but it could cause irritation to the membrane lining of the mouth and the throat. That’s one of the reasons why many manufacturers place a coating on their digestive enzyme products.

Did you ever think that an "aspirin substitute" could come in the form of a digestive enzyme? Think again.

Bromelain is a digestive enzyme extracted from the pineapple plant. It is referred to as a "protease," which means it breaks down proteins, reducing them to their basic building blocks.

Almost 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus and his crew "discovered" the pineapple on the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe. Even then, they were amazed at its medicinal uses. Natives used the juice to aid in digestion of meat and cure stomachaches. Women used it to beautify their skin and warriors used it to improve the healing of their wounds. Recent research suggests that the pineapple (more specifically bromelain, which is extracted from the stem) may be one of the best tools we can use to help prevent and even treat heart disease.

Research has continually shown that the clots formed in arteries are composed largely of protein (fibrin). These clots also contain particles of various fats and cholesterol, but the protein mesh of fibrin seems to be the culprit holding the clot together. In fact, the new clot-busting drugs that have been shown to dissolve 70 percent of the clots in heart patients, work by breaking down the protein fibrin!

Bromelain works much the same way as these new miracle clot-busting drugs. (Just like streptokinase, bromelain stimulates the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, which in turn helps break down fibrin clots.) Even more surprising, bromelain may be able to "clean" arteries of atherosclerotic plaquing before a problem occurs. In an animal study, bromelain broke down arteriosclerotic plaque in the aortas of rabbits.

Bromelain also has been shown to be very effective in treating inflammation, again without the side effects of aspirin or the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Motrin, Advil, Midol, etc. In fact, even the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has been effective using 2,250 mg of bromelain twice daily between meals. In one study, over 70 percent of those on the program experienced good to excellent results of less joint swelling, less pain and more mobility.

Bromelain is sold in health food stores everywhere as a digestive aid and is generally considered very sage, without any known side effects. After all, it comes from pineapple juice, which again has been used medicinally for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Most studies recommend between 2,000 and 4,000 mg daily. When taken to ease common digestive problems, it should be taken after meals. If you are using this digestive enzyme for inflammation and as an aspirin substitute, it is best taken between meals.

IBS has many triggers, including antibiotics, certain foods, and poor digestive capability, just to name a few.

IBS is a complicated condition with several factors that can trigger or contribute to its development. Top among these are antibiotic use, certain IBS trigger foods, or poor digestive capability.

Antibiotic Use

For many people, IBS first shows up after an infection (often one in the gastrointestinal tract), particularly when a long course of treatment or potent antibiotics have been used to address the infection. Antibiotics disrupt the normal bacterial flora in the gut, and this imbalance can lead to IBS.

Food Intolerance

Intolerance to certain foods is one of the primary triggers of IBS. Many people incorrectly refer to food intolerances as food “allergies,” but ingesting the offending foods doesn’t trigger a reaction from the immune system the way a true allergy does. Studies have shown that patients with IBS can usually correct their problem by following a diet that eliminates offending foods.

Some of the most common IBS trigger foods include:

• wheat,
• corn,
• dairy products,
• coffee,
• tea, and
• citrus fruits.

In fact, one study suggests that fructose (fruit sugar) alone may be responsible for 30 to 60 percent of all cases of IBS. The most common source of fructose in the American diet nowadays is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). And while it’s a given that you need to avoid HFCS, fruit can also trigger IBS.

Poor Digestive Capability

A decrease in digestive juices and/or enzymes results in the incomplete breakdown of various foods. Undigested proteins, fats, and carbohydrates can all create havoc in the intestinal tract. Protein fractions can be absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine and cause reactions that mimic allergies, locally as well as throughout the body.

Undigested fats can ferment in warm cavities of the lower bowel and create gas or flatulence, resulting in bloating, distension, and pain. And, undigested carbohydrates can pass to the lower bowel and provide the ideal food for the growth and replication of pathogenic and disease-causing bacteria, fungi, and yeast.

As we age, our ability to produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach is reduced—which reduces our ability to break down proteins. Sluggish bile and gallbladder problems prevent many people from properly breaking down fats in the diet. Surgical removal of the gallbladder without supplementing the diet with bile salts probably increases the difficulty a hundredfold or more.

Additional IBS Triggers

In addition to antibiotics, food intolerance, and poor digestion, there are a myriod of other factors that can trigger IBS. These include:

• genetics,
• drugs,
• radiation therapy,
• smoking,
• alcohol use or abuse,
• carbonated beverages,
• lack of sleep and exercise,
• surgical trauma or injury to the bowel,
• eating disorders, and
• use of hormones (particularly oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy).

IBS is a digestive disorder marked by cramping, constipation and diarrhea.

It’s estimated that condition called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Unfortunately, an estimated 70 percent of the people with IBS don’t seek any medical attention.

On top of that, being able to diagnose IBS still seems to be a problem for most doctors. The medical profession is more comfortable with diseases that present a consistent set of symptoms. However, roughly a third of those who suffer from IBS experience diarrhea, another third have constipation problems, and the remaining third alternate between the two.

If you have the problem, you likely experience abdominal pain or discomfort that is:

• relieved with defecation,
• associated with a change in frequency of stool, or
• associated with a change in the form or appearance of the stool.

Other symptoms also support a diagnosis of IBS:

• abnormal stool formation—either hard and lumpy or loose and watery,
• abnormal stool frequency—either more than three bowel movements a day or fewer than three a week,
• abnormal stool passage—straining, extreme urgency (in the case of diarrhea), or the feeling of not being able to completely evacuate,
• passage of mucus in the stool, or
• bloating or the feeling of bloating.