The Anti-Inflammatory Keto Reset, Week 1: Gut Health

Welcome to Keto Reset week 1, part 2! The gut-inflammation connection. 

So what’s the gut have to do with inflammation? A lot more than you’d think! Contrary to earlier belief, what happens in the gut does not stay there, so when the gut is unbalanced, overrun with bad bacteria, leaky or inflamed, it triggers an immune response and causes problems throughout the entire body. A big culprit of this is leaky gut syndrome – but what is it exactly?

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What is leaky gut syndrome?

Just as the name suggests, leaky gut (also known as intestinal permeability) occurs when the intestinal wall, which usually allows a certain amount of certain substances to pass through, begins to let out more than it should.

“Unwanted guests [that are released into the bloodstream] can include proteins like gluten, bad bacteria and undigested food particles,” says Dr. Josh Axe, DNM, CNS, DC, author of The Gut Repair Cookbook (Axe Wellness, LLC, 2016). Additional waste can also escape from your intestinal wall and into your bloodstream, causing an immune reaction. Furthermore, Dr. Axe says this common malady is the root cause of many ailments affecting the Western population today, among them allergies, autoimmune disorders like Celiac disease, chronic inflammatory conditions like arthritis, chronic gastrointestinal problems like IBS, metabolic diseases like diabetes, and even some types of cancer (specifically esophageal and colorectal).

So how does this degradation start? Sugars and refined carbohydrates play a role, which is why we’ve removed them for this reset challenge. Alcohol use and certain medications, even over-the-counter ones like aspirin may also trigger leaky gut. Stress, Dr. Axe notes, is also a culprit. And recent research has found a link between the syndrome and cancers in the liver, lungs and lymph nodes.

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What are prebiotic foods?

To ensure your gut lining is in tip-top shape, include plenty of anti-inflammatory and probiotic-rich fermented foods in your diet such as sauerkraut and kefir and prebiotic foods like onions, garlic, asparagus, herbs, and artichokes, which act as food for the probiotics, – and make sure to follow our other recommendations in today’s gut-inflammation connection video. 

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Cooking demo

Next, tune into the cooking demo below for a super gut-nourishing recipe that you’ll make again and again. No one else masters the balance of irresistible flavor and superfood function quite like Chef Seamus. The full recipe can be found in your challenge cookbook.

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