It’s estimated that 50% of the population have trouble with their gut, and when you add upper GI issues, that number swells to 70%.
When you hear the term IBS, Dr. Martin says to think of inflammation in the bowel, but the question is, why is it there?
In today’s episode, Dr. Martin shares 9 reasons why your gut may be inflamed.
TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY'S EPISODE
Announcer: You're listening to The Doctor Is In Podcast, brought to you by MartinClinic.com. During the episode, the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.
Dr. Martin: Well, good morning everyone. Hope you're having a great day and great start to your day. And we sure thank you for coming on with us. We appreciate it. Enjoy everyone that joins us live and of course, those who listen to this podcast at a later time. Okay, so I'm going to give you, today. I read two articles, so this is why I'm bringing this up this morning, but I'll reference the articles in a minute. Okay? I am going to bring you nine reasons that your gut is inflamed. So when you hear the word IBS, what is that? The bowel's inflamed. That's an easy diagnosis to make, but the question is why? Why would I have my bowel irritated?
Now, if you read different stats on it, approximately 50% of the population approximately have trouble with their gut, okay? They have trouble with their gut. If you add the upper GI, now you're in to 70% of the population have some form of trouble, either of too much acid, but today what I want to focus is on the lower GI, I'm going to give you nine reasons. So if you've got your pen and paper out, and we can always post these after on the private Facebook group, I'm going to give you nine reasons that your gut's bothering you, and this comes from years and years and years of experience in my clinic. Why is your gut bothering you? Why do I have IBS?
Now again, you might have diverticulosis, people have Crohn's disease, some have ulcerative colitis. All of that I'm including in this IBS, okay? Because the bowel is irritated. Why? Okay, and I'm going to try and put some order in it, but let me just put them in the order, I think. But again, there's no real science to this. This is more my observations over the years, okay? The number one reason that people have trouble with their gut is antibiotics, okay? The number one reason. You take antibiotics, it wipes out all your good bacteria within five days. Guys, you just have to understand that. Am I against antibiotics? Of course I'm not. They can save your life. The greatest discovery of the 20th century. I give them credit, antibiotics, save your life if you need them, no problem. But the double-edged sword of an antibiotic is it wipes out your bacteria. It changes things, okay?
And I use this illustration, okay? You know me, I'm an illustrator. I got to see things in my mind and I got to see pictures because it's the way my brain operates. Okay? So I'm showing you two carpets, okay? For those listening on a podcast, use your imagination. Remember in the seventies, the shag carpet? You remember that? Okay? The shag carpet is really a picture of your small intestine. These big things sticking out in the shag carpet are represented of your villi, okay? You have millions of villi, like a shag carpet in your gut, and it helps to absorb food. It helps to break food down, it helps to protect between your gut and your blood. But what happens, and it can happen with antibiotics, okay? Not only are your friendly bacteria destroyed, it's friendly fire, it's killing the bad guys, but it's killing the good guys too.
And if you've read any of my books, I talk about the connection between antibiotics and autoimmune disease. Why? Because it changes the shag carpet to a tight knit carpet, a more modern carpet. You see that? You see how this is just tightly knit, a modern carpet, and that might be nice in your house, but it's not good in your small intestine. Why? Because it got carpet bombed. This is carpet bombing. Antibiotics can destroy the shag carpet that you're supposed to have in your small intestine. Those villi are absorbing food and protecting your blood from any garbage getting in there. Any toxins, any yeast, and this might be nice in your home guys, but you want the shag carpet, not the flat like carpet. Antibiotics, the number one reason for digestive issues, and it can happen in as little as five days.
Now listen, you might not feel it right away. I've had people come in two, three years later after taking antibiotics because I used to put a questionnaire out there and they wiped out all their good bacteria. They didn't realize it. They started a process of inflammation and irritation in their gut because of antibiotics. Okay? So remember, if you ever have to take an antibiotic, you make sure you're taking probiotics with the antibiotic. Now people think, oh, no, no, no, no. I'll wait until I finish. Don't do that because you're talking about trillions of bacteria. You want to take antibiotics and then you want to take your probiotics with them, okay? You've got a bladder infection and it's really bothering you. Every time you go and urinate, it kills you. You need an antibiotic, okay? If you have no pain and your doctor says, oh, I just took a urine analysis and you've got a bacterial infection, no, you don't. You have a yeast infection. That's a different thing altogether. And an antibiotic is the worst thing you can do. Don't take it just if you've got no pain.
You take an antibiotic. And guys, you know my teaching on this, and I was right 40 years ago and I've been proven, right? You take an antibiotic and you don't finish it, okay? Listen to what I'm saying. Don't put words in my mouth, okay? What I mean by that is let's say you got a bladder infection, you have an infection, you take the antibiotic until the pain is gone. You know what they used to teach, and I was always against that. Take the antibiotic until you're finished. No. And now I've been proven, right? You take it while your symptoms are there and then you stop it, okay? You stop it. Use probiotics. Guys, I believe the greatest discovery of the 20th century along with antibiotics was this discovery of probiotics, friendly bacteria. That is really important. Okay? So the number one reason we could get into a lot more detail is antibiotics. One of the big reasons you might have your bowel irritated, irritated bowel, and that can come after a few years, doesn't necessarily happen right away. Could be months, could be even up to a couple of years later, and then all of a sudden you got gut problems and you go, what happened? I'm telling you guys, really important to understand that. Okay?
Now the other one is anti-inflammatories. People who live on Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin even, look anti-inflammatories. I get it. I understand why you got pain. I got to clip the nerve, I got too much pain or whatever, and I'm taking Tylenol. People live on Tylenol, they got headaches every day and they live on it. They live on Advil, they live on these kind of things, but guys, okay, Naproxen, which is Aleve. Guys, listen. Listen Linda's and Larry's the side effect of that is they're destroying your friendly bacteria. They're not quite as bad as an antibiotic for that, but they're almost as bad. They're almost as bad. They change that microbiome inside the gut and eventually that what that does, you're taking it for inflammation and pain and it's creating inflammation and pain down the highway in the gut.
You know how many people, and this was the problem with aspirin, I did, this is years ago now it's got to be 10 years ago I did a video on aspirin and we got over a million hits on it. This is 10 years ago. And I said, what I've been saying about aspirin for a long time, they finally said about 10 years ago, quit taking it every day. The side effects outweigh the benefits. That was the news headline. And for years, people were just taking aspirin, like it was aspirin, like, Hey, it's so good for me. It keeps me from a heart attack. Well, look, if you're having a heart attack or stroke, take an aspirin, but don't take it every day because of the bleeding, because of the irritation, because of what it does down the highway in your stomach and in your gut. Okay? So antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and again, guys, I'm not saying you can never take it. All I'm saying is whatever you do, make sure you're taking a broad spectrum probiotic to save your gut.
Number three, okay, this is very controversial. I'm right, I'm right, I'm right. You know what I'm going to toot my horn on? I've been saying this for a long time. I have been very consistent with this. Too much fiber. I know, we live in a fiber crazy world. You need your fiber. You need your fiber. Brought to you by the cereal companies, Kellogg's, Post, General Mills, they made fiber a household name as if having a bigger bulky poop is going to make you healthier. But people bought it, doctors bought it, nutritionists bought it, the social media bought it, the big media bought it, everybody bought it. But here we have more than half the population with an irritated gut, and they don't realize that you're not a rabbit. You don't have the enzyme called cellulase. You are not a cow. You don't have four stomachs. Cows eat salad, so you don't have to. Got it? I know you love your salad, okay? I know you do. Women, chicken and salad. Chicken and salad, right?
But I'm telling you, when you have an irritated gut, if you have diverticulosis, the little pouches, where does spinach get caught in your teeth? Where will it get caught in your gut? You don't need fiber. It's overrated. And when I used to get my patients, I used to grab their little faces like this, and I said, you're eating too much fiber. What? You're eating too much fiber. And it's so amazing that the world went for it. And they said, well, if I don't go to the bathroom twice a day, number two, it can't be healthy. I said, well, that's waste. Would you agree? It's waste. So you're going to have a bulkier stool. So what does that mean? I'm detoxing. Nah, you're not detoxing and I don't want you to be constipated. And constipation is not defined by whether you go to the bathroom every day. It's not defined by that. They changed the definition. I watched them do it, okay?
I remember watching videos of people said, analyze your stool. Why do you want to analyze your stool? Don't you have better things to look at? No, I'm just telling you, it was amazing when I had IBS in the office when I had diverticulosis in the office, when I had Crohn's disease in the office, when I had anything with the gut in the office, and I got them off their salads and I got them off their cereals. It was amazing how much better they got. You don't have four stomachs. You're not a cow. You're not a rabbit. Rabbits, their pH is a lot different than your pH in your stomach, first of all. But second of all, they have an enzyme that you don't have. You don't make the enzyme called cellulose. You don't have it. There's a reason for it. You're not to live on salad. Okay? Want to have a salad once in a while, okay? Go for it. But not if you have a bad gut. Now, Dr. Martin, if I don't eat oatmeal. Oooh, oatmeal is for horses. Oats. They're vegetarians, not you.
Okay, so the third reason, too much fiber. I mean it, okay? And I'm telling you by clinical experience that people are living on fiber and they've done this too. Okay? Here's what they've done, and it bothers me. Well, fiber is a prebiotic and they made a big thing of prebiotics, fertilizer for your bacteria. You need fiber to fertilize your bacteria, your friendly bacteria in your gut. No, that was brought to you again by the cereal companies. It's nonsense. The best prebiotic is steak. How's that? Your gut loves steak. It loves it. Okay, now let me just say one thing because we're going to talk about steak. People that have trouble with eggs and cheese, okay? They have trouble with eggs and cheese. You know what happened? Generally, this had just been my experience.
Antibiotics destroyed their shag carpet and they got carpet bombed, and now they have a flat, flat carpet. They lost their villi that they need, and therefore, now they can't eat eggs. Eggs bother them, and cheese bothers them. But don't blame the eggs and don't blame the cheese. It has to do with those antibiotics, and you can regenerate your gut, okay? You can regenerate your gut and don't ditch dairy. Switch dairy. I don't want you drinking milk unless you have a cow in the backyard. I want you eating cheese because cheese is so stinking good for you, and it's good for your gut too, okay? It's good for your gut too. Okay?
Now, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, too much fiber and four, not enough water, and coffee. I had somebody yesterday telling me, Dr. Martin, you're joking, right? Do I look like I'm joking when I talk to you about coffee? Coffee is the best thing for your gut. Now you tea lovers, I feel sorry for you. Yeah, you can have a little tea. I get it. But coffee is the best thing for your gut. It's anti-inflammatory, it provides movement in the gut. It feeds your friendly bacteria. You know what your friendly bacteria like? Is when you drink coffee. Now, don't put sugar in it. Don't ruin it. I know people like, Doc, I like sugar in my coffee. Yeah, well now it's not coffee, it's syrup and it's a different thing altogether. Now you're negating the benefits of the coffee bean. Okay? Got the memo? The best thing you can do for your gut is drink more water and coffee. And I mean it.
Aren't you happy? Aren't you happy? I give you good news like that. Yes, water. Do you know how many people walk around? I wish they had a light on top of their head that said, you're dehydrated, you're dehydrated, you're dehydrated. Your blood, half of it is water. Your gut, you need water. It's a river. Make it move. Add water. And only water is water. I love water. Vitamin W for your gut, for everything, but especially your gut. It makes things move. It cleans, it does. It cleans. It washes. It scrubs. Coffee, why do you think when we do the reset, we talk about those two things? Okay, so what are we up to now? Four, coffee and water. I put together.
Five, too much sugar. When you have a bowel problem, almost invariably, not only will you have irritation and inflammation, you will have an overgrowth of yeast. Of course, antibiotics do that. But one of the things that feeds the yeast, remember they're like teenagers, yeast and cancer only love sugar. It's amazing what happens in your gut when you get rid of sugar. It's amazing, right? The gut gets a break because you're not feeding the bears, you're not feeding yeast. And think of what yeast does, okay? A little bit of yeast, who cares? But you got a yeast inside your gut and you put sugar in there and it grows, grows, grows, and you get bloated and you got a tummy ache. You got your gut, it's loaded up with candida, yeast, a fungus, and nevermind. When that gets into the bloodstream. We're not even talking about that. We're just talking about an overgrowth.
And when you take an antibiotic, anti-inflammatories, and when you're eating sugar, you're feeding yeast, and that's a big problem inside the gut. It's amazing what happens to that bloating when you get rid of sugar in your life. I didn't say it was easy, I'm just telling you that's a big thing. Too much seed oils. You go down the middle aisles of your grocery store, everything is made with those bad oils. They're inflammatory. From crackers to ketchup, from whatever that's in that middle aisle of the grocery store. They use hydrogenated oil. That's why it can sit on the shelf for months and it's not good. It's an oil that man was never supposed to consume, okay? So get rid of margarine, get rid of anything that is hydrogenated, okay? Even the bugs won't eat it, but we're silly, we eat it. Nothing made with those seed oils. Canada's gift to the world, canola oil, yikes. Soy, hard on the gut because it very inflammatory, it irritates. It's amazing again, when you do the reset and you eat natural foods, what happens inside your gut? Okay, got the memo?
Okay, number seven. Stress. Stress. Boy, oh boy, that's a big factor today because think of what cortisol is. Okay? Cortisol is, that's cortisol. It's the fight or flight. The opposite of that is rest and digest. But today, we live in a crazy world. Everything seems to be coming at us at a hundred miles an hour compared to what it used to be. It's social media, it's the news, it's tv, it's 24 hour news cycles. It's our family dynamics, it's whatever. All I'm saying is my practice completely changed. Years ago when measuring cortisol, it almost seemed like 90% of the population that was coming to see me had high levels of cortisol and that shouldn't be. That shouldn't be. And that can really irritate your gut because it's a divergent. Think of what cortisol is, okay? It's a divergent. Look. Okay? Where is your blood going to? Your muscles, the fight or flight? You want to punch somebody or run, right?
Have you ever been worried and you feel it a pit in your stomach, the butterfly in your stomach? Well, that's the cranial nerve, okay? The vagus nerve that gets affected by cortisol, not Las Vegas, the vagus nerve. That's your 10th cranial nerve. You get butterflies, your stomach is irritated, cortisol is elevated. Okay? So that's really important to understand these things. And look, you live on the planet. What is your address? What does it end with? I don't care what country you're in. I want to know what planet you're on. Oh, my address ends with planet Earth. Okay, well then you got trouble with stress. Probably, a lot of people do. That irritates the gut. I would have to work on getting that stress levels down to help heal the gut. Okay?
That was number seven. Not enough rest or digest. I'm going to mention this because I'm a guy that, okay, number eight is gluten. Now, I used to say in the office, you can ask my staff gluten schmuten, okay? Because I never put it up at the top for causing stomach problems. And there was a whole industry that came in, what, 20 years ago or whatever. What was it? Everything is gluten-free. You can, yikes, gluten free, but I didn't like that. I didn't, didn't like gluten-free foods. I hated them because they were always full of seed oils. They were usually full of sugar and crappy carbohydrates. I didn't like that industry at all. I said, you a bunch of liars, liars, pants on fires. And people that would eat gluten-free would drive me crazy.
Now if you got Celiac, okay, and this is why I I put it in there, because some people, they don't digest the carbs very well. It's not so much the gluten, it's the carbs, it's bread, it's pasta, it's noodles. And I know people, Dr. Martin, it's ancient grains. I don't care. It's still a grain. It's still going to irritate. Okay? And I was very adamant in the office. I was very consistent. I'm sorry, but you and carbs don't get along and you'll find out when you cut them out, how much better your gut is going to feel. You like being sick? You like your gut being upside down all the time? You like it? No, I don't like a doc. I'm sick of it. Well then listen, Linda, listen Larry, trust me. 30 days, no bread, no noodles, no muffins, no bagels. None of that. What? None of them, okay? For 30 days. Watch and see how your gut regenerates. It's amazing what your gut will do. Get off the carbohydrates. I want you off sugars because that feeds yeast, but I want you off those carbs. And that's where gluten is found.
So is it gluten schmuten or is it the carbohydrates and the breads and the pastas and the noodles? I don't know. I don't care. Just get off of them. Just get off of them, okay, let me end. Alcohol. Okay, alcohol. That irritates, it irritates the gut. So you like to have your little glass of wine. Well, you know what? Maybe for 30 days don't have any of that if you've got a bad gut, stop it. Okay? I'm not saying that you've got to be a teetotaler. I'm not saying it, but it is an irritant. Alcohol is an irritant. That's why I want you to drink water and coffee. Replace your alcohol with coffee. Man, have I ever got a one track mind, don't I? I admit it, but I've been right about coffee right from the get-go. And I remember in the 1970s, okay, when they kept saying that coffee is acidic, coffee's no good for you, coffee's terrible. Coffee's this, coffee's that. And I said, you're a bunch of liars. It ain't true. Man, think about something so enjoyable and you get to do it.
Okay guys, nine, somebody got notes? Put it up for me. Otherwise, it'd take me an hour to do it on our private Facebook group. Hey guys, what's tomorrow? Friday? Yeah, tomorrow's Friday. You know what that means? Yeah. Question and answer Friday. Is it too late to send your question in? No. Not too late. Send your questions in. Don't ask me how to do it. Love you guys. Talk to you soon.
Announcer: You've reached the end of another Doctor Is In Podcast, with your hosts, Doctor Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening!