Healing Bloating

Why do we bloat? Everyone has experienced bloating at some stage, or if they haven’t yet, it’s very likely they will in the future. And yet despite it being so prevalent, medical science and research know very little about what is really behind bloating. Even the trendiest diets today don’t have accurate answers for bloating. Many of those diets blame lectins, but lectins are not the problem—as I share in my book, Liver Rescue, there are lectins in every single fruit and vegetable. The lectin information that tells you to avoid certain fruits and vegetables is misinformation that you need to know the truth about so you don’t deprive yourself of their healing nutrients. Others blame gluten, and while the unknown truth is that gluten does feed pathogens like Epstein-Barr virus, HSV, shingles, and streptococcus bacteria, which science and research hasn’t yet discovered, the real cause of bloating lies much deeper. 

Bloating really stems from an overburdened, toxic or sluggish liver that can then lead to digestive troubles. I cover how this happens in-depth in my book, Liver Rescue: Answers to Eczema, Psoriasis, Diabetes, Strep, Acne, Gout, Bloating, Gallstones, Adrenal Stress, Fatigue, Fatty Liver, Weight Issues, SIBO & Autoimmune, but let’s take a look here at what’s happening in your body so you can get started with healing. 

A Sluggish Liver

Currently, nine out of ten people have some level of a sluggish liver. As I share in Liver Rescue, it will be ten out of ten people in the future. This means that eventually everyone will experience a symptom or health condition that stems from a compromised, overburdened and toxic liver—whether it’s acne or other skin issues like eczema or vitiligo, digestive issues like bloating, fatigue, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, gallbladder problems, and more. These all have a sluggish or fatty liver at their core. 

How does the liver become sluggish? Over our lifetimes we are exposed to a countless number of toxins and pathogens, what I call “Liver Troublemakers.” In Liver Rescue, I share a list of hundreds of these Liver Troublemakers and how we get exposed to them. We are also born with Liver Troublemakers already sitting inside our livers. This is not because of genetics; it’s because at conception and when we are in the womb we inherit toxins and pathogens carried in our family line that have been passed down from one generation to the next. That’s why some babies are born with or can quickly develop issues like jaundice, PANDAS, eczema, digestive troubles, and more. 

One of the major causes of a weakened liver is the presence of toxic heavy metals, like mercury, lead, cadmium, or copper in your system, which are one of the groups of Liver Troublemakers. Environmental chemicals and toxins also play a role in weakening the liver. Detergents, colognes, gasoline, insecticides, pesticides, and preservatives are all examples of toxins that we are constantly surrounded by. It would be impossible to avoid all of these on a regular basis, but what we can do is eat the right foods to protect our livers and keep them strong and healthy. Another reason is because of pathogens and their byproduct can also move from the liver into the intestines. These can all bleed from the liver when it’s overburdened and sluggish and coat the lining of the small intestine and colon, causing more bloating as it hampers any good bacteria that are present and feeds bad bacteria and other unproductive microorganisms.

Another factor that impedes the liver is a high fat diet, which are the same as high protein diets whether they are based on animal foods or plant foods. In both cases, the high fat content of the diet leads to bile production being inhibited, which prevents food from being broken down fully. This alone can lead to bloating. I discuss exactly how this process occurs and why high fat and high protein diets can cause this in Liver Rescue.

Even more important than bile production is immune support, one of the liver’s thousands of chemical functions. Medical science and research are unaware that the liver has its own immune system of miraculous fighter and protector cells to keep you as safe and healthy for as long as possible against the onslaught of toxins and pathogens we face and the high fat foods almost everyone eats. When your liver is stressed, which by now you know is the case in nine out of ten people and soon to be every single person, the liver will divert its energy to the immune system and bile production will continue to suffer. And, when bile suffers, so does the stomach’s production of hydrochloric acid, preventing the small intestines from absorbing nutrients. Next, proteins and fats begin to rot and go rancid in your gut. This gut rot also can result in bloating. 

Due to this low bile and hydrochloric acid production, the undigested food debris composed particularly of fat and protein ultimately feeds the pathogens as well, further coating the intestinal tract and creating even more symptoms. A condition I call ammonia permeability—which medical communities confuse with leaky gut—develops, with food decomposing in your intestinal tract and producing ammonia gas that both causes even more expansion of the intestinal tract (creating bloating, cramping, discomfort, and distension) and also rises up the gut into your stomach, contributing to further diminishment of hydrochloric acid and even the reserves in the stomach glands and tissue of the components that make hydrochloric acid.

In addition to the Liver Troublemakers and a high fat and high protein diet, an increase of adrenaline in the body also weakens bile. Added adrenaline could come from drinking too much coffee, eating a high fat diet, traumatic or emotional events in your life, or simply a very busy or high-stress lifestyle that keeps your body in a fight or flight response. Almost everyone today is dealing with the impact of excess adrenaline due to the speed and nature of our lives here on earth today. To properly understand how adrenaline works and how to support your adrenals, liver and digestive system, please refer to Liver Rescue.

The Do’s and Don'ts

If you are trying to heal your liver and bloating, it’s important to reduce the amount of high-fat, high-protein foods you eat. Whether you eat a plant based or or animal foods diet, too much fat and protein will only result in more bloating and digestive issues eventually. 

I know that high protein and high fat diets are the popular trend right now, but unfortunately these diets are misleading people. While their benefit is that they remove processed foods from the diet and can give some results for someone who was eating worse foods before, unfortunately these diets are not the answer for chronic illness and symptoms long term. Whey protein, pea protein, coconut oil, milk, yogurt, peanut butter and almond butter—all of these additions to your morning smoothies will aggravate bloating. 

Instead, try the Liver Rescue Smoothie in Liver Rescue or the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie, which contains the five critical ingredients for safe and effective heavy metal removal: wild blueberries, spirulina, barley grass juice powder, Atlantic dulse, and cilantro. Remember, low levels of bile results in your body’s inability to breakdown foods, especially more fats and proteins, whether you are eating too many avocados or too much grass-fed beef. Vegans and meat-eaters alike need to lower their fat intake. And as I have said before, high-protein equals high-fat. Eggs and dairy products will feed any dormant viruses in your liver, further weakening your bile. 

If you can, consider a temporary plant-based diet while you are trying to get rid of bloating. But do not be fooled by trends like nutritional yeast, which saturates your liver in glutamic acid, or apple cider vinegar, which may be good for your skin topically, but pickles your organs internally. The Liver Rescue 3:6:9 Cleanse in Liver Rescue is an ideal way to jumpstart your healing from bloating and any other symptom or condition. 

The best foods to incorporate into your daily routine are fresh leafy greens that are rich in essential mineral salts. Butter leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, and spinach are all excellent options. Sprouts, kale, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus are all healing foods for bloating. Fruits are incredible for healing bloating. Papaya, bananas, figs, pears, kiwi, apples, and apricots are excellent choices for bloating. Really, the options are endless when you consider the variety of fruits and vegetables out there—and you can eat all you want. 

As you probably know from my other radio episodes and books, straight celery juice has amazing healing properties. Try drinking 16 ounces of celery juice on an empty stomach every morning. The key is to be consistent. Bloating is not going to go away overnight, but these foods are going to help build up the strength of your liver. Keep in mind that your liver has a lot of healing to do and it takes time for bile reserves to build back up. Everyone is different but you some may also notice that as they begin to include straight celery juice and more fruits, leafy greens and vegetables into their diet, it may seem like their bloating is worse. 

If this happens and it’s not because of other foods you are still eating that are too high in fat or protein or are unhealthy foods, it’s due to your body pushing out toxins, killing off viruses and bacteria, and restoring your bile and hydrochloric acid and doing its other amazing healing work. Bloating can stick around for a while because as you start to heal you are giving your liver an opportunity to rid itself of toxins that have been long buried. And everyone’s liver is different, so healing can take a different amount of time for different people. Most people eliminate their bloating symptoms right away when consuming straight celery juice on an empty stomach every day, but for some it may take longer. 

Moving Forward

Digestive problems, including bloating, can all be traced back to the liver. If you are interested in learning more, check out my book, Liver Rescue, for a complete understanding of what’s happening in your body and exactly how you can heal. As I have shared, undigested food and bloating are signs that the liver is overburdened, and a liver under stress will not only affect bile production, but also cause toxins to leak out into the intestines for reabsorption. Increased toxins in the intestines then results in conditions like SIBO from an overgrowth of the streptococcus bacteria. This chain reaction only weakens the liver and bile further, causing more bloating. The only way to truly resolve bloating long term is to learn these truths about what’s really behind your bloating and take the correct steps to heal it. Now that you have the truth in your hands, it is not something you have to get used to living with forever.

This item posted: 16-Nov-2018

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