The Importance Of Digestive Health

Our digestive health completely underpins our overall health. This means that if we are digestively impaired, all other functions within our body will be undermined.

Some of the most common ways in which poor digestive health negatively impacts our overall health are as follows:

• Poor nutrient absorption – leading to protein, vitamin & mineral deficiencies, which impairs bodily functions.
• Poor sleep – we need proper mineral, protein and vitamin intake to ensure that we get a good night’s sleep.
• Our gut is responsible for providing c. 80% of our immune system, so poor gut function leaves us vulnerable to infection & autoimmune diseases. More specifically, it is the microbiome, within our gut, that constitutes c. 80% of our immune function.
• Long term gut issues can develop into systemic issues and lead to terminal illnesses, like cancer. This is because we need our immune systems to deal with the rogue cells that go on to lead to cancer. Learn more here: Cancer Causes & Cures
• Our gut is responsible for producing & regulating most of our hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers, created by the body, to help maintain homeostasis.
• Our hormones play a vital role in our emotional & mental health. If our hormones are disrupted we will likely suffer from emotional health issues & mental health issues.

This article highlights the importance of things like Shilajit, Organic Nigella Sativa Oil and Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil, for restoring proper digestive function.

This article is mainly devoted to explaining the benefits of Shilajit and what it actually is, but is preceded by a quick overview of these important allied products. But, before any of the products mentioned are discussed, here’s a quick insight into why sleep is so important…

Importance Of Sleep

Sleep is even more important than a good diet for our overall health. This is because we restore energy levels and perform bodily repairs when we are sleeping.

The body cannot repair itself whilst we are awake and actively living our lives. We need to deliver us into a dormant state so that the body’s repair functions can be employed.

Disrupted sleep equates to insufficient sleep. Unfortunately, we sleep in cycles consisting of approximately three hours. If the cycle is disrupted, it will remain incomplete. This means that bodily restoration processes will not be performed.

It is, therefore, vitally important to maintain good digestive performance to ensure the proper digestion of nutrients required for sleep. Minerals play a key role in ensuring the body is equipped for a good night’s sleep.

Learn more here:

• Sleep & The Mineral Connection
• Deep Sleep Essential Oil Blend
• Mineral Spritz – using topically applied minerals, especially Magnesium, is the best approach when we have impaired digestion. The mineral composition of Mineral Spritz is predominantly made up of Magnesium, the mineral most needed for sleep.

Organic Nigella Sativa Oil

Wild As The Wind Organic Nigella Sativa Oil is a food grade, organic oil known for its digestive benefits. It is made from the seeds of the Nigella Sativa plant, which contain unique constituents not found anywhere else. It is one of these unique constituents that makes Organic Nigella Sativa Oil so beneficial for gut and emotional health.

Organic Nigella Sativa Oil also provides benefits for every organ in our body, including our skin.

Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil

All of the citrus essential oils are very helpful in restoring and maintaining good digestive health, but none more so than Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil.

Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil helps support liver and gall bladder function, and helps to recondition the digestive track to ensure proper digestion.

Shilajit For Digestive Health

Shilajit can be used for a good number of purposes, but, in recent years, it has risen in popularity for its gut restoring properties.

As we now understand that digestive health is critically important for our overall health, the use of Shilajit, and its derivatives, has become very widespread.

What Is Shilajit?

Shilajit is a naturally occurring substance, often found in mountainous regions, in remote parts of the world. It is made up of heavily decomposed plants, insects and other creatures. When it oozes from cracks in rock structures, Shilajit possesses a tar-like consistency. But, owing to its many benefits, Shilajit can be bought for supplemental purposes in various forms.

Shilajit carries an electrical charge, which is one of the reasons it is so detoxifying. This means, however, that it must not come into contact with metal. Using a metal spoon to scoop Shilajit Powder will negate the detoxifying negative charge.

