Healing Disease with Diet and Fasting – Gut Health Blueprint

Article Overview 🔍

• Removing Parasites & Heavy Metals
• Dr. Mark Hyman (4 R’s)
• Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (F GOALS)
• Autoimmune Exceptions
• Dave Asprey & Dr. David Sinclair (Fasting & ‘The Bulletproof Diet)
• Dr. Sebi & Sadhguru

Removing Parasites & Heavy Metals 🦠

Many renowned health experts like Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Will Bulsiewicz emphasize that health and disease start from the gut. Poor gut health leads to ‘leaky gut’ and inflammation which causes autoimmune diseases like psoriasis to more serious diseases like cancer. Good gut health leads to being more productive, more creative, sharper, in a better mood and generally feeling better overall in all aspects. You are what you eat; food affects your mood! This not only makes you live a longer life, but a more fulfilled life, as feeling good is key to everything you manifest into your life. You are what you eat; food affects your mood! Your state of being effects the things you manifest in your life, including health (more can be read about this via our Law of Attraction category here). Your state of being also affects the things you manifest in your life, including health (more can be read about this via our Law of Attraction category here).

Diet has the main direct impact on gut health and your body’s overall ability to function to its full potential. Also, parasites and heavy metals can effect gut health. You can remove these by looking at the notes below, as well as some recommended supplements for gut repair. Foods and supplements should all be naturally sourced/organic and so many that are listed below are also linked to quality products:

Anti fungal/remove parasites – Garlic, raw apple cider vinegar, manuka honey, coconut oil, black walnut, cloves, grapeseed oil, pumpkin seed, oregano leaf. This supplement has all the main ingredients that were not previously linked to corresponding organic products.

Remove heavy metals – Coriander (effective to use coriander heavy metal detox drops), garlic, blueberries, lemon water, spirulina, chlorella. Greens are best eaten as a wholefood, but this is a great greens superfood supplement.

Supplements that aid gut repair – Micronized L-glutamine (helps repair the gut wall), TUDCA bile salts (helps digest food), raw apple cider vinegar (also helps digest food, less so than bile salts, but has many other benefits such as antioxidation, regulating blood sugar, weight loss, heart health and skin health), coconut oil (helps absorb important nutrients and vitamins such as vitamin D3 and vitamin K2).

Anti-inflammatory spices – Curcumin, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, cayenne pepper, black pepper, clove, paprika. You can purchase these in most local supermarkets, packaged in shakers so that they’re easy to add to food. Also, an easy way to consume these spices is through purchasing natural anti-inflammatory supplements like these curcumin, turmeric, ginger, black pepper capsules.

Dr. Mark Hyman (4 R’s) 👨‍⚕️

Dr. Mark Hyman created a practical framework to reduce inflammation and heal the gut that he named the ‘4 Rs’:

Remove – Bad foods (dairy, gluten, processed foods, refined sugar, also corn and soy for a week or 2 can be more aggressive though), allergens, parasites.

Replace – Fibre – vegetables (spinach, broccoli, cucumber, asparagus, sprouts), seeds (chia, flax, hemp– here’s a good super seed mix), grains (black rice which has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, red rice and quinoa), beans/legumes (chickpeas, lentils, peas, kidney beans, black beans), prebiotics (plantain, artichokes, asparagus, bananas). Note, some people advise against legumes because lectins can cause leaky gut and Dr. Hyman advised not to consume legumes or quinoa when tackling autoimmune disease, so if in doubt, leave it out! You can choose to do gradually add them into back your diet to see how it affects your body if you like, but stop for at least a few weeks if testing its affects. Note that if cooked properly and ate in moderation (i.e. not large amounts daily), lectins are reduced considerably.

Reinoculate – Probiotics (kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh).Also, this supplement has the main different probiotic strains.

Relaxation – Rest, meditation and other forms of relaxing the mind and body.

More on this can be viewed in his video below:

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (F GOALS) 🥅

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz uses a framework to heal the gut that he called ‘F GOALS’:

F – Fruit (bananas, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, avocado – note grapes and apples have an extra high sugar/fructose content that can feed bad bacteria) & Fermented (kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh).

