Disturbed digestion - sick person

Irritable bowel syndrome can manifest itself in various complaints. These range from diarrhoea, flatulence, abdominal pain, nausea and fatigue to constipation. As a result of these intestinal malfunctions, a number of other health problems can occur. These manifest themselves primarily on the skin with redness, itching and rashes, on the mucous membranes with impaired nasal breathing or asthma, as circulatory problems or general symptoms such as fatigue, states of exhaustion, inner restlessness or sleep disorders. A drop in performance and depressive states often occur in this context.

Irritable bowel - the problem with the holes

The medical cause of these diverse complaints is a chronic, rather superficial inflammation of the inner walls of the intestine. This inflammation causes the intestine to lose one of its most important functions, namely protecting the body from undigested substances. With normal intestinal function, only the smallest particles from the digestive pulp can be absorbed into the body through the intestinal walls. However, if the intestine is inflamed, the intestinal mucosa becomes "holey" and much larger molecules penetrate the intestinal wall towards body tissue (technical term: licky gut). These particles immediately call the immune system into action because they are recognised as foreign to the body and must be neutralised by the immune system. This is a very energy-consuming process that brings with it the above-mentioned sequelae of the holey irritable bowel. Logically, there is little energy left for "real life".

Causes of irritable bowel syndrome

Anything we can't "digest" puts a strain on our gut health. The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, poor nutrition. We live in an age of abundance and all have enough to eat in terms of quantity. However, the quality of our food has declined massively in recent decades. This applies both to the vital substance content of food grown on depleted soils with artificial fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, and to the highly unhealthy additives that make our modern convenience foods durable and taste good. But what damages the gut just as much is unprocessed stress and deviation from healthy rhythms of life. This causes a greatly increased release of the stress hormone cortisol in the adrenal gland. This excess of stress hormone leads to inflammation throughout the gastrointestinal tract. This inflammation leads to "leaky gut". The consequence of this is precisely the above-mentioned complaints and, in the long term, an increasing burden of the body with undigested substances. These are called "waste products" in naturopathy - in Ayurveda they are called "Ama". For the Ayurvedic doctor, "Ama" is considered THE breeding ground for diseases par excellence.

Gluten - the difficult-to-digest wheat protein

Gluten is a gluten protein that is found in many cereals - most commonly in wheat. Gluten is particularly important for baking because it makes the dough elastic and sliceable. However, gluten is also used in the food industry as a stabiliser, thickener, gelling agent, flavouring and colouring agent. Bread, pastries, cakes, pizza and pasta - wheat and other gluten-containing grains are omnipresent in our food. The gluten content has increased significantly in recent years due to the breeding of cereals. Although gluten is a high-quality and nutritious protein, it is also very difficult to digest. Once the digestive system has been damaged by years of poor nutrition and stress, gluten can be very stressful for many people. A temporary diet without gluten, in conjunction with other anti-inflammatory measures, can help the "holey irritable bowel" to heal again and thus also the subsequent symptoms to subside.

Which cereals contain gluten?

The cereal with the highest gluten content is wheat. However, smaller amounts of gluten are also found in spelt, rye, green spelt, bulgur, couscous, barley, kammut and einkorn. Gluten is also found in all foods made from these grains, such as bread, pastries, cakes, noodles, etc. For a gluten-free diet, one must completely avoid all these grains and switch to the following grains: Rice, corn, millet, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth. For cooking, you can also use potato starch as a thickener or potatoes as a cereal substitute for hot main meals.

Who should eat gluten-free?

Congenital gluten intolerance is called coeliac disease and requires a lifelong largely gluten-free diet. Coeliac disease is usually diagnosed in childhood because of the associated failure to thrive. Most adults with intestinal disorders suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, and some have wheat sensitivity unrelated to coeliac disease as part of this condition. Since there are hardly any reliable medical examinations and laboratory tests that prove such a disease, it makes sense for most patients with irritable bowel syndrome to follow a temporary gluten-free diet to cure their symptoms. This dietary change should be maintained for at least two months, or better still for six months.

Accompanying measures

During the gluten-free diet, it is essential to follow other measures that help the inflammation in the intestine to heal. These measures can be divided into two groups:

1. Lifestyle measures to reduce stress and improve biorhythms, and
2. Medical measures in the form of dietary supplements and medicinal plants.

Stress management

Any kind of stress leads to an increase in stress hormones in the body, which fuel inflammatory processes. From my decades of experience, the best measure to reduce stress is the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation. Stress leads to tension. And the deep relaxation that occurs in everyone during Transcendental Meditation is the surest cure for stress-induced ailments. We regularly offer courses for newcomers in our house. I can only warmly recommend that you take one of these courses and thereby not only conquer stress, but also give your life a new positive direction. Of course, getting enough sleep is also one of the measures that promote stress reduction. .

Eating behaviour

"Digestion begins in the mouth" - says an old folk wisdom. That is why good chewing in a relaxed eating atmosphere is the first effective behavioural rule you can use to improve intestinal complaints. Resolve to chew every bite at least ten times for ten days! Eat in a quiet, seated atmosphere and don't let the newspaper, radio or exciting discussions distract you from your most important task during mealtime: eating with full attention! At the same time as improving your chewing behaviour, you should also keep a regular rhythm to your meals. Eat only three times a day and make sure you have at least 4 to 5 hour breaks between meals. During these breaks, drink plenty of water or unsweetened tea.

Food supplements

Our herbal detox, which has been tried and tested thousands of times, is particularly suitable as a start to the changeover to a gluten-free diet. After this herbal detox, the intake of digestive herbs is recommended. You can drink our Ayurvedic Digest tea during or between meals and take the herbal tablets MA154 after the main meals. To rebuild the intestinal flora, I recommend that you take one sachet of Omnibiotic Stress-Repair daily in the morning on an empty stomach or before going to bed. This process is supported by taking so-called "mucus builders" such as psyllium, linseed or quinoa. From orthomolecular medicine, I recommend taking AH Glutamin Formula* by Biogena from our shop as an anti-inflammatory preparation.

*please register in our shop to see this or other products from Biogena.

Gluten-free bread

The biggest challenge for many is giving up bread and pasta. There are many gluten-free products available in the grocery store, but only a few of them are organic. The easiest way is to switch to rice noodles for pasta and bake gluten-free bread yourself. Use our recipe for gluten-free bread for this!