Lisa's Gut Healing Protocol

Why is your Gut Health so Important?

Digestion is how your body absorbs all the nutrients from the food you eat and the process of eliminating excess waste. Acid reflux, gassiness, belching, indigestion are all signs of a digestive system that needs more support. Digestive upset is more than a minor inconvenience. It is a sign that your body is having difficulty assimilating your food. This can lead to illness and nutritional deficiencies.

Digestion is the ground work for all health. You need to be able to fully break down your food into usable nutrients that are readily absorbed by the intestines and taken up into the blood stream for use in cells. Your food becomes the energy that your cells produce. This energy is used to fuel your body, mind and repair all of your cells and organs.  The remaining food matter sweeps the colon and carries waste outside of the body. If any step is malfunctioning disease can occur.

All disease begins in the gut; therefore all health begins in the gut as well. A healthy gut equals a healthy body, and a healthy gut equals a healthy mind.

If you have anxiety, depression, poor concentration or any mental or emotional symptoms, you need to work on your gut.

If you have skin problems, rashes, hives, eczema, psoriasis, dry cracking skin, you need to work on your gut.

If you have food or environmental allergies, or sensitivities, you need to work on your gut.

If you have been diagnosed with any disease, you need to work on your gut.

If you have auto immune disease, you really need to work on your gut.

If you have hormone imbalances, you need to work on your gut.

If you have low energy, chronic fatigue or chronic pain, you need to work on your gut.

All illness begins in the gut. That’s why this protocol is so important. Homeopathic medicines can assist your healing and improve your health faster, but those must be prescribed on an individual basis and are not included in this protocol. For your personalized recommendations please make an appointment with Lisa Paul. This protocol will focus on nutritional, supplements, some herbs and lifestyle supports to promote healing. You will be able to take a quiz to allow you to personalize the level of support you need through this protocol.

How was my gut damaged in the first place?

Damage to your digestion, gut microbiome and intestinal lining can happen a multitude of ways. So many of these things are common in our everyday lives that we don’t even realize the damage it is doing to our overall health.

• Not drinking enough fluids/ water can lead to constipation or slower bowels as fluid is needed to move matter through the intestines. When matter doesn’t move well, it ferments, causing gas build up, bloating and yeast and unhealthy bacteria overgrow.

• Pain medications like tylenol, ibuprofen and other medications damage the intestinal wall. This causes poor nutrient absorption, and can cause inflammation or allergies as food particles can get through to areas that they are not meant to.

• Not eating enough fibre, fruit and vegetables damages digestion as a variety of fibres are needed to feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Without those healthy fibres, the most beneficial bacteria will die off and be replaced with poorer strains or yeast overgrowth.

• Food additives, chemicals, artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners can all damage the intestinal lining. Pesticides and insecticides damage all of digestion. Chemical in our air, in our cleaning products and our personal care products can damage the mucousa of our nose, mouth and digestive tract.

• Stress decreases our body’s ability to digest our food. Food is not broken down as well then it ferments in the gut causing discomfort and poor bacteria and yeast overgrowth. Not only is this uncomfortable, it also reduces the amount of feel good chemicals that are made in the gut, making it harder for your to unwind and feel happy.

All of these reasons and much more are why I created the Gut Healing Protocol. When you are ready to work on the biggest factor that will impact your overall health, this is the right step for you!

 What to expect during this protocol:

This Protocol is designed so you can personalize it to your specific needs. First you will complete a quiz to determine how much support you need through this protocol. Based on these results you will complete 3 to 5 different stages of the protocol and are able to add additional supports as recommended to promote your body’s healing capabilities.

There are dietary restrictions during this protocol. Certain foods are restricted or eliminated because they tend to be inflammatory, mucous forming or irritating to the digestive system or whole body. These restrictions are temporary, designed to allow your body time to heal, to do that repair work that is too difficult to do when your body is constantly exposed to these inflammatory foods. The goal is always to be able to eat in an unrestricted manner.

All supplements and herbs recommended are for general use. Some supplements may not be right for you. If you take prescription medication you may want to talk to your pharmacist or make an appointment with Lisa to determine which supplements will be best for you.

There are dietary and non- dietary lifestyle supports at the end of the booklet that can be used throughout the protocol. There are links to purchase discounted supplements in each stage if you prefer to use the “easy button.”

Above all, I hope this program helps you connect to your body and your food. I hope you listen to your symptoms as messages and not punishments. I hope you fall in love with good food and eating in a way that supports your body. I hope you heal.

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Lisa’s Gut Healing Protocol is now available!

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The information provided here is for educational purposes only. For treatment please seek a qualified healthcare provider.