G – Greens & Grains (whole grains) – Spinach, broccoli, cucumber, asparagus, sprouts. Black rice (particularly rich in anthocyanins, a group of flavonoid plant pigments that have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties), red rice and quinoa. Note quinoa, is not advised if tackling autoimmune issues.

O – Omega – Chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds(here’s a good super seed mix)..

A – Aromatics – Onions, garlic, shallots.

L – Legumes (his number 1 of importance) – Chickpeas, lentils, peas, kidney beans, black beans. As mentioned, some people advise against legumes because lectins can cause leaky gut, so if in doubt, leave it out! You can choose to do gradually add them into back your diet to see how it affects your body if you like, but stop for at least a few weeks if testing its affects. Note that if cooked properly and ate in moderation (i.e. not large amounts daily), lectins are reduced considerably. Also, prebiotics such as plantain, artichokes, asparagus, bananas.Here’s a good prebiotic/probiotic mix with multiple strains.

S – Shrooms, Seaweed, Sprouts. He says this is a less important step, but that sprouts are a superfood. Also, many advocate the health benefits of mushrooms. Paul Stamets is a renowned researcher in this field who believes certain mycelium mushrooms cure illnesses and improve physical and mental performance. For example, Lions Mane for improving memory and helping with conditions like Alzheimer’s (he recommends 1,000-3,000mg daily of lion’s mane extract containing 10-20% polysaccharides which is the active ingredient) and Reishi and Turkey Tail mushrooms for their anti-cancerous properties. All of the main mushrooms can be easily consumed with these super mushroom capsules.

More on this can be viewed in this video below:

Autoimmune Exceptions ☝️

As you may have noticed from some of the sidenotes above, not all of these foods are advised for autoimmune disease. For example, legumes, grains (including quinoa, but black rice is an exception with its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties) and even seeds are debated on whether they should be consumed (if in doubt, leave them out!). In summary, the autoimmune diet/Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet, is similar to the paleo diet, just slightly stricter. Like the paleo diet it recommends only eating vegetables, fruit, meat and healthy fats, but is more particular with what foods that you should consume within these categories.

See autoimmune protocol diet foods below, followed by Dr. Jin W. Sung‘s paleo diet protocol:

Dr. Kyle Loveless details ways to alleviate the autoimmune response of the autoimmune condition psoriasis with reference to leaky gut in the video below:

Another factor that people consider is opting to avoid high FODMAP (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols) foods. This narrows down the choice of foods further. Whether you want to consider this too depends on each situation how strict you want to be. If you want to be really strict and systematically remove all potential triggers of autoimmune disease, it’s best to avoid these as well. After doing so for 30-90 days, you could gradually reintroduce other foods to gauge how your body reacts to them. Here is a list of high and low FODMAP foods to avoid and eat:

Dave Asprey (Fasting & the ‘Bulletproof Diet’) 🥗

Dave Asprey often speaks about the power of intermittent fasting and opts for a common go to of a 16/8 fast where you fast for 16 hours and can eat within the 8 hour period. Asprey also says he might give himself a couple of days off fasting over the weekend for example, which falls into a 5/2 ratio of days where he intermittent fasts. The benefits of fasting include that your body will go to its fat stores for energy which is more efficient and gets rid of the most unwanted fats first, releasing fatty acids called ketones into the bloodstream. This has been shown to protect memory and learning functionality, as well as slowing and starving disease and making your body more lean. More advantages can be viewed in the video below:

Note that for healing autoimmune diseases and leaky gut, longer water fasts (just drinking water) of around 72 hours can give the body enough time to reset from food-autoimmune triggers and/or food-gut triggers. Some great results have been documented from this. After doing a 72 hour fast, you can test different foods and see if you get an autoimmune response and/or gut response. It is likely that you will either have none or a much smaller response. You can also test different foods after doing a longer fast to see which ones your body can now process efficiently and which ones you genuinely have an intolerance to.

Dr. David A. Sