Oh, the vicious cycles that lead our health in a downward spiral, seemingly never-ending. When it comes to obesity, there are a number of these detrimental cycles. One involves the brain.

Pleasure receptors (known as D2 receptors) exist in the brain and are involved in—you guessed it—feelings of pleasure. Well, a recent study has found that obese people have fewer pleasure receptors and they overeat to compensate for this lack of pleasure. But overeating weakens the ability of the pleasure receptors to respond, creating yet more need to fill this pleasure void.

When you eat, dopamine is released in the brain. The more dopamine that is available, the more pleasure that is experienced. But with fewer dopamine receptors, obese people need to eat more to feel the same amount of pleasure as their lean counterparts.

This is a recipe for disaster, and explains why it can be so difficult for obese people to lose weight. I know that cravings can come from imbalances in the body and brain. That’s why I formulated Crave Be Gone. If you experience cravings (especially to carbs) then you might want to make those craves behave!

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It is well known that probiotics are beneficial for the digestive tract. Indeed, these beneficial gut bacteria outnumber cells in the body (and their genes GREATLY outnumber our own genes).

Scientists have taken the research of probiotics beyond the gut lately, finding that their effects are far reaching. A recent study in pregnant women found that daily administration of two probiotic strains—Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium lactis—along with dietary counseling during the first trimester of pregnancy resulted in reduced waist circumferences six months after giving birth.

Three groups were involved; one taking probiotics along with counseling, one taking a placebo along with counseling, and one taking a placebo without counseling. The probiotic + counseling group had the lowest percentage of women with waists measuring over 31.5 inches at the end of the study.

It has long been known that probiotics are beneficial during pregnancy, both for mom and baby, and studies continue to support their many advantages.  I recently talked about probiotics protecting against development of gestational diabetes.

Research of probiotics and metabolic outcomes like abdominal fat and weight loss is relatively new. With obesity rates at an all-time high, going back to the gut in order to build a strong foundation of health is essential. Whether pregnant or not, when our guts are out of balance, the rest of the body suffers. Begin with balancing the gut, and good health for the rest of the body will follow.

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I like to call the proper balance of gut bacteria your “GPS”—your Gut Protection System. Your GPS works to: protect your intestinal lining; “crowd out” and neutralize the harmful bacteria; and influence the immune system so that it responds in the proper way to harmful invaders like bacteria, toxins, and even undigested food particles.

Your GPS might not be properly balanced—and you may not even know it. Sure, some people experience obvious digestive symptoms like gas and bloating, or heartburn, but some people don’t exhibit digestive symptoms, yet still have a gut imbalance. A malfunctioning GPS can have far-reaching health consequences. For example, many mood disorders, like depression and anxiety, are closely linked to gut health. Rheumatoid arthritis—how much further from the gut could you get?—is also known to be associated with gut imbalances. The list goes on and on. Read about it in my new book, The Road to Perfect Health, available exclusively through my PBS special of the same title. (Check your local PBS listings for show times.)

So, how does your GPS malfunction? Well, there are a number of ways. I’ll highlight some here:

Exposure to chemicals

• Certain medications (like antibiotics and acid-suppressing medications)
• Over processed and refined foods (I call them Dead Foods)
• Low stomach acid

In today’s world, it can be hard to avoid some of these triggers. That’s why it’s best to balance your gut with beneficial probiotic bacteria to get your GPS up and running. As I say: Balance your gut, heal your body.

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Did you know that you have more bacterial cells in your gut than you do the rest of the cells in your entire body? Did you know that the bacteria in your gut weigh four pounds (that’s as heavy as a brick)? Did you know that having the proper balance of gut bacteria—what I call your “GPS,” or Gut Protection System—can help get you on The Road to Perfect Health?

There are three types of gut bacteria: beneficial, neutral, and harmful. The major portion of bacteria in your gut should be the beneficial, or friendly, bacteria—otherwise known as probiotics. Probiotics are your Gut Protection System.

Your GPS works in three primary ways:

• Protects the intestinal lining and improves the balance of good to bad bacteria in the gut by “crowding out” bad bacteria;
• Produces substances that neutralize harmful bacteria;
• Influences the immune system so that it responds appropriately to invaders, such as harmful organisms, toxins and even food.

If your GPS is malfunctioning, similar to the GPS in your car, you’re not going to get to your desired destination—that is, your perfect health. As I say: Balance your gut, heal your body. The health consequences of an imbalanced gut travel far. Every system of the body can be affected. When you have an underlying digestive imbalance, it can be difficult to resolve your health issues.

So get to the foundation of your health—optimum digestive health with a balanced gut. Then you’ll be on The Road to Perfect Health.

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 Most people have a difficult time making the association between what is going on in the gut and health problems in other parts of the body. I help them connect the dots so that they can achieve better health. I help them get started on The Road to Perfect Health.

The Road to Perfect Health begins in the gut (your digestive system). If your digestive system is not healthy, the rest of you is typically unhealthy in some way.

Sure, you know that conditions like heartburn, gas, bloating and indigestion are related to your gut. But did you know that conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, skin conditions, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even arthritis are all related to the gut? It’s true. And I have seen it in so many people, including myself.

There are many different factors contributing to chronic illness that begin in the gut, but one primary factor is gut microbial balance. You need the proper balance of gut bacteria. I call it your “GPS”—your Gut Protection System. Your GPS is made up of 100 trillion bacterial cells. In fact, the bacterial cells in your gut outnumber the cells in your entire body by 10 to 1! That’s right, there are 10 times more gut bacteria than all the rest of the cells that make up your body.

The beneficial bacteria in your gut are known as probiotics. Probiotic means, literally, “for life.” Pro means “for” and biotic means “life.” This is in contrast to “antibiotic” (“against life”). The most common and most widely studied probiotic bacteria are what I call the L’s and the B’s—Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. Lactobacillus bacteria are most associated with the little (small) intestine, and the Bifidobacteria are mostly found in the big (large) intestine, or colon. Having the right balance of good bacteria (more good guys than bad guys) is essential on The Road to Perfect Health.

For more information on how your GPS can help you return to perfect health, check out my new PBS show, The Road To Perfect Health. Check your local PBS listings for show times.

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It was recently reported by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that tap water in over 30 U.S. cities contains hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen. Hexavalent chromium is the chemical that was made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich. In the EWG study, tap water was tested in 35 cities; 31 of those cities’ water contained hexavalent chromium.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not set limits for hexavalent chromium yet, but is considering it after the National Institutes of Health recognized it as a likely carcinogen in 2008. EPA limits total chromium in drinking water, but total chromium also includes the beneficial chromium—trivalent chromium—which is used by the body for nutrition. They should really test for the two separately. 

California is attempting to set limits for hexavalent chromium in water at 0.06 parts per billion (ppb). Of the 35 cities tested in EWG’s test, 25 cities contained levels above California’s limits.

There are so many other toxins in water that I don’t have room to cover in this blog post. Instead, I urge you to consider filtering your water at home. The best filters are thought to be reverse osmosis filters, which utilize fine membranes to filter out toxins. Reverse osmosis filters go under the sink, and are more expensive than other filters. But when it comes to getting the purest water, I think it’s a great investment in your health. (And think of all the money you’ll save if you don’t have to buy bottled water anymore, not to mention reducing the amount of plastic entering landfills!)

Check out my previous blog on water quality tests that were done by EWG. And check out EWG’s recent report on hexavalent chromium.  It’s an eye opener.

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There is still a general belief with medical doctors and the public as well that Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are mostly stress-related psychological disorders. I have personally had many patients who were reluctant to discuss their bowel problems for fear of being labeled a “psych” case. Many practitioners still aren’t aware there can be legitimate causes of disease that come from both mind and body.

With IBS and IBD, as with most discussions, there is often an element of truth on both sides or there would be no controversy. First, let’s look at the validity of the stress factors. People with genetic short serotonin transporter systems react negatively to stress-related increases in cortisol (a stress hormone) than people with normal serotonin transport systems.1 Second, ALL people react to significant stress, which can produce damage to the gut epithelial lining. However, people with a history of IBD generally show more gut lining damage than those without IBD. The damage includes: increased levels of stress hormones, activation and degranulation of mast cells, mitochondrial damage in epithelial cells, and mucosal protein oxidation which can create multiple problems with permeability (leaky gut) and immunity.2 Again, this happens to everyone under stress, but is worse with IBS and IBD because stress can trigger a relapse of either condition.

On the other hand, there are many reports that suggest anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of IBS and IBD patients have had a serious gastrointestinal infection days or weeks before they began having symptoms of chronic bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation (or both diarrhea and constipation) that may have lasted years. A study was done on 111 patients with IBS using the lactulose breath test (measures hydrogen and methane gas produced by too many of the wrong bacteria) and 84 percent of patients were positive, which indicates small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Those who were treated with a non-absorbable antibiotic, Neomycin, had a statistically significant improvement both in symptoms, and normalization of the breath test.3 A more recent study4 showed that patients with IBS, but without constipation, treated with rifaximin (a broad spectrum non-absorbable antibiotic) for two weeks provided significant relief of IBS symptoms including: bloating, abdominal pain, and loose or watery stools.

Both of these studies strongly suggest that bacterial overgrowth, which creates a low-grade infection, is a major part of IBS, and can be treated with antibiotics. In addition, I think the standard of care today strongly suggests using probiotics while on antibiotics. This has been shown to lower the incidence of antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD), and especially Clostridium difficle diarrhea, which can lead to total removal of the colon or even death.

Probiotics alone have been shown to significantly help with IBS. More specifically, probiotics enhance gut barrier function, inhibit pathogen binding and modulate gut inflammatory response. They reduce visceral hypersensitivity associated with both inflammation and psychological stress. More importantly, probiotics can alter colonic fermentation and stabilize the colonic microbiota, show that dietary exposure to pathogens maybe less likely to create another relapse of symptoms.5

Once again we can see that the use of high fiber, essential oils (omegas), probiotics and digestive enzymes (Brenda Watson’s HOPE Formula) can be beneficial in preventing or treating intestinal inflammation—be it IBS or IBD.

1. Way BM. “The Serotonin Transporter Promoter Polymorphism Is Associated with Cortisol Response to Psychosocial Stress.” Biol Psychiat. 2010 Mar 1;67(5):487-92.
2. Farhadi A, et al. “Heightened Responses to Stressors in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.” Am J Gastro. 2005;100:1796–1804.
3. Pimentel M., et al. “Normalization of Lactulose Breath Testing Correlates With Symptom Improvement in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.” Am J Gastro. 2003;98:412-19.
4. Pimentel M., et al. “Rifaximin Therapy for Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome without Constipation.” N Engl J Med. 2011 Jan;364:22-32.
5. Spiller, R. “Review article: probiotics and prebiotics in irritable bowel syndrome.” Aliment Pharmacog Ther. 2008 Jun;28(4):385-96.

Leonard Smith, M.D.
Dr. Leonard Smith is a prominent Board-Certified, general, gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon who had a successful private practice for 25 years. In addition to his active surgery practice, he also incorporated lifestyle, diet, supplementation, exercise, detoxification, and stress management into many of the therapies he would prescribe. Many of his patients with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other serious illnesses did so well under his treatment regimes that he began to devote most of his career to foundational health care and preventive medicine.

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For this week’s Renew You Challenge, I wanted to challenge you to put your knowledge to work for you. Health tips abound in today’s world. In magazines, newspapers, on the Internet, and on TV—we are faced with ‘low fat,’ ‘low calories,’ exercise and dieting ads and advice, usually on a daily basis. Some of us even take up the subject like an eager student, learning as much we can about the many ways to boost health and vitality.

Though we’re armed with health knowledge—even if it’s the basics—many of us often don’t put that knowledge to good use. Sure, we know eating too much sugar wreaks havoc on the body. No, we didn’t eat enough fiber today. Exercise can always be done tomorrow… It’s vicious cycle.

And yet, we find that these bad foods and habits slip into our lives almost unknowingly. That is, we try not to pay too much attention to them so that maybe we won’t even notice. I am not saying we need to be perfect. By all means, if you need to cheat for your own sanity—I advise it! But do it with the whole picture in mind.

This week, notice if what you eat, what you drink, how you exercise, and how you care for your health, are all in accordance with what you know is best for you. Are there some things that you can do without? Are there other practices that you might like to do more? With what you already know, what changes can you make to bring about a healthier you?

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Celiac disease involves an autoimmune gut reaction to gluten proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. This reaction destroys the intestinal villi. Villi are the finger-like projections that line the small intestine, increasing the surface area of the intestine so that absorption of nutrients can be maximized. When the villi are destroyed, nutrient absorption is hindered, which can lead to serious health complications.

How serious? The autoimmune reaction of celiac (basically, the immune systems mistakes parts of the body as a foreign invader, and attacks the body’s own tissues) can lead to other autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid dysfunction.

A recent study has determined that the incidence of celiac disease has doubled every year since 1974, and it also increases with age. If people can develop celiac disease in their 50s and 60s, it indicates that the condition is likely caused by environmental factors.

One important possible environmental trigger of the disease that may be causing late-onset celiac is changes in the composition of gut bacteria. Researchers suggested that a greater understanding of these changes in the gut may allow for the development of a way to keep the disease on hold.

Our gut health is truly related to the health of the rest of the body. Start by healing your gut, and maintaining that health to build a strong foundation that the rest of the body can benefit from, well into our golden years.

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Exciting news! If you live in the greater Tampa Bay area, be sure watch me LIVE on WEDU-TV tonight from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. for my NEW PBS special, The Road to Perfect Health.

A lot of folks don’t realize that a healthy body begins with a healthy gut. That’s because your digestive tract is where more than 80 percent of your body’s natural defenses are found, and it’s where trillions of bacteria live in a delicate balance to help you absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, and fight off illness and disease—not to mention help with bowel regularity!

But what may surprise you is that even things you wouldn’t normally associate with digestive health—everything from anxiety, joint aches and food sensitivities to fibromyalgia and even high cholesterol—they all start in the gut. That’s how important it is to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me to learn the secret to balancing your gut and healing your body, beginning with the power of probiotics. Those are the beneficial bacteria in your intestines that help with healthy digestion and immune function, and they are the key to a strong GPS, or what I like to call your Gut Protection System. From there, I’ll give you the keys to rebuilding your health from the inside out and finally living the life you’ve always wanted. See you there!

If you don’t live in the Tampa Bay Area, The Road to Perfect Health is also airing nationwide right now through mid-December. Visit PBS for air times and station in your area.

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