2 Simple Ways to Soothe Gut Food Allergy Reactions Part 2

If you haven’t discovered the first step to healing a leaky gut and decreasing the propensity for food allergies be sure to read 2 Simple Ways to Soothe Gut Food Allergy Reactions Part 1.

This next step adds one or two herbs that provide a protective coating to the mucous membranes of your gut, soothing and rebuilding them to help resolve that leaky gut business.

Herbs that decrease gut inflammation:

Some herbs are known to decrease inflammation in the gut and aid in building a barrier against irritants and stomach acid. You may want to add one or more of them to help protect your gut lining.

DGL, Deglycyrrhizinated licorice

DG Licorice Soothes the Gut

DGL stimulates mucous production which provides a protective barrier in the lining of the stomach and intestines. The glycyrrhizin in licorice can act like cortisone inducing water retention and high blood pressure in some folks. So removing it makes DGL safer to consume as a digestive aid. The recommended amount equals 1-2 DGL chewable tablets (250-500mg), 15 minutes after meals and one to two hours before bed.²⁷

Slippery elm

Slippery Elm Bark Soothes the Gut

Slippery Elm bark acts in a slightly different way because it contains mucilage instead of stimulating the gut to make its own mucous barrier. The mucilage soothes the esophagus by creating a barrier between it and any acid reflux. Also the whole digestive tract benefits from the antioxidants in slippery elm that take the “hit” from free radicals and thus prevent free radical damage to the gut.

Even though the recommended amount of slippery elm is 2-3 400-500mg capsules, 2-4 times a day, I find that 1 capsule twice per day has worked well for me. Since so many of my patients had a lot of allergies I always advised adding one new item to their daily regimen at a time. Then don’t add anything new for at least 3 days since some reactions can be delayed up to 8 hours after ingesting the substance. That way if they experienced an adverse effect they could determine what caused it.

I also advised starting with small amounts and gradually increasing to the desired effect. As an example, start by taking 1 slippery elm capsule. If all is well add another capsule every 2-3 days until the gut symptoms improve or you reach the recommended daily amount. And remember that it takes a while for the gut to heal, so you may not know the full benefits of the added substance for several days or weeks.

As you may know from reading my blog and web site, my gut suffered damage many years ago after taking multiple rounds of antibiotics. Although I have made great strides in healing, my gut has never been the same which stimulates me to continue research in healing. Much of the current focus in the natural and even the conventional medical literature and research focuses on the upset in the gut and the way that upset creates many different diseases. So we are all learning together.

For the last 2 months or so I have been taking slippery elm twice per day (with breakfast and dinner) and drinking gelatin in bone broth with cooked meals. Dr. Pottenger, MD, who originally recommended gelatin with meals, said that you don’t need to drink it with raw food meals because the raw food creates the colloid solution.

My gut has become remarkably calmer and regular. I mean very significantly better. The other day in the grocery store a friend grabbed a package of tortillas off the shelf telling me they were so good. I took a peek and the package said “White Corn Tortillas”. I don’t eat anything with gluten, wheat, etc. because wheat makes my gut and mind feel miserable. So I thought, “OK, this is white corn I will give these tortillas a try.”

As soon as I arrived at home I stuffed some filling in the tortillas and ate two of them along with my bone broth and gelatin drink. Right after I finished eating them I took a closer look at the tortilla package. Lo and behold these tortillas were made with white corn and wheat!

Oh no, I thought I was in for it – 5 days of misery. It takes about 5 days to get a food out of your system. And I hate the way wheat makes my thinking so down and negative.

But you know what? I felt perfectly fine, no bloating, no brain effects. That’s a miracle. I’m still reticent to add wheat back into my diet because of its long term negative effects on the brain (associated with causing Alzheimer’s/dementia, etc.) but hopefully if I occasionally eat something that has small amounts of wheat I won’t suffer ill effects.

In addition to taking slippery elm and drinking bone broth/gelatin I’ve been drinking cultured drinks for a longer time. But adding the bone broth and slippery elm to my diet has definitely made my gut much more comfortable.

So back to the food allergy blood panel

Improving digestion and healing the lining of the gut are big steps in taking the stress off of the immune system and reversing any food allergy symptoms. When food breaks down as designed into the smallest particles, amino acids, glucose and fatty acids, then no large food particles are left to slip through the leaky gut. So the immune system does not launch an attack and the whole body becomes more comfortable.

Be kind to your gut with these 2 simple steps:

1.  Drink homemade bone broth with added plain gelatin

2.  Take DGL and/or slippery elm.

Healing the gut goes a long ways toward preventing and/or reversing many diseases.

Abundant blessings to you,

Dr. Jo