Copyright Lisa Paul The Natural Path 2024

Why I don't do Allergy Testing

Food allergy tests actually show food sensitivities, and not life threatening allergies.

The following blog addressing non-life threating food allergies or food sensitivities. Any food /substance that causes an anaphylactic reaction should be strictly eliminated and proper precautions taken.

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I frequently get questions about food allergy testing by people looking for answers to why they feel awful all the time. Yes, it likely has something to do with what you are eating, however paying for a comprehensive food allergy test may not give you the answers you are looking for. Let me explain.

People are most likely to go get tested because they feel awful on many levels and honestly that’s probably the worst time to get tested. When you feel awful all over its most likely because your are full of inflammation. Then your allergy tests come back showing that you are allergic to so many common foods, more than you ever imagined, and it feels like an impossible task to eliminate all them. This can be very discouraging and disheartening. Often trying to eliminate a great many foods all at once is very stressful and that can be detrimental to your health.

Lisa’s approach is to look to the source of the inflammation and work on that, focusing on healing the body, empowering you with the information needed to take control of your health.

Food sensitivity symptoms:

• frequent headaches

• lethargy, fatigue, energy goes up and down quickly

• brain fog, trouble concentrating, poor memory,

• bloating, gassiness, indigestion, reflux, IBS

• soreness all over, achy joints and limbs

• skin problems, acne, eczema, psoriasis, dark circles under the eyes

• foul body odor or bad breath

• moodiness, irritability, anxiety, depression

• frequent colds, susceptible to viruses, frequent sinus congestion, tonsil stones

• difficulty sleeping

The problem with food allergy testing

Allergy testing measures the amount of inflammatory response your body is having to particular stimuli (foods). If the only thing you do is eliminate these foods you may feel better for a short time, but gradually you will start to feel worse again. And if you go get a follow up allergy test several months later, you’ll find that you are reacting to entirely different foods! Why is that? By eliminating the problem foods you decrease the inflammatory response for a short time. However you have done nothing to treat the source of the inflammation: your gut health, leaky gut causing over active immune histamine response. This is what causes the high levels of inflammation in your body leads to pain, brain fog, poor organ function, skin problems, poor sleep, etc. I prefer clients to work on the lowering the inflammation, addressing any causes, nutritional deficiencies, errors in diet and eliminating as many stressors as possible before doing allergy testing.

The solution

Dietary changes are a great place to start. Start by looking at what you eat daily and over a typical week. Keep a food diary if you need to be more aware of everything you are putting in the your mouth. Look carefully at foods you crave, or eat every single day, these can be inflammatory foods. When you eat a food you are sensitive to, not only does your body have an inflammatory response, it is often accompanied by a endorphin response. This gives you a bit of a “high” or energy boost or feel good sensation which drives the cravings.

If you are working with Lisa, she’ll likely guide you through some methods to increase drainage (fluid movement within the body) and provide organ support to lower inflammation.

The next step would be an elimination diet to stop feeding the inflammation. Start with your food cravings, then you can look at the most common inflammatory foods: dairy, gluten/wheat, eggs, soy and corn. When reintroducing foods after abstaining for the recommended time, do so slowly and watch for any reaction. A pulse test is a good tool to use during introduction. This involves taking your pulse before and after eating the food you are reintroducing and taking note of any difference. This is quite effective in identifying reactions, less so in those who who suffer with anxiety and palpitations.

While you are doing the elimination diet, you should be working to heal your gut and lower your over all inflammation in the body. This can involve gut healing foods, lifestyle modifications, supplements, homeopathic remedies or herbs. Lisa will be able to design a program that works best for you.

The histamine connection

A histamine response is a common inflammatory reaction. This can lead to common seasonal allergy reactions, nasal congestion, sneezing, headaches and even hives and other skin reactions including eczema. Histamines are a particular form of inflammation response, which can be caused by common environmental allergens, but more often can be cause by errors in diet and poor gut health. When I meet with someone who constantly relies on anti histamine allergy medications to feel better, I always look at their gut health.

Parasites- no one wants to talk about it or acknowledge that it may be an issue, but constant high levels of histamines in the body are often caused by parasites! FYI they don’t always show up on stool test because the sneaky buggers can be protected by biofilms that make it harder to detect and treat. Over the counter drugs don’t always work either, you need to treat the issue for at least 4 weeks, 8 weeks is better. This is why I recommend a Parasite cleanse once year for most people.

Candida over growth can also cause a spike in histamines and inflammation in the gut. The more inflammation there is in the gut, the more likely you are to react to certain foods and develop sensitivities. Cutting out added sugar can go a long way to decrease this, but often other supplements or homeopathic remedies are needed for established cases.

The stress Factor

Increased cortisol, a stress hormone response, can also increase histamine responses. When you are stressed, recovering from an acute illness, sleeping poorly or other forms of stress can increase histamines. This increase can create the appearance of new allergies or food sensitivities. In these cases addressing the source of the stress, as well as any increased nutritional needs, or organ/system support will help get you back on track.

my personal expereince

In 2004 I was training for a marathon (and dealing with additional stressors in my life) and I suddenly developed an allergy to sesame seeds. My reaction wasn’t anaphylactic, but my lips did swell hugely and I developed hives on my torso and ended up in Emerg twice! I’d never had a food allergy before then, just some seasonal allergies so it came as quite a surprise, as did the cost of Epi-pens! I used to eat sesame snaps often as a kid and couldn’t figure out why all of a sudden I was allergic. After the marathon was done I focused on supporting my body and started my work in Nutrition. I discovered that I was quite deficient in several B vitamins (very common in stressed individuals) and zinc, and with proper supplementation I was able to overcome my sesame seed allergy. I can now enjoy them as often as I like! No more Epi-pens for me.

Bottom Line

Unfortunately it isn’t always as easy as just avoiding foods that you may be sensitive to when it come to repairing your health. When it comes to food sensitivities, I always recommend working on your gut health, healing indigestion, cleaning out parasites or Candida if needed and lowering histamine levels. If you are still suffering from some lingering symptoms and discomforts after working to heal your gut and lower overall inflammation, then it may be useful to do a food allergy/sensitivity test. The number of allergies you’d test positive for will be much lower if any at all. It is helpful to do the work first, and if there are still some lingering symptoms of unknown origin then do the test and see if there is a food that is causing the problem.

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The information provided here is for educational purposes only. For treatment please seek a qualified healthcare provider.

Copyright Lisa Paul The Natural Path 2022

Your Body may be Holding onto Weight - Part 4

Part 4

I don't stress weight loss but it is a big deal to some people and I respect that. When clients come to me saying that they just can't lose weight, I reframe it to:

"YOUR BODY IS NOT ABLE TO LET GO OF WEIGHT RIGHT NOW, LET'S FIND OUT WHY."

There are 5 main areas I assess When people struggle with their weight: Sleep, Nutrition, Inflammation, Hormones and Digestion.

As a general rule I don’t “do” weight loss, I’m not a fan of diet culture, restriction and deprivation. I believe in the importance of carefully designed therapeutic diets that help the body heal and then allow the person to go back to eating well. I believe the human body will find it’s own perfect set weight when the body is healthy and well supported. Strict diets and over exercising only stress the body more. Find out more in this previous blog.

I started this series of posts on my Facebook Page and Instagram, and I thought it would be worthwhile to put it in blogs for easy reference. It will be a series of blog posts. Here I can add extra tips and links that I don’t have room for elsewhere.

We made it through the typical hormones, now let's look at brain chemicals or the "happy hormones." Your ongoing mood and emotional state can definitely affect your body composition.

I think it’s really important to note that your mood affects your whole body, including your eating habits, ability to be active and how your body holds weight. It’s not all in your head!

Hormones: Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that affects your mood, focus, energy, and behavior. It involves your reward centers and the motivation to achieve the reward- the wanting vs the enjoying. Dopamine is often termed the “feel good” chemical in your brain, it impacts your feelings, internal motivation, memory, attention, body movement and productivity. Individuals with reduced dopamine levels can struggle with depression, obesity, and other health conditions including Parkinson's disease.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for dopamine imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

There are plenty of ways to increase Dopamine naturally. If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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Hormones: Serotonin

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps with impulse control, pain relief and is often called the "happiness" hormone. Although it is a neurotransmitter (brain chemical) over 70% of your serotonin is made in your gut. So if you digestion is off, then your mood, pain tolerance and impulse control can suffer.

People can have low or high serotonin levels. Low levels contribute to other health problems including migraines, asthma, IBS, weight gain and fibromyalgia.

High serotonin levels are usually caused by other medications. High levels contribute to health problems such as irritability, agitation, restlessness, anxiety, tremors, muscle rigidity, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, sweating and IBS.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for serotonin imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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Hormones: GABA

GABA is another neurotransmitter that has links to good gut health. GABA is a calming and relaxing chemical, it helps stop over and active mind and persistent thoughts. Constant tight muscles (neck and shoulders- leading to tension headaches) can be a common sign of low GABA.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for GABA imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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Hormones: Growth Hormone

Growth hormone affects just about every cell in the body. It effects our feelings, appearance and body composition. It is often considered the youth hormone, but it decreases as we age and with other hormonal changes. As Growth hormone decreases inflammation and other signs of aging increase.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for growth hormone imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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If you've been following along these past few weeks, you'll see that each of the areas (sleep, digestion, inflammation and Nutrition) and hormones I've talked about are interconnected, and there are multiple other organ systems involved. Each of these areas needs to be functioning properly for you to reach your goals. So if you're looking for a simple solution or a magic pill for weight loss, unfortunately there likely isn't one.

