@Outdoctrination: YOU MUST ADDRESS THIS TO FIX Y...

YOU MUST ADDRESS THIS TO FIX YOUR GUT

This “happy hormone” is the primary driver of digestive problems.

I found that out the hard way.

Here’s what I’ve learned, how I lowered it and how you can do the same:

I had absolutely debilitating digestive problems for years.

I went to all of the “top GI docs'' and they had NO answers.

They said we don’t know what’s wrong with you.

One even told me it was all in my head.

Take pill, drink water, eat fiber, take probiotics, etc.

I was furious.

I even tried some of these “expert recommendations” and they made my gut even worse.

I was absolutely miserable.

Imagine the worst stomach ache or vomiting episode you’ve ever had.

Now imagine that nonstop for around 2.5 years.

That was me.

I later learned that I was not alone.

This one study is remarkable, showing that people with GI problems and brain fog (often go hand in hand) would often take probiotics.

But getting them off of the probiotics and giving them antibiotics cured them:

Not just nausea, ZERO appetite even if I fasted for days. Didn’t defecate for weeks at a time. Acid reflux. Horrible bloating.

I remember after Thanksgiving seeing my pregnant looking belly in the mirror and starting to cry.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon the right information.

I had read about people with similar issues who took a drug called cyproheptadine, an anti-serotonin, antihistamine drug.

At this point I was desperate. So I tried it.

The results were absolutely stunning.

I had a near complete reversal of ALL symptoms.

I became obsessed with this topic.

I wanted my gut to feel like that all the time, without constantly using cyproheptadine.

I found out that serotonin is elevated in the gut of every GI disease.

Is this overlooked? Or intentionally dismissed by the media?

Well NO, it’s not overlooked.

In fact, big pharma tried running clinical trials for a drug that inhibits serotonin synthesis for IBS behind your back.

In the meantime, your GI doc has been giving you an SSRI.

We already know why this is the case:

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Cyproheptadine has a near curative effect on GI problems in the literature.

Ondansetron is a highly efficacious anti-nausea drug, which also blocks serotonin.

Meanwhile, to induce IBS in an animal, give them the genetic equivalent of an SSRI.

Serotonin's role in the gut is to trigger the necessary response to irritation or pathogens.

This involves stimulating motility to rid the pathogen, pain/sensitization of the area and a lack of appetite to discourage further eating.

Excess bacteria, whether labeled good or bad, can stimulate serotonin production in the gut.

Antigens on bacteria trigger inflammatory cascades, resulting in increased serotonin.

Constipation, leading to bacterial buildup, is a huge issue here.

One way that has been extremely useful for me in diagnosing this is looking at the tongue.

The tongue should be a vibrant pink, almost red, in good health. Saliva production should be strong.

When bacterial issues arise, the tongue gets a white coating, especially in the back

The mouth to the anus is really one long track, and thus bacterial issues in the intestines can cause not just white tongue, but other dental problems like bad breath and even cavities.

I still use my tongue to guide what I should do on a day to day basis.

Serotonin can bind to mast (immune) cells, which release histamine.

It’s been hypothesized that histamine intolerance actually starts in the gut.

This goes both ways, antihistamines also tend to lower serotonin, and diamine oxidase supplementation shows some promise.

Any type of fiber can promote serotonin production.

Soluble fiber feeds bacteria, and insoluble fiber acts as an irritating agent.

Food additives can increase gut serotonin.

The short chain fatty acids produced by the microbial fermentation also drive serotonin production.

Low or no fiber can CURE many of these problems.

IBS patients consistently improve massively from no fiber diets.

Again, I think this is because these problems often result from excess bacteria/serotonin, which fiber directly contributes to.

Many benefit from insoluble fiber (raw carrot).

I think this is due to the pro-motility effect, and that they lower the bacterial load over time.

However, insoluble fiber works as an irritant.

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In severe cases (like mine), pharmaceutical antibiotics may be necessary.

Docs often like to give very high doses of toxic antibiotics.

However, smart implementation of antibiotics can have some incredible effects.

It’s something worth considering [NOT MEDICAL ADVICE].

Natural laxatives like coffee are helpful for alleviating constipation, as well as ensuring adequate magnesium intake.

Gentler antibacterials like raw honey, white button mushrooms, coconut oil and mastic can be beneficial.

This is the mastic gum I use: grecogum.com/product/mastic…

This gum has antibacterial effects (always cleans up my tongue), it is also pro-motility and thus increases bowel movements, and increases saliva output, our endogenous antimicrobial.

Motility and fecal load (built up poop) is slowed in all types of gut problems, even diarrhea.

Poor stool quality/infrequent movements lead to incomplete bacterial elimination and thus excess serotonin. This can become a vicious cycle, as bacteria use serotonin to enhance their virulence through biofilm formation. Focusing on this has been CRUCIAL

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One thing that has helped me tremendously in inducing more frequent and healthier bowel movements has been focusing on relaxation, breathing and movement. I cover that here:

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Vitamin A/D/zinc inhibit the key enzyme responsible for serotonin synthesis.

All of the fat soluble vitamins also have direct antimicrobial properties.

K2 has been vital for me.

Health Natura has these vitamins that I take, individually or as a mix: healthnatura.com/liquid-vitamin…

Bacterial issues can especially arise when gut metabolism is suboptimal, and thus oxygen is not used for energy, and instead leaks into the gut.

Higher oxygen environments foster the growth of more and more pathogenic gut bacteria, and this is seen in every GI disease.

A lack of allopregnanolone (a primary metabolite of pregnenolone) and/or DHT, is known to induce gut problems via serotonin increase.

Allopregnanolone reverses this effect.

You can cop some pregnenolone here, again the one I use: healthnatura.com/pregnenolone-2…

Dopamine inhibits serotonin synthesis and promotes colonic motility. We’ve touched more on that here:

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Of course, there are also antiserotonin drugs.

Cyproheptadine played an absolutely huge role in my recovery from debilitating gut problems.

Some other antiserotonin agents are L-Lysine, methysergide, metergoline, LSD, ketanserin, and ondansetron.

[NOT MEDICAL ADVICE]

The serotonin transporter relies on sodium to pull serotonin into cells and deactivate it, and low salt diets increase serotonin.

Lower salt diets also impair insulin sensitivity and can raise cortisol.

Insulin helps dampen serotonin signaling, while cortisol promotes it.

Fasting actually increases serotonin levels in the gut and systemically.

One of the ways it might do this is by increasing cortisol and its precursor, CRH.

Pregnenolone has been massive for me in this regard as it is our endogenous anti-CRH steroid.

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This hit home for me big time because my issues STARTED after a lot of fasting and carnivore dieting.

I get that it may help in certain situations, but I wouldn’t personally advocate for such an approach.