I am loving the longer days and excited for the warmer days to come….

This month I am very excited to talk about a term that was completely foreign to me, and largely unrecognized, when I first heard of it roughly 10 years ago.  Now,  it is becoming much more recognized and it may even sound familiar to you – “Leaky Gut”.  Although most of the medical profession does not recognize this term, in my opinion it undoubtedly affects overall health and can be linked to many disorders that are becoming increasingly common.  What is this mysterious condition?  Leaky Gut “results in the absorption of gut contents that normally do not enter the body and can lead to inflammation, joint pain, overwhelming the immune and detoxification systems”.  The list of additional life changing symptoms is virtually endless.

If you have ever been on antibiotics, have seasonal allergies, food sensitivity, eat sugar, wheat, drink alcohol, have thyroid issues, autoimmune disorders, inflammation in the body, joint pain, skin issues, weight gain, IBS, learning disabilities – and the list goes on – you could have some form of Leaky Gut.  The good news is that there are a number of resources today on how to help heal your digestive system.  This is imperative because your body is not able to absorb the nutrients that it needs to keep the immune system as healthy as it should be.  If untreated, it may eventually progress to an autoimmune disorder, food sensitivity, and other disorders such as those listed above.  From my own experience, my horrible diet led to Leaky Gut resulting in PCOS, acne, fertility issues, and the need for loads of antibiotics.  Similarly, my husband was also on four different medications for his horrible allergies and sensitivities.  With proper nutrition to help heal our guts, all of these issues have now been resolved (maybe even too well with another baby on the way!).  There is just no way to possibly understate the critical importance of maintaining a healthy diet and digestive system.

The benefits of healing the digestive system for those with Parkinsons Disease is to reduce inflammation in the body, help with joint pain, improve uncomfortable digestive issues such as constipation, increase your absorption of nutrients, and even improve the quality of your sleep.

My first recommendation for you today is to add grass fed bone broth to your diet.  A cup in the afternoon or evening will offer a tremendous amount of healing benefits and set the body up for a good night’s rest.  Secondly, remove trigger foods such as dairy, gluten, and refined sugars from your diet.  Lastly, I recommend adding cultured vegetables to your diet. Below is a very basic and simple recipe to make them at home, or you can buy them at your local health store in a variety of flavors.

• One shredded organic cabbage
• One pinch of sea salt
• One packet of culture starter- follow directions on label
• Filtered slightly warm water or brine

Pack cabbage tightly in glass jar with tight sealing lid.  Add brine.  Let sit for 1-2 weeks and until you start to see bubbles, refrigerate before opening.  Once open keep in the refrigerator.

I would love to talk with you further about the information in this post, or any other issues you might be interested in.  If you would like more in-depth information or resources about healing your gut, please visit my website and schedule a consulting appointment or email me at nutritionalrestoration@gmail.com.

In health,

Jennette Malsbury

Jennette is a contributing writer to our blog covering a range of topics on nutrition for PD and is also a partner of The Parkinson’s Fitness Project to help those in need of nutritional counseling.

Murray, Michael T., and Joseph E. Pizzorno. The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. 3rd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. 140. Print.