The information shared in the Copesthetic Community email yesterday got my wheels turning in a big way.  I have contemplated the causes of food-intolerances (click here for a bit of education on food intolerance)  and leaky gut for 10 years now.

There are so many theories that have been regurgitated and what I can conclude from reading them is that we do not fully understand “Leaky Gut.” Even the name for widening of tight junctions makes me cringe a bit to type as a health care professional 😉  What I can conclude is that as we see the rise of common diseases that I treat, I can correlate it to the timing that Monsanto began to take over the food industry.

Monsanto’s Glyphosate isn’t as safe as we believe.  I am going to share information on the recent research in next week’s post as it would be too long for our attention spans! LOL!

We don’t really know the exact connection (many of these large businesses (de)fund research studies).   What we do know is that the cost of food convenience and the decisions we make day to day are killing commensal bacteria in the soil & our gut.  Which, in turn is killing our quality of life and our Earth’s quality of life.

We have learned  in the past 8 years, our bacterial genome plays a greater role on health that we could ever imagine.  Bacteria not only synthesizes many of our essential vitamins (B & K), it is in charge of producing a healthy immune response & for healthy thoughts.

We also know that Glyphosate blocks the shikimate pathway in environmental bacteria, which blocks the production of essential life serving vitamins & amino acids (folic acid – like what we take to be sure our babies live & amino acids that are essential for good mental health along with vital functions).  I cannot help but wonder to what extent this affects our gut health & I promise to follow up with this thought next week <3

Bacteria is also known to help hold together our intestinal cells so they function properly and there is a good chance this over-consumption of Glyphosate is a major contributor to Leaky Gut.

• Toxicities (exposures to pesticides & drugs such as antibiotics in the past)
• Stress eating (unable to break down food fully)
• Hypothyroid (in addition to the autoimmune connection, low stomach acid causing food particles to get into your gut can cause serious problems with your intestinal cells & bacteria)
• Dysbiosis (which isn’t a root cause, but usually caused from the stuff above)

Immunity

The GI Tract is a tube connects our head to our anus and it is the only barrier between our precious bodies & the environment.  That barrier is only about a half a hair width wide and it is extremely complex. It may not take much to damage that barrier.

The Gut contains most of our immunity and what we are finding is that the bacteria genome (the microbes that are living in our gut) wayyyy outnumbers our own genome.  It plays a greater role for immune functioning that we could have ever imagined. In fact the genetic variance between our microbial DNA is much greater than our human DNA.  It is likely that we will see the microbe & disease expression connection come together stronger than a tight junction.

To find an identifier of what is causing this phenomenon of leaky gut & eradicate it would push pause on many of the idiopathic & multi-faceted lifestyle diseases today.

Every single macro-membrane in our body is held together by the same tight junctions.  This includes blood vessels (which deliver immune-stabilizing cells to our body), the blood brain barrier, and the kidneys.  Put that thought together & you find that if our gut cells held together by these junctions are affected by certain factors, it is likely that our other cells are also once our guts become “leaky.”

Hormones

Are you moving everyday?  I am talking about exercise & poop!  If you are suffering with chronic inflammation, Autoimmune,  Thyroid issues (good ole’ Hashimoto’s), irregular periods, endometriosis, PCOS, or hot flashes, we NEED to focus on the gut.  Why? Well, the digestive tract helps remove estrogen, especially if you include the liver loving herbs & fiber into your daily regimen.   Also, as stated above, it is well known that focusing on gut health contributes to alleviating most of the symptoms associated with these diseases.

As for exercise, get your lymph flowing, clean your blood, and in return get those happy hormones in balance.  Yeah…. it’s good stuff.

I had eczema so bad when I was younger that my hands would bleed. I actually hardly have finger prints left!  We tried everything from anti-fungals to cortisone cream. Nothing worked. I then ended up with asthma & pneumonia and those great allergic shiners (dark eye circles).  The first relief from the asthma eczema after trying EVERYTHING for years was when my sister told me about going Gluten-Free. Holy cow. It was gone. After that, I ended getting obsessed with healthy eating and eczema came back on my feet.  Then, I ended up eating more fats. And healed my gut and skin all in one. What do you know, that Chinese Medicine gut-skin connection that has been established for thousands of years happens to be legit?!

After a series of exposures in North Dakota, my thyroid & other hormones went haywire.  Possibly due to exposure, possibly due to adrenal fatigue, possibly due to lack of good food & chronic stress…  Likely due to all of them. One thing I am certain of, is that the sprays that we were exposed to are still sitting in our bodies unless we do something about it.  So, like the Taurus I am, I relentlessly continued to clean myself, to heal myself, to overcome the extreme pains. And BAM…I’m back! I will have next week’s article on the Monsanto Connection & the rise of immune-related diseases.

This is a great question!

1. Identify Food Intolerances
2. Get rid of further toxin exposure.  Avoid Monsanto like the plague. 😉
3. Give the Gut a Rest, Probiotics, & Prebiotics
4. Load her up on herbs that heal tight junctions.
5. De-stress while you eat.  Make what you consume a Sacred Act of Radical Self Care <3
6. The Copesthetic Cleanse has been designed with all of these ideas so that you are not alone.
7. Check out the Copesthetic Community on Facebook if you have more inquiries.

About Dr. Alexana

Dr. Cope deeply enjoys and appreciates working with patients to holistically balance hormones, manage depression and anxiety, and weight management. Dr. Cope also manages diabetes, endocrine conditions such as thyroid, and cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure and cholesterol. Dr. Cope's treatment comprises of a unique combination of nutritional supplementation, body work, custom herbal formulations, flower essences, personalized cooking and shopping plans. Dr. Cope truly believes minor changes in your daily routine is a key factor to health. Alongside treating the current symptoms, Dr. Cope investigates & addresses the root cause of your disease so that you may shift closer to centeredness and health with more ease. She will work with you in order to establish a daily routine that works with your schedule and most efficiently nourishes you so that you may go out in the community a more joyful beautiful you.

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