Dr. Troy's Takes...

Vitamin D deficiency plays a significant role in autoimmune disease, gut health, and digestion. In fact, there is strong evidence that Vitamin D deficiency may even be a contributor to autoimmune disease.Your body synthesizes Vitamin D in response to absorption of UVB radiation from the sun. It is a type of steroid hormone that controls the expression of more than 200 genes and the proteins those genes regulate.  WHY DO YOU NEED VITAMIN D?

It sucks to feel bad all the time. I get it...I’ve been there! It can be really easy to feel helpless, hopeless, and like things are totally out of your control when you’ve been suffering physical symptoms for even a short time.But what if I told you that one of your most powerful tools for healing is something that you already have, that you were born with, and that you DO have control over?

So, you’re cruising down the grocery store aisle and find yourself in the meat section. You likely have a variety to choose from…and some are way more expensive than others. Do you sometimes wonder what all those terms REALLY mean? And are the more expensive selections really better for you than the lower priced options?The short answer: Maybe.

Medicine has come a long way in the last hundred years, and thankfully an awareness of gut health has as well. For a long time, doctors did not know how to treat the digestive issues that so many people experience today.A BRIEF HISTORY OF GUT HEALTHDYSENTERY AND DIARRHEAIn 1892, William Osler, “The Father of Modern Medicine”, wrote that dysentery “has been more fatal to soldiers than powder and shot.” Author Mary Roach writes: 

One of the silver linings of the Coronavirus shutdown for me is that I’ve been able to spend more quality time with my family. Recently, we rediscovered our trampoline which has hardly gotten any use the past few years. My two youngest kids egged me on to jump with them and all I could think about was how it was going to bother my knees or hurt my back. But instead, we spent an amazing 20 minutes jumping together- laughing hysterically and then having meaningful conversations as we laid on our backs, exhausted and happy.

As you likely know, I suffered from Crohn’s symptoms for a really long time. I feel like a totally different person now and I’m often asked exactly what I did to improve my digestion and terrible gut issues. The first thing I say jokingly is, “well I figured out that beer and chicken wings weren't good for me!”The truth is…it’s taken many years of trial, error, learning, and relearning to get where I am today. I wasn't even close to eating healthy 20 years ago. While I suspected that food had an effect on the severity of my symptoms, my gastroenterologist insisted that this wasn't the case. I was in denial and I thought there was nothing I could do about my Crohn's disease. 

WHAT HABITS AREN’T SERVING YOU?Change can be hard. For many of us, when it comes to nutrition and (not) managing stress, we have learned to do what makes us most comfortable. Habits having to do with lifestyle and nutrition are ingrained and have become routine. But, if these habits aren’t serving you, you have the choice to make new, healthier habits.It won’t be easy in some cases, of course. It takes time to create new positive patterns while transitioning away from those negative ones but think about this—those habits that are not serving you now became easy and second nature somehow. Why can’t new, healthier habits become easy and second nature as well?

Before WWII, most foods grown in the US were considered “safe”. Nutrient-dense foods grew in rich topsoil and were free from harmful herbicides and pesticides. However, our foods have become increasingly harmful.The most widely used herbicide in the world is Glyphosate- more commonly known as Round Up. It’s a concoction of chemicals used not only to kill unwanted weeds, but to speed up the maturation process of certain grains so that farmers can harvest crops sooner. For the last 20-30 years, Glyphosate has been used on crops all over the world. Created in 1974, it drastically changed the landscape of our food sources. It is used on everything from soy and corn to wheat and oats, affecting not only the foods themselves, but the very soil they’re grown in. 

I mentioned last week that when I went gluten and dairy-free to address my Crohn’s symptoms, it was difficult to find food substitutes. Nowadays, many grocery stores offer extensive options for people who have food sensitivities or allergies. Despite the ease with which many of us are able to locate foods that meet our nutritional and gut-health needs, some people are still skeptical.Have you heard any of these?Why is everyone going gluten-free these days? When I was your age, we just ate regular bread and we were fine.Organic food is just another way for business to make money.Gluten-free is just another fad.

I remember back in the day when I first started eating dairy-free and gluten-free in an effort to ease my digestive issues. It was sometimes really hard to find foods I could eat!But today is a totally different story! The food options for people with digestive issues and food sensitivities just seem to be growing. There are now entire aisles at some grocery stores dedicated to foods for just about any diet. There are options for vegans and vegetarians, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-FODMAP options. It can be easy to find what you need if you know WHAT you need. But what if you don’t have a diagnosis? How do you know where to start?