During our last website revision this newsletter (originally a blog) was lost, something that a reader just brought to my attention. As I consider this to be probably the most important of all my newsletters, I am reposting it now in its full form rather than dividing it into a couple of newsletters. This way it can more easily be referenced, and shared with others. (This version is from my book Health Secrets for the 21st Century: Volume 2, and so is more extensive than the original blog post.)
When not writing, or working on research and development, for NutriStart Vitamin Company, I (until recently) worked as a nutritional consultant in a large vitamin store, which I have done (at one place or another) for over 35 years now. Over time, as my knowledge, and feedback from customers accumulated, I developed a unifying theory of illness. It presents not as a fully original theory, as the “leaky-gut” aspect of it is now well known, however, what is not well known is my approach.
I have come to believe that a widespread deficiency in three key nutrients has caused an underlying problem which is linked to many different illnesses, leaky gut being only one expression of this problem. So, let’s start with looking at “leaky gut”, and see how this condition ties into my thesis.
What Causes Leaky Gut?
“Leaky gut” is just what it sounds like: a porous intestinal tract, no longer fully intact. Leaky gut is caused by a number of modern problems, the main one being candida yeast overgrowth.
Candida problems are most commonly caused by frequent antibiotic use, excessive sugars in the diet for long periods, mercury toxicity (usually from vaccines or dental fillings), and from birth control pills (via excessively high estrogen levels).
Another major cause of leaky gut is the consumption of genetically modified foods, especially canola oil, corn, and/or soybeans; as the pesticide used on these crops (glyphosate, or “Roundup”) is particularly damaging to the lining of the gut.
These crops were genetically modified to be resistant to glyphosate. Therefore, they can now take up, and retain, more of that pesticide—amounts that previously would have killed the plants. For the consumer, this means ingesting more of that pesticide than would have been possible before the genetic modification of these plants.
Ironically, many of those with celiac disease, and gluten-sensitivity, are consuming high amounts of corn and soy products (since they are gluten-free). If these products are made with genetically modified plants, then those food choices are actually contributing to worsening the underlying cause of the condition: damaged intestinal tract, and villi.
Be aware that simply avoiding GMO foods is not sufficient protection. Many non-GMO crops are sprayed with glyphosate as a desiccant, meaning it's used to dry out the plants before harvest, allowing for earlier and more uniform harvesting. This practice includes crops like wheat, oats, lentils, peas, non-GMO soybeans, corn, flax, rye, triticale, buckwheat, millet, canola, sugar beets, and potatoes. Sunflowers may also be treated pre-harvest with glyphosate, according to the National Sunflower Association. (Source)
As always, organic (or local, where you can find out directly from the grower) is the safest way to go when buying food these days.
Why Is Leaky Gut So Dangerous?
Since a leaky gut allows invasive compounds and toxins to enter the bloodstream, this ailment is implicated in a wide range of health problems. Normally, these detrimental compounds would be neutralized by the liver, or excreted through normal channels of evacuation (feces, sweat, and urine). These compounds can be allergens, chemical toxins, or just large protein particles—all of which wreak havoc in the body by triggering allergic responses, inflammation, and even autoimmune conditions.
It is important to note here that inflammation alone is an underlying cause of many modern ailments—including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and diabetes. Neurological problems, ranging from autism and anxiety, to depression and schizophrenia, have all been linked to protein particles—mostly from gluten and casein—entering the bloodstream, and making their way to the brain.
Standard Approach to Healing Leaky Gut
Conventionally, natural health practitioners work to heal a leaky gut by restricting the diet—eliminating foods that trigger a negative response, as well as those foods that feed candida. Such offensive foods typically include wheat and/or grains containing gluten, cow’s milk products (especially casein), and sugars (including tropical fruits, and all fruit juices).
The patient is also commonly advised to consume nutrients and supplements that help to heal gut lining. These include L-glutamine, licorice extracts in lozenge form (or DGL licorice, for those with high blood pressure), and N-acetyl-glucosamine (NAG). Other supplements often recommended include aloe vera juice (to reduce inflammation in the gut), and the herbs marshmallow and slippery elm—which soothe the irritated digestive tract, calming and coating it, allowing healing to occur.
The patient is usually also put on supplements designed to kill off candida overgrowth (to prevent further damage occurring), and given probiotics to counteract some of the damage caused by candida (and any antibiotics use). (For more info on healing leaky gut check out this older Newsletter.)
The Blood Type Diet
The above recommendations are all valid, however, in the case of autoimmune conditions, I believe it is also important that the patient follow the Blood Type Diet. (“Eat Right 4 Your Type”, by Dr. Peter D’Adamo - www.dadamo.com) Essentially, the blood type diet defines your genetic heritage, and outlines which foods you are not genetically adapted to eating.
