Hompes MethodPractitioner Training Level II

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Lesson Four

GI Irritants - Bad Food

From Function to Fix

• So we know how the digestive system is supposed to function, and we know the kinds of symptoms and complaints people experience and worry about. We also know some of the general reasons why symptoms develop in the first place, which provides a wonderful opportunity for us to assist in people’s recovery and health rejuvenation.

From Function to Fix

• Let’s now look at some of the common and modifiable reasons for the symptoms to develop by introducing the Hompes Method concepts of:

– Bad Foods

– Bad Bugs

– Bad Toxins

Hompes Method See-Saw

Hompes Method See-Saw

• Ultimately, the Hompes Method See-Saw contains environmental factors that can be manipulated in a fairly easy and rapid fashion.

• Removal of some of the bad stuff and replenishment of the good stuff can be done within a few short weeks.

• Results may be rapid in some people, but may take more time in others.

Bad Food

• Depending on your patient/client, dietary modification can resolve many or all symptoms. We won’t cover bad food in detail here as it’s covered in depth within the HM Level I training, but let’s touch on some of the bad foods I’ve found cause the most problems.

Bad Food – Medical Attitudes

• One of the most stunning aspects of medical care is the lack of attention and “weight” given to the role of food in symptoms and pathogenesis. It beggars belief that nutritional intervention isn’t one of the primary healing modalities in western medicine.

• …but it gives you and I a tremendous opportunity to help change people’s lives.

Bad Food – HM Philosophy

• Is it common sense that foods entering the gut can cause digestive symptoms? (yes!)

• Is there scientific evidence to support the common sense? (yes!)

• Do people get better in the clinic when they alter their food intake and diet habits? (yes!)

Bad Food

• Literally any food can cause digestive problems if the immune system takes exception to it. There are several foods and substances that cause problems in large numbers of people and it’s wise to question whether certain foods are actually suited to human consumption at all!

• Dave’s banana example.

Bad Food

• Whilst food sensitivity / allergy testing can be extremely helpful, it won’t catch everything. Thus, arming yourself with knowledge to explain why your patients/clients are likely to benefit from avoiding certain foods is critically important.

Bad Food - Gluten

• Major problem in your patients/clients.

• Can cause small intestinal inflammation in sensitive individuals (any digestive symptom can manifest).

• Inflammation can “spill over” into other areas of the body.

• Can trigger autoimmune reactions in any and every tissue.

• Believed to cause at least 55 diseases (NEJM)

• Sensitivity can be triggered by stress, infection, etc.

• Sensitivity may be due to emotional associations.

Bad Food - Gluten

• Gluten avoidance can dramatically resolve symptoms very quickly in some people (days) – the fire quickly goes out if you stop throwing petrol on it!

• On a practical level, it’s not so easy for people (see information in HM Level I training for resources and tools to help folk avoid the gluten).

Bad Food – Cow’s Milk

• Lactose intolerance is relatively common and can lead to digestive symptoms.

• It may be caused by inflammation from gluten or bad bugs.

• Lactose intolerance may also be induced by hormonal and nutritional insufficiency (according to Dr. Ray Peat, PhD these can include underactive thyroid & low progesterone).

Bad Food – Cow’s Milk

• People can also have sensitivity/allergy to milk proteins.

• Milk is not all the same:– Organic vs. non-organic– Grass fed vs. commercially raised– Breed of cow

• It’s not easy to avoid cow’s milk, and we cover strategies on how your patients and clients can apply cow’s milk-free diet in HM Level I.

Bad Food - Soy

• A big player in terms of digestive irritation is soy-based food (it’s my arch nemesis).

• It’s hard to digest and when one explores its history as a “food”, one concludes it’s probably not meant to be consumed in most forms by humans.

• Most soy in the US is GMO, which carries it’s own separate challenges.

Bad Food - Soy

• Soy is shoved into many processed foods disguised as things like “vegetable oil” and “textured vegetable protein”. It’s wise to make patients aware of these labeling problems when helping them modify their eating habits.

Bad Food - PUFA

• PUFA is an abbreviation for polyunsaturated fatty acids.

