This is taken from Eat Wheat by John Dillard. I never want to permanently cut anything out of the diet, we need to strengthen our digestion so we can eat normally like our ancestors. The first step to healing the skin is healing the gut.
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Some of us know that the lymph around the intestines is connected to lymph that is trying to drain the brain, the skin, the joints, the nervous system, the respiratory tract, the reproductive system, and yes, every cell of the body. All of this makes weak digestion and broken-down intestinal skin a true crisis, but let’s address the root cause of it rather than just focusing on the symptoms. This is a much bigger issue than the symptoms we may experience when eating wheat and dairy and possibly other foods.
The intestinal skin is both a barrier to protect and inform the body of the changes and dangers of the outside world while delivering the needed nutrients to thrive. If the intestinal skin breaks down, there is a risk of too many mutations, toxins, glutens or casein proteins passing through the intestinal wall into the lymph, liver and bloodstream, predisposing the body to related chemical, allergenic, and hypersensitivity reactions.
As you begin to repair and support the health of the intestinal skin and upper digestive system, it is best to avoid any foods that you are currently intolerant to, so your system can focus on healing and repairing. Once you have rebooted and strengthened your digestive function, you can slowly introduce non-toxic, non-processed versions of these foods.
Dry Intestinal Skin or Symptoms of Constipation
The first step in helping you digest wheat and dairy well is to help you repair the intestinal skin, and this will be reflected in a healthy, regular stool. Stress can alter the microbiology of the intestinal skin and result in intestinal dryness or a form of constipation. There are a handful of remedies for constipation. The key to resolving this problem is NOT to take laxatives, but to tone and lubricate the skin of intestines. The classic herb in Ayurveda to accomplish this is called triphala, which is a combination of 3 fruits:
Amalaki: Helps repair the intestinal skin
Bibhitaki: Pulls excess mucus off the intestinal wall
Haritaki: Tones the muscles responsible for an actual bowel movement
You can order this herb here:
https://www.omfoods.com/products/botanical-herbs-organic-triphala-powder?_pos=1&_sid=9d77003f8&_ss=r
These 3 fruits together support bowel tone, muscular function, and contractibility of the intestinal wall, strengthening peristalsis and thereby supporting smooth digestion, assimilation, and elimination. Triphala also helps maintain an appropriate balance of mucus lining, the skin of intestinal wall, preventing and clearing excess mucus buildup—which can hinder assimilation—and making sure a healthy layer of mucus remains, which soothes the digestive tract, supports healthy bacteria, and buffers against strong digestive acids.
If the intestines are particularly dry or chronically constipated, I like to add demulcent or slimy herbs like slippery elm bark, marshmallow root, and licorice root to the triphala. This addition makes it much easier to wean off the triphala, which is always my goal—to become self-sufficient and not dependent on supplements
A Complete Digestive Overhaul
When there is mucus in the stool, the digestion is extremely delicate or sensitive, or the situation is chronic with bloating, gas, and abdominal pain, I tend to start from scratch in terms of rebooting the digestive system. This is a sign that the intestinal skin or mucus membranes of the entire digestive tract are irritated and producing reactive mucus. For this, I like to employ some first aid for the entire digestive tract. My favorite therapy for this is a concentrated tea or decoction made out of chopped (not ground) licorice root, and marshmallow root.
To antidote both the dryness and the overly damp mucous membranes, I have not found a better solution than this decoction, taken throughout the day for a month, to reset healthy intestinal and microbial function. Each of these herbs are naturally slimy and demulcent, which means that they will soften and soothe the dry and irritated mucous membranes all the way from the throat to the stomach to the small and large intestines. It is like coating the entire digestive tract with a protective mucilaginous, prebiotic, microbe-boosting Band-Aid for a month. During this time, new intestinal skin can grow, a healthy intestinal environment can be restored, and healthy microbes can repopulate.
When these 2 herbs are cooked down into a tea or concentrated decoction, the soluble fiber from their roots are released. The soluble fiber is naturally slippery, and therefore offers soothing support to the dried-out intestinal mucosa. The soluble fiber from these herbs also feeds the intestinal microbes and acts as a natural prebiotic for the microbiome. This is a critical part of the tea’s restorative effect—to create an environment that will allow the healthy microbes to proliferate while restoring the function and environment for the intestinal villi and gut mucosa to digest, detox, and assimilate nutrients optimally.
