Holistic Gut Health Strategy Reverses Chronic Inflammation

Key Quotes

"So acute inflammation which i would argue is good inflammation is the response of your immune system to a threat that could be an infection or it could be bodily injury right or things like this like there it is it is either the elimination of a toxin or a threat a bacteria or a virus or it's the repair and recovery of your body right so inflammation is serving a purpose within that specific context and like there's these products of inflammation where you know you get a fever or like something gets red and warm and tender right but then it ultimately resolves and it goes away that is different from chronic low grade inflammation which is where we really have a problem because in essence like inflammation in a way is the activation of our immune system and chronic low grade inflammation is where you take like basically this military that you have installed mostly into your gut and you activate them and you have them go to war and they're in a forever war right and anytime that like not to like use the war analogy too much but anytime there's fighting like this like there's gonna be damage there's gonna be fallout from this right and unfortunately the damage that we're talking about here is to your organs and so the and that that burden of injury that comes from chronic low grade inflammation is what ultimately can manifest throughout our entire body including our brain our cognition our mood but also affecting our cardiovascular system affecting our metabolism affecting our our gut our digestive system and process affecting our hormones in both men and women"

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz explains that inflammation is a necessary biological process for acute threats like infection or injury, serving a purpose in elimination and repair. However, he distinguishes this from chronic low-grade inflammation, which he likens to a perpetual internal conflict that damages organs and can manifest in various health issues affecting the brain, metabolism, and hormones. This highlights the critical difference between beneficial and detrimental inflammatory responses.

"The first is your gut microbiome so as as we sit here right now your gut microbiome is serving many different functions in fact there's a circadian element to your microbes but one of them is to protect you from pathogens and we know this because if we give antibiotics wipe out the good microbes then you create an environment of a vacuum where the bad guys rise up and next thing you know you could have an infection like a c diff infection right so these microbes that's our first layer of defense the second layer of defense is actually your gut barrier so your entire intestinal system so 15 feet of small intestine five or six feet of large intestine your colon is completely carpeted with a single layer of cells held together by these proteins called tight junctions which are kind of like the cement and the gut barrier from my perspective is um the most important largest immune organ that we have because when it's intact it keeps the bad stuff out and it only lets the good stuff in and when it's intact it protects the immune system so the immune system is safe and not triggered and more capable and able to do its job like basically if there threat your immune system will take it out right but when the gut barrier is weakened and broken down then we're allowing things to sneak across which i may refer to as increased intestinal permeability other people use the language leaky gut i don't have a problem with that like we're talking about the same thing things getting across weren't supposed to get across and the problem is once you've gotten through phase two which is the gut barrier then it comes in contact with the immune system now the immune system is forced to react but if this is an ongoing issue of the gut barrier is weak because our gut microbes are weak i should mention the gut microbes they're the stewards of the gut barrier they're the ones that are helping to repair and restore it so when the microbes get weak the gut barrier gets weak and when that happens you create this intestinal permeability and now you've just created chronic inflammation"

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz outlines a three-layer defense system within the gut, starting with the microbiome, which protects against pathogens. The second layer is the gut barrier, a single cell layer with tight junctions that prevents harmful substances from entering the bloodstream. He emphasizes that when this barrier is compromised, often due to a weakened microbiome, it leads to increased intestinal permeability and subsequent chronic inflammation as the immune system is constantly triggered.

"The average adult in the united states 60 of their calories comes from ultra processed foods and in our kids it's worse so because the problem is if you stock the pantry and the food was designed to hack their brain what do you think they're going to eat so in our kids it's 70 of calories come from ultra processed foods now the math says that for every 10 there is a 14 increased risk of death for every 10 percent increase in ultra processed food consumption there is a 14 increased risk of death so if you take 14 and multiply it by seven you don't have to be a math genius it's scary and that's our kids right that's how we're raising them right now like we are we are growing up max basically our generation started with us on an ultra processed diet right for the first time like we are the first generation that kind of has gone through this"

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz highlights the alarming prevalence of ultra-processed foods in the American diet, stating they constitute 60% of adult calorie intake and an even higher 70% for children. He connects this dietary pattern to a significant increase in mortality risk, noting a 14% rise in death risk for every 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption. This underscores the profound health consequences of modern food consumption patterns, particularly for younger generations.

"The math says that for every 10 there is a 14 increased risk of death for every 10 percent increase in ultra processed food consumption there is a 14 increased risk of death so if you take 14 and multiply it by seven you don't have to be a math genius it's scary and that's our kids right that's how we're raising them right now like we are we are growing up max basically our generation started with us on an ultra processed diet right for the first time like we are the first generation that kind of has gone through this"

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz presents a stark statistic linking ultra-processed food consumption to mortality, stating that a 10% increase in these foods correlates with a 14% increased risk of death. He emphasizes that this is particularly concerning for children, suggesting that current generations are the first to experience such widespread exposure to ultra-processed diets from a young age. This highlights the potentially devastating long-term health implications of current dietary trends.

"The key though is like do you take magnesium i do yeah i take uh i take glycinate and um and sometimes i take citrate which i know has that you know what's it called the water laxative effect yeah yeah yeah so i take glycinate glycinate does nothing for pooping right it's fantastic for sleep magnesium has many health benefits magnesium by the way is good for your gut barrier i actually recommend in chapter seven of my book i recommend magnesium as an evening