Shilajit Products

The most natural form of Shilajit for supplementation is Shilajit Powder. However, it is possible to buy Shilajit in capsule, pill and fluid forms.

The processes involved in producing more heavily processed forms of Shilajit often intentionally remove certain constituents. These processes can make the end product more palatable, and result in a product that specifically targets particular issues.

Shilajit, in its natural and powdered form, is a broad-spectrum product that can benefit our natural health in many different ways.

Shilajit is most commonly used for digestive health, and for remineralisation purposes.

*Increasing numbers of us are filtering our water without realising the need to remineralise it. Consequently, many of us are chronically dehydrated.

Shilajit can be used to remineralise our bodies.

Organic lemon juice is also an ideal ingredient for remineralising our water. Mineral Spritz is another way of optimising our Magnesium levels.

Shilajit Health Benefits

As Shilajit contains complex minerals, and fulvic and humic acids, it is extremely highly regarded in Eastern healing traditions. It also contains a good amount of carbon, which is also deeply beneficial.

Shilajit is excellent for the following:

• Digestive health
• Immune function
• Building stamina
• Hormonal health
• Improving brain function
• Reducing inflammatory autoimmune conditions

Shilajit For Gut Health

The carbon content of Shilajit is critically important for digestive function. The primary reason for this is that the carbon in Shilajit allows the friendly flora in our digestive system to communicate with each other.

The good bacteria found in our gut, along with the fungal and viral communities that also reside in our digestive tract, are collectively referred to as microbiota.

The microbiota, which are vital for digestion and immune function, are generally referred to as the microbiome.

Another way in which carbon helps to restore digestive health is because of its ability to promote tight junction integrity. The gut lining is only one cell thick, with each cell creating a tight junction with the next, as they stand side by side. These tight junctions can be compromised by all sorts of insults.

For example, eating wheat promotes a zonulin response, which in turn compromises the tight junctions of the gut. Also, the consumption of aspirin cause intestinal bleeding, and NSAIDs, like Ibuprofen, equally compromise gut health. So, the ability of carbon to restore integrity to the gut lining is a vitally important function of Shilajit.

When we have a compromised gut lining, we develop a condition known as Leaky Gut, which compromises our health at a fundamental level.

Shilajit is also very mineral rich, helping to restore the critically important mineral balance within our bodies. Minerals are needed for every important function and process within the body.

Without proper mineral balance we can become morbidly dehydrated. When I lived in India, in the 1990s, dehydration was the primary cause of death, nationwide.

Minerals are vitally important for sleep. As we heal when we are asleep, a healthy sleep routine is even more important than a healthy diet!

To understand the importance of minerals and sleep, please read Sleep Issues & The Mineral Connection.

Shilajit & Binders

*It is important to take binders when using Shilajit. This is because binders neutralise the toxins that are mobilised due to your Shilajit consumption.

I advocate the use of the following binders:

• Zeolite Clay
• Zeolite & Bentonite Clay
• Fruit Pectin
• Psyllium Husk

*Activated Charcoal can also be used acutely, for a few days. It is extremely efficient at ridding the body of toxicity. However, it must not be used consistently, as it also robs the body of important minerals.

Consequently, Activated Charcoal is best reserved for times of excessive toxic exposure, and digestive infection. It is particularly effective for mycotoxins and heavy metal removal.

Shilajit Derivative Products

One of the best products made from Shilajit is a product which has been developed by Dr. Zach Bush.

Naturally, this is a carbon based product, containing fulvic and humic acid, which is excellent for digetive health. It is called ION Gut

ION Gut is a new generation, earth-derived supplement. It is not a probiotic. It is not a prebiotic. Rather, it is a carbon rich, alkaline liquid, with lignite derived trace organics and essential trace amino acids, that promotes an optimal environment in the gut. Research has shown ION Gut support[s] the tight junction cells of the gut lining.

Further Reading:

Gut Microbiome

Leaky Gut