Intestinal Permeability, Part 3: Causes and Treatment Options

In Part 1 of our blog series on intestinal permeability, we explained what intestinal permeability is and why it’s a problem. When there’s an imbalance of gut bacteria, the passage of toxins, digestive proteins, bacteria and viruses from the gastrointestinal system into the bloodstream becomes unregulated.

When permeability isn’t tightly controlled, it can cause the immune system to run nonstop and eventually burn out. When this happens, you can develop a wide range of chronic conditions, including autoimmune diseases and food allergies.

In Part 2, we discussed the causes of intestinal permeability and treatment options. Intestinal permeability can be traced back to highly refined foods such as gluten, highly processed foods with added sugar, herbicides and environmental toxins, alcohol, and prescription drugs.

While the right diet can be helpful for patients by eliminating inflammatory foods, proper nutrition alone doesn’t solve the problem. Medication is more likely to make the problem worse.

In this final article in the intestinal permeability series, I want to discuss the treatment protocol developed by Dr. Coetzee. This protocol is based on years of scientific research and is currently in the clinical trial phase. Please keep in mind that this is a very high-level explanation of the protocol, which Dr. Coetzee discusses in far more detail in this YouTube video.

The protocol has three phases – re-soil, re-seed and re-feed.

Phase 1: Re-soil

Microbes find the vitamins and minerals needed to stimulate a healthy gut in the soil. Even if you eat organic food, you’re not getting the soil microbes you need in your diet. The soil microbe that was attached to a carrot pulled from the ground 30 years ago no longer exists.

Herbicides and pesticides have largely destroyed these microbes during the past 25 years or so. You can be on the healthiest diet in the world, but your gut biome (the trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other substances in the gut) must be balanced, re-soiled and repopulated to achieve a state of optimal health. The first step is to find clean soil that hasn’t been contaminated.

Phase 2: Re-seed

In the soil of 30 years ago, we could find microscopic probiotics that would only activate after entering the digestive tract of a human or animal. They’re like a dormant seed, living in the soil and the gastrointestinal system. Once we have a supply of the right kind of soil, the “seed” can grow in the soil.

Phase 3: Re-feed

Once the seed has been activated, it needs to be fed a diversified diet. Consider the fact that people today eat about 15 different foods compared to the 600 types consumed by people 100 years ago. That’s what makes the gut biome more diverse.

100 years ago, people ate seasonally based on what the environment provided. Today, food makers use herbicides, preservatives, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and other man made substances to provide popular foods 365 days a year. To correct intestinal permeability and achieve balance in the gut biome, we need to feed the seed a diversified diet.

Where We Stand Now

Just like protocols developed, tested and published by Dr. Coetzee have been successful in reversing prediabetes, diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and high cholesterol, we’re confident that this new protocol will do the same for intestinal permeability.

Dr. Coetzee’s “re-soil, re-seed, re-feed” hypothesis is still in the testing stage as we speak. We believe that after six months on this protocol, a person should be able to eat anything grown naturally on this planet without issue. That’s how you know you have a truly healthy person.

The exciting part about this is that the gut biome has a fingerprint. The literature we’ve studied shows the gut biome seems to be completely formed by age 3. You can destroy it with alcohol, toxins and bad foods, but there’s a fingerprint waiting to be reactivated. We believe it just needs the right soil, the right seed and a diversified diet.

Remember, the human body is ready to recharge if you just give it the right things. That’s how you feel better, function better and live longer.