In the case of autoimmune conditions, particular protein particles called “lectins” enter the bloodstream, and cause an antibody response—often interpreted by the medical profession as an autoimmune condition.
I also recommend that anyone with a pre-diabetic, or inflammatory condition, follow the blood type diet closely—at least until health improvements occur. The blood type diet is of benefit here because certain foods contain lectins that cause an insulin spike and/or inflammation (in specific blood types). However, once the gut lining has thickened, the lectins are much less likely to enter the bloodstream, and one can broaden their diet again.
What Is The Underlying Cause Of Leaky Gut?
Often overlooked by the conventional approach are underlying nutritional deficiencies that lead to leaky gut in the first place. Also seldom considered (and the essence of my thesis) is that leaky gut is only one symptom of a general erosion of mucous membranes throughout the body.
Consider this: we are essentially a worm/tube with appendages. When the lining of the tube that separates us from the outside world is eroded, the outside world then has direct access to our bloodstream. Harmful substances enter blood through weak spots in our mucosal lining—whereas, when healthy, our mucosal lining filters out what is detrimental, and selectively allows in what is useful.
I believe this issue is the root cause of a wide range of ailments, and thus I have a protocol I administer to anyone with any condition relating to tubal erosion.
I have received amazing, positive feedback from those who follow this regimen, as they often reverse long-standing symptoms that no medical professional could help with.
Mucous Membrane Erosion
So, for example, when sinuses lose their lining, they cannot filter out dander, dust, pollen, etc., and one is prone to allergies. Other symptoms can include post-nasal drip, nasal dryness and, eventually, sinus infections.
When the respiratory system loses its lining we can be subject to bronchitis, lung infections, asthma, emphysema, and even throat problems that seem unexplainable.
When the stomach loses its lining ulcers can develop, and when the intestinal tract loses its lining the result is leaky gut—and all the aforementioned problems associated with that—as well as celiac disease, and food allergies.
When the genitourinary tract loses its lining, one is likely to have recurring bladder infections, kidney problems, interstitial cystitis, or vaginal dryness. The lining of the prostate thins and it becomes prone to infection, while thinning of the uterus can lead to endometriosis.
As well, part of the mucosal lining in many cases (sinuses, lungs, and intestinal tract) includes the fine “hairs” (villi, cilia) that keep those systems trapping, and expelling, foreign particles—again keeping them out of the bloodstream.
The loss of those fine hairs in the intestinal tract (villi) is the main cause of celiac disease, and a loss of those hairs in the lungs (cilia) leads to lung problems. However, when the cilia are healthy, the lungs are able to expel dust particles (and carbon particles from smog and smoke), as well as mucus (which also carries out toxins and waste), thus protecting the lungs from disease.
The 3 Critical Nutrients
Now on to the big three nutritional deficiencies which has led to this widespread erosion of mucosal lining: vitamin A, vitamin D, and iodine. All three of these nutrients are required by the body to build, maintain, and heal the mucous membranes and, while a deficiency in any one is bad enough, a chronic deficiency in all three compounds the problem.
Each of these nutrients is necessary for a wide range of critical functions, over and above serving the mucous membranes. Thus, they all deserve to be used therapeutically by everyone, regardless of the current status of their mucosal lining.
Vitamin A
Those who have read the first volume of Health Secrets, and/or who have read my early blogs, are already familiar with my unpopular stance in favor of vitamin A (though I am not alone in this belief). While it is generally believed by conventional medicine (and even by many naturopaths) that vitamin A can be dangerous and should be taken only in small amounts, this is blatantly false, and there is much evidence to prove it. This evidence is detailed in Volume One of Health Secrets, and in my newsletters on the subject.
We are commonly deficient in vitamin A simply because we do not eat liver any more: the only appreciable source of vitamin A in the diet. Traditionally, humans ate organ meat frequently, unlike today when we mainly eat muscle meat—which is less nutritious, and harder to digest than organs. A serving of cow liver (which my family ate at least once a week when I was growing up) contains about 40,000 IU of vitamin A. Many cultures still eat liver from a variety of sources (including chicken, goose, and lamb), but this now rare among North Americans.
Have a look at your multi-vitamin and see how much vitamin A it contains. Usually they contain no vitamin A, or at best, only a small amount (around 2,500 IU). However, most multi-vitamins do contain beta-carotene, to fulfill their vitamin A requirement. Unfortunately, most of them use synthetic beta-carotene, which is worthless as a supplement. Natural beta-carotene (whether from food or as a supplement) will convert into vitamin A, but you need to be in ideal health, and obtain a large amount of it, in order to produce sufficient vitamin A—especially if you are deficient. (For more on the subject check out this newsletter: Beta Carotene is No Substitute for Vitamin A.)