The real secret is in treating the whole body, respecting the systems by providing the right nourishment and allowing the body to rest and relax as needed.

A healthy body is a happy one. And when the body and mind are happy, healthy and balanced, your weight will balance out too, in the majority of cases.

If I have convinced just a few people to give up a fad diet or to stop over exercising and work on achieving a really healthy body, that all of this will have been worth while.

Much love to you all <3

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The information provided here is for educational purposes only. For treatment please seek a qualified healthcare provider.

Copyright Lisa Paul The Natural Path 2021

Your Body may be Holding onto Weight - Part 3

Part 3

I don't stress weight loss but it is a big deal to some people and I respect that. When clients come to me saying that they just can't lose weight, I reframe it to:

"YOUR BODY IS NOT ABLE TO LET GO OF WEIGHT RIGHT NOW, LET'S FIND OUT WHY."

There are 5 main areas I assess When people struggle with their weight: Sleep, Nutrition, Inflammation, Hormones and Digestion.

As a general rule I don’t “do” weight loss, I’m not a fan of diet culture, restriction and deprivation. I believe in the importance of carefully designed therapeutic diets that help the body heal and then allow the person to go back to eating well. I believe the human body will find it’s own perfect set weight when the body is healthy and well supported. Strict diets and over exercising only stress the body more. Find out more in this previous blog.

I started this series of posts on my Facebook Page and Instagram, and I thought it would be worthwhile to put it in blogs for easy reference. It will be a series of blog posts. Here I can add extra tips and links that I don’t have room for elsewhere.

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Hormones: Thyroid

Thyroid imbalances are one of the most common and yet most frequently missed hormone imbalances as it can masquerade as so many other illnesses. Thyroid imbalances can be related to problems with digestion, other hormones, nutrient deficiencies and the decreased function of other organs and glands. There is a lot to consider when supporting thyroid health.

One of the most common health triangles I'll see is poor digestion/malabsorption with anemia (low iron) and hypothyroid symptoms.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for thyroid imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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Hormones: Cortisol/ Adrenals

Cortisol is the hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is often called the "stress hormone" and is part of the "Fight, Flight or Freeze" adrenal response to stress. Chronic stress can lead to overwhelming the adrenals where either they over produce cortisol or they simply give up and quit producing cortisol. Both are problematic. Cortisol consumes your metabolically active muscle tissue for fuel, raises blood sugar (so you have energy to fight your foe), depresses your metabolic rate by blocking your thyroid hormone (to divert more energy to fight and flight), and increases desire for fatty food and carbs and boosts abdominal fat storage (to restore energy stores for the next battle). In our current age of over stimulation, culture of excess (work, food, drugs, exercise) and with poor self care habits it is easy to see why signs of cortisol imbalances are common.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for cortisol or adrenal imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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Hormones: Insulin

You can have insulin imbalances without being diabetic. However if insulin imbalances are left unchecked diabetes can occur.

Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas which allows the body to convert glucose from your food intake into energy. However if there is too much glucose in the blood the insulin tries to quickly sweep it up and store that glucose as fat, in your body cells or/and in your liver. This can lead to high triglycerides, elevated LDL Cholesterol and non alcoholic fatty liver (or poor liver function in the early stages).

Insulin resistance is when the cells no longer respond to (accept) the insulin and glucose which leads to feelings of lethargy, brain fog, insomnia, other hormone imbalances and much more. This can cause chronically high levels of glucose in the blood as the body tries to produce more and more insulin to keep up. High insulin levels prevent us from burning body fat and induce even more fat storage.

Some common signs of insulin resistance are:

• age spots

• wrinkles

• cellulite

• skin tags

• dark spots on the neck or underarms

• vision changes

• fat over the triceps

• water retention

• puffy face

• and much more.

If you'd like a self assessment checklist for insulin imbalances, please message me (one per person please). Keep in mind that hormones don't act alone, where one if off, there are other imbalances.

If you'd like help to improve your hormones please contact Lisa for a consultation. There are many options including Homeopathic medicine, herbs, certain foods and lifestyle tricks that can help.

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The information provided here is for educational purposes only. For treatment please seek a qualified healthcare provider.

Copyright Lisa Paul The Natural Path 2021