• Marketed as heart-healthy since the inception of the saturated fat – cholesterol – heart disease myth, PUFAs have rampaged their way into people’s bodies where they cause major problems.

• In the gut, they interfere with proteolytic enzymes.

Bad Food - PUFA

• Once in the body in excessive quantities they interfere with cell membranes, thyroid, glycolysis, immune function, insulin & predispose to weight gain, CVD, diabetes, cancer and more.

• They are essentially toxic in the quantities they’re consumed, yet are promoted as health foods through industry propaganda.

Bad Food – Processed Sugar

• Processed sugar has its uses and can be helpful for people with significant energy production dysfunction. This is discussed in HM Level I.

• However in some people, processed sugar directly contributes to digestive symptoms (especially where dysbiosis is present).

Bad Food – Green Vegetables

• Green vegetables contain a lot of cellulose, which is tough to digest.

• I’ve seen all manner of digestive symptoms improve virtually overnight when people stop eating green vegetables, or cook them more thoroughly to break down the cellulose.

• Green leafy vegetables also contain PUFA.

Bad Food – Others

• Eggs

• Nuts

• Seeds

• Seafood

• Beef

• Gluten-free grains (e.g. corn)

• Certain fruits (e.g. citrus)

Bad Food – Starting Point

• Start with the “big bang” foods – the ones that are most likely to be causing problems:

– Gluten

– Cow’s milk

– Soy

– Sugar

– PUFA

– Raw green veggies

Bad Bugs

• The concept of bad bugs causing chronic symptoms hasn’t been grasped by the medical system yet. I took 20 years for them to accept the H. pylori > ulcer hypothesis. This gives us wonderful opportunity to help people!

Bad Bugs – Medical Attitudes

• Doctors don’t consider them to be problematic:

– They’re not taught at medical school about them

– They’re a tropical / exotic problem

– They only cause acute symptoms

– They can’t possibly be Western “problems”

• So they usually don’t run testing (it’s easier to prescribe drugs to mask symptoms).

• Even if they do, the tests aren’t that accurate

Bad Bugs – HM Philosophy

• Is it common sense that unwanted organisms living in the gut can cause symptoms? (yes!)

• Is there scientific evidence to support the common sense? (yes!)

• Do people get better in the clinic when they run protocols to remove the bad bugs? (yes!)

Bad Bugs – Terminology

• I use the term “bad bugs” to simplify things in terms of patient/client communication.

• The reality is this: I believe bugs can be either bad or good depending on the overall vitality of the host organism (you, I, patient) and it’s often more about the person than the bug.

• A given bug can be present in two people and only cause symptoms in one.

Bad Bugs - Types

• Commensal bacteria can overgrow and cause problems.

• Opportunistic bacteria.

• Pathogenic bacteria.

• Yeast and fungi.

• Parasites.

• Viruses.http://www.ahcmarlboro.com/blog/intestinal-

parasites-in-pets-a-veterinary-plan-for-pet-care/

Bad Bugs – Weird Sh*t

• There really is some weird shit living in people. The photo opposite is from Coryn’sHerberia website. The parasites emerged from people did a cleanse on returning from China.

http://www.corynsherbaria.com/digestive-issues.html

Bad Bugs - Bacteria

Pathogenic

• H. pylori

• C. difficile

• E. coli

• Campylobacter

Opportunistic

• Salmonella, Vibrio, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Yersinia, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Morganella, Staphylococcus aureus…

Bad Bugs - Parasites

Worms

• Roundworm

• Pinworm

• Hookworm

• Whipworm

• Threadworm

• Flatworm (flukes)

• Tapeworm

Protozoan / Amoebae

• Giardia

• Cryptosporidium

• Blastocystis hominis

• Entamoeba histolytica

• Dientamoeba fragilis

• Balantidium coli

• Cyclospora

• Isospora

Bad Bugs – Yeast & Fungi

• Yeast and fungi are part of the normal gut microbiota, but they can cause many problems when they proliferate excessively:

– Candida

– Geotrichum

– Rhodotorula

– Aspergillus

– Other fungi / mold

Bad Bugs - Viruses

• For many years it’s been believed viruses only cause short term, acute digestive issues. Recent research indicates this may not be the case and that viruses cause chronic GI issues:

– Rotavirus

– Norovirus

– Adenovirus

Bad Bugs - Testing

• Fortunately we have the ability to test people’s digestive function and detect some – if not all – of these offending bugs. Once identified, these bugs can be dealt with using carefully designed and timed pharmaceutical and botanical protocols.

Good Bugs - Overview

• We’ll cover the microbiome in further detail elsewhere in the programme. For now, here’s a summary of good bug function, and some of the documented benefits of probiotics.

Good Bugs – Roles and Benefits

• Anti-inflammatory

• Resistance against “invasion”

• Support immune function

• Assist digestion

• Assist calorie absorption (15-20%)

• Synthesize vitamins

• Communicate with ANS

Bad Toxins - Ubiquitous

• Depending on the book you read, there are anywhere between 80,000-120,000 manmade chemicals, a few thousand of which are “high use”. Nobody knows what the long term effects of these individual compounds are, let alone their combined/synergistic effects.

Bad Toxins – HM Philosophy

• Is it common sense that unwanted chemicals in the gut can cause symptoms? (yes!)

• Is there scientific evidence to support the common sense? (yes!)

• Do people get better in the clinic when they avoid toxin exposure and run protocols to support detoxification? (yes!)

Bad Toxins – Target Systems

• The bad toxins target several key systems:

– Neurological

– Endocrine

– Immune

– Mitochondrial function

Bad Toxins – Target Systems

• When we cover environmental toxicity and detoxification later, we’ll discuss toxins in more depth, but for now, please understand this:

– Neurological (Second Brain!)

– Endocrine (gut is controlled by hormones!)

– Immune (gut is 60-80% of the immune system!)

– Mitochondrial function (all cells need energy, including the cells of the digestive system!)

Bad Toxins - Exposure Sources

• Food

• Water

• Air (we swallow air)

• Gut

• Skin

• EMFs

Bad Toxins – Quick Removal

• Removing bad foods, poor quality water and bad bugs can immediately slash a person’s bad toxin burden.

• Adding more good foods, good nutrients and good bugs automatically improves a person’s ability to detoxify.

• One may not even need to run fancy detoxification programmes if the nutrition and digestive work is done properly.

• Reduction and removal of exposure is the most important first step.

Bad Toxins - Testing

• Multiple tests exist to help identify toxic burden.

• Heavy metals, PCBs, plastics, parabens, solvents, pesticides and others can be identified in hair, stool, blood and urine.

• Some are useful, but some are overkill (we’ll cover these later in the programme).

Bad Stuff vs. Good Stuff

Bad Stuff & The ANS

http://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios100/lectures/nervous.htm

Bad Stuff & The ANS

• The accumulation of bad stuff and depletion of good stuff can influence the function of the ANS, leading to other potential imbalances and associated symptoms - a see-saw dominated by bad stuff is “stressful” to the body.

Frequently Reported Symptoms

• Mouth ulcers• Sore throat• Heartburn / reflux• Indigestion• Belching and burping • Bloating Flatulence• Gurgles and grumbles• Abdominal pain• Constipation• Loose stools• Diarrhoea

Red Flags

• Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)• Unexplained weight loss• Protracted vomiting• Vomiting fresh blood• Vomiting “coffee grains”• Dark / black tar-like stools• Bright red blood in stool • Anorexia• Very severe pain• Very severe nausea

Resources

• I’ve added three resources for you at the bottom of the video window that I think you’ll find helpful:

– What Your Doctor Didn’t Tell You About Parasites e-book.

– The Gluten Summit by Dr. Tom O’Bryan – excellent information on gluten by many leaders.

Thank You!

• Thanks for consuming this information. I hope it’s been helpful and that you’ve learned (or revised) a lot!

• In the next lesson we’ll look at the most frequently identified bad bugs, the science behind their role in digestive and general health, and a couple of neat case studies.