Vitamin A deficiency is widespread in the developing world, and linked to night blindness, severe diarrhea, and lack of resistance to infection. I am convinced this deficiency is far more extensive in the Western world than we are led to believe, and one sign of this is the prevalence of sunglasses (more on this to follow).
Vitamin D
Carcinomas represent 85% of all cancers, and they begin in the epithelial tissue—the tissue which lays on top of mucous membranes. Epithelial tissue lines the cavities, and surfaces of structures, throughout the entire body.
When scientific literature on vitamin D suggests that sufficient amounts may help prevent these types of cancers from occurring (as vitamin D helps regenerate epithelial tissue, and mucous membranes), it becomes obvious that maintaining a healthy mucosal structure is critical for one’s well-being.
A study conducted by Creighton University School of Medicine (done between 2000 and 2005), showed a reduction in cancer risk of over 60%, from taking only 1,100 IU of vitamin D daily. (Reported in the June 8 online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.)
Most people are massively deficient in vitamin D as a result of being told for decades that we only need 400 IU daily. In fact, if one is deficient in vitamin D their body will make up to 10,000 IU in just half an hour of proper sunbathing. However, proper sunbathing is a little more complex than many assume.
In the temperate zones, only 4 months of the year provide enough sunshine to produce vitamin D. Even then, in order to produce vitamin D, one must have at least 50% body exposure, and must not shower or bathe during the day. Washing (with soap and hot water) removes sebum (our natural body oil) from the skin, and sebum is required for the sun to produce our vitamin D. These days, nearly 80% of the population of India is deficient in vitamin D, so even living in a sunny climate is no indication you will produce sufficient D.
The links between vitamin D deficiency and health issues are practically countless, and include asthma, autism, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia, to name a few. Therefore, vitamin D is perhaps the single most important nutrient one should take for optimal health—aside from its role in supporting mucous membranes. (Again, the subject of vitamin D is fully covered in Health Secrets Vol 1, and in many of my archived newsletters.)
Iodine
The third critical nutrient, absent from the modern diet, is iodine. This deficiency exists because we generally do not eat seaweed—the only reliable source of iodine in the diet. Of course, we have iodized table salt, but this salt is fortified with potassium iodide (not true iodine), and thus works mostly on the thyroid gland.
Iodine deficiency is linked to cognitive impairment, fibrocystic breast disease, heart disease, obesity, psychiatric disorders, and various forms of cancer. However, iodine is included here for its role in healing, and maintaining, mucous membranes. (For more on the subject see this newsletter: Iodine for Treating Candida, Sinusitis and Biofilm, as well as others found in the archives.)
Other Nutrients for Healing Mucous Membranes
So, these are the big three, commonly deficient, critically required nutrients: vitamin A, vitamin D and iodine. And most ailments stem from long term (even generational) deficiencies of these three nutrients—not only because of their necessity for maintaining our mucous membranes, but also because of the wide range of bodily functions they are required for.
To a lesser degree, a fourth nutrient is also necessary for repairing mucous membranes (in some cases), and that is vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is most commonly found among the elderly, strict vegetarians, those with blood type A or AB (middle aged, or older), and in those with severe intestinal disorders (IBS, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, or colitis).
Strict vegetarians and vegans enter into deficiency since true vitamin B12 is found only in animal foods. Blood types A and AB are (usually) genetically predisposed to low stomach acid, which also impedes B12 absorption. In cases of intestinal disorders, digestive malfunctions impede absorption of B-12 from the diet.
Chronic B-12 deficiency causes pernicious anemia, mood disorders, and neurological problems ranging from dementia to Parkinson’s disease. In cases of B-12 deficiency, the supplement should be taken sublingually (under the tongue), or by injection, and preferably in the methylcobalamin form.
Other nutrients required for maintaining and repairing mucous membranes include, vitamin B2, zinc, and vitamin C. Vitamin C is required for collagen production—collagen being the “glue” that holds us together.
Most people I consult with (or those who read my newsletters) are aware they need some basic nutritional support, outside of food. They are usually taking a multi-vitamin (which would include B2, and zinc), as well as extra vitamin C, so those bases are covered. What most people, even those with basic nutritional understanding, are not taking is the Big 3—and if they are, not in adequate amounts for our purposes.
Therapeutic Protocol
My protocol for healing mucosal membranes tends to the conservative side, and can take a few months to work fully. Doses of these nutrients can be higher, and perhaps results may occur faster, but this approach requires the guidance of a natural health professional. Nutrients may be much safer than drugs, but they are not without their own potential side effects (most often due to depleting other nutritional co-factors).
I always suggest my clients take the recommended supplement only five days a week—skipping two days. By taking a break two things are accomplished: the body is encouraged to use up any excess of a nutrient (especially in the case of non-water soluble nutrients, like minerals and fat-soluble vitamins), and we remind the body to store nutrients, since they will not be ingested consistently. Constantly taking a nutrient in high amounts, suggests to the body your environment is so rich in these nutrients it no longer needs to conserve them.
Dosing With Vitamin A
Take 50,000 IU of vitamin A (5 caps) daily (with a meal containing fat/can all be taken at one meal) for 5 days, then 30,000 IU daily (5 days a week) until you do not squint on a sunny day. Squinting in the sunlight (outside of staring into the sun) is a feedback mechanism indicating vitamin A deficiency. Sensitivity to all bright lights indicates a more severe vitamin A deficiency (unless a medical condition is present). Other symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include dry eyes, and poor night vision.
After no longer squinting on sunny days, one can take 10,000 IU daily, five days a week (or 50,000 IU once a week), which is roughly equal to one serving of cow liver (an alternative to taking the pills). When sensitivity to light returns, I recommend going back to taking 3 or 4 pills (10,000 IU each) of vitamin A, until the problem recedes, and then roll back the dosage. Also increase dosage if fighting any type of infection, especially lung issues. I prefer naturally sourced vitamin A (from fish liver oil), however, synthetic vitamin A will also do the job (unlike synthetic beta-carotene), for those who are vegan.
Dosing With Vitamin D
Take 10,000 IU of vitamin D, as drops (under the tongue), or soft gels (with a meal containing fat), for 10 days (skipping weekends), then 5,000 IU daily thereafter, unless issue is still ongoing, or one is fighting another ailment that may be related to low vitamin D status (of which there are countless). I do believe that 25,000 IU per week is a reasonable maintenance dose (the whole dose can be taken just once a week), though bear in mind that some people (especially those who don’t methylate well) have malfunctioning vitamin D receptors and so need more than the average person does. And, in fact, my recommendation of 10,000 IU for the saturation phase is actually much lower than some experts would recommend (many suggest 25,000 IU for the first 2 weeks, even more for some autoimmune conditions. More on this can be found in the newsletter, Megadosing Vitamin D).
If one should develop leg cramps during the taking of higher levels of vitamin D it may be due to a magnesium deficiency being aggravated, as vitamin D requires magnesium as a cofactor.
If you have been sunbathing properly, you can forgo ingesting vitamin D as a supplement for a few days thereafter, or even the whole summer if you are outside a lot. (For information on how to obtain a vitamin D test, and ideal blood levels of vitamin D, see my archived newsletters on the subject.)
Dosing With Iodine
Japanese intake of iodine, from daily seaweed consumption, is roughly 3 - 4 mg daily, while here in the West, we are lucky to ingest 100 to 150 mcg daily.
For the purposes of rebuilding mucosal membrane, I recommend 3 - 4 mg of iodine, daily, either from nascent iodine, or from a mix of iodine and potassium iodide (such as Lugol’s Solution, found in some vitamin stores and compounding pharmacies). This should be taken in water and not directly into the mouth. I also consider this amount to be a reasonable maintenance dose, like with vitamin A to be increased if one is fighting an infection. (Iodine can also be used topically to kill infection, fungus, or bacteria on the skin, but any amount put on the skin will count as part of your daily intake as it goes right into the bloodstream.)
Iodine requires selenium as a co-factor, so, if you do not already take selenium (alone or in a multi-vitamin) it is a good idea to incorporate it into your nutritional regimen. This is a relatively low dose recommendation for iodine, and one may wish to double that amount for a week or two (again, skipping weekends) to quickly fill their nutritional deficiency of this mineral (if they have no thyroid issues).
Doctors Used To Know This
Recently, I was reading a booklet, written, in 1928, by pharmacists, for doctors who purchased their products. Here a pharmacist was enthusiastic about the new golden age of medicine soon to replace the ignorant superstitions of times previous. What I found fascinating was his enthusiasm for newly discovered vitamins, and how critical they were for growth, healing, and maintenance of good health.
Those nutrients that foretold a new golden age of healing were, interestingly enough, vitamins A and D, from cod liver oil, and iodine (as well as vitamins C, E, and the B vitamins). In fact, to quote from this booklet, “Dr. Douglas Harvey, at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, has reported that cod liver oil favorably influences the metabolism of iodine”. This illustrates the medical profession at that time was aware of the synergistic interaction of these three nutrients. If doctors had only followed that course, there would be no need today for articles like this.
The material covered in this chapter is not new information—it is just being rediscovered now. This is knowledge our ancestors had intuitively (i.e. eating organ meats; see www.westonaprice.org), before the advent of modern science, and the first rediscovery of it by the aforementioned medical professionals from 1928.
(This chapter is from “Health Secrets for the 21st Century: Volume 2”, by Ken W. Peters, available on Amazon books or through health food stores that sell NutriStart products. Further writings can be found under the “newsletter” button at www.nutristart.com.)
Personal consultations with Ken Peters can be arranged at kenpetersconsulting@gmail.com.