Make a Decoction or Tea At Home
The key to the success of this intestinal and microbial reset is to take these 2 herbs as a tea or concentrated decoction for a month or 2. If your intestinal tract is not in a severely inflamed condition, then you can use the tea. The tea tastes great and can be used as a maintenance beverage as well. You must source these herbs in a chopped—not ground—form. If you use ground herbs, you will make “mud” and it won’t work. If you are concerned that your intestinal tract is in a reactive state and needs extra support, do your best to follow the decoction instructions. You can source these herbs from the Canadian company https://www.omfoods.com
Decoction Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chopped licorice
2 tablespoon chopped marshmallow root
2 quarts water
Directions:
Soak each of the chopped herbs—or 3 tablespoons of a pre-mixed, chopped mixture of 2 herbs—in a pot filled with 2 quarts of water overnight.
Soaking overnight is not mandatory, but it gives you a stronger decoction.
Boil the mixture down to 1/ 2 quart in the morning.
Strain the mixture through a metal strainer, using a large spoon to push it through.
Save the liquid and discard the herbs.
This should make 2 cups to sip on throughout the day.
Take 1 tablespoon of the liquid every 2 hours on an empty stomach for 1 month, and sometimes for 2 months if needed.
Tea Recipe
Ingredients:
1/ 3 tablespoon chopped licorice
2/3 tablespoon chopped marshmallow root
1 cup water
Directions:
To make tea, combine the 2 herbs, totaling about 1 tablespoon altogether.
Steep this mixture in hot water until it becomes tea strength.
Drink 3–6 cups a day for 1–2 months, or as needed for maintenance.
Don’t miss out on the most simple and potentially most profound therapy to boost digestive strength—sit, relax, dine. Take time to enjoy each and every meal. Looking Ahead Now that we have discussed how to heal the gut, join me as we proceed to healing the lymph—the primary source of food allergy symptoms.
Poor digestion digestion equals poor detoxification, and when the lymph system becomes overwhelmed with toxins, the body becomes much more vulnerable to more serious health concerns.
Movement, exercise, and deep sleep—all of which our modern culture has trouble with—are the major lymph-movers of the body, and almost all of the gluten-related symptoms can be traced back to weak digestion, resulting in lymph congestion. Lymphatic fluid is not pumped from the heart like blood in the arteries and veins. Because the lymph drains back to the heart from the fingers and toes, flowing opposite the downward force of gravity, exercises that incorporate jumping are excellent excellent for the lymph.
Lymph Tip: Jumping on a trampoline or mini-trampoline for just 10 minutes a day can have a profound effect on the lymph. Inverted yoga postures or anti-gravity hanging devices are also very effective for lymph flow.
Lymph Review
Here are some condensed ways that we can support healthy lymphatic flow for optimal health and digestion.
Rehydration Therapy:
~ Sip 2–3 sips of hot water every day for 2 weeks, every 10–15 minutes. This is amazing at rehydrating the body.
~Drink half of your ideal body weight in ounces of room temperature water for 2 weeks.
~Drink 8–12 ounces of water 15–30 minutes before each meal.
Sips and water before a meal count towards half of your ideal body weight in ounces.
Eat More Seasonal and Alkaline Foods
Look at the seasonal grocery lists and circle the foods for each season that you love. Give yourself permission to eat more of those foods.
During winter, cold, dry vata types must eat more strictly off the Winter Grocery List of warming, insulating foods to stay nourished and balanced.
During spring, easygoing kapha types must strictly follow the decongesting Spring Grocery List to antidote the tendency to gain weight, hold onto water, and become congested.
During summer, hot, fiery pitta types must be extra strict to eat off the Summer Grocery List to stay cool and calm
Emphasize berries, beets, and colorful roots like turmeric, leafy greens, and seeds like fennel, chia and flax. Citrus fruits, including their pith, make great lymph-moving foods.
Eating as close as possible to the seasonal harvest offers natural protection from the ebb and flow of nature’s seasonal shifts, plus delivers seasonal microbes that help connect us to nature. The spring and fall are great times to help the body detoxify the lymph and liver with a home cleanse. Because of the sedentary nature of our modern culture, it is more important than ever to help support this seasonal cleansing process whenever possible. See our blog post about our 4 day Cleanse.
Lymph-Moving Herbs
Consider supplementing with herbs like manjistha, nettles, dandelion, turmeric, ocotillo, queen’s root, astragalus root, red root, brahmi (also known as Centella asiatica or gotu kola), and fennel and nettles as teas.
Lymph-Moving Exercise
All exercise is good for the lymph. Rebounding and safely-performed inverted yoga postures are particularly beneficial for the lymph.
Avoid Wheat and Dairy Until Lymph is Moving. Cleansing the lymph is Step 1 towards being able to digest wheat and dairy again. Step 2 is to reboot the upper digestion…… further information read the book to help learn how to heal the gut and skin among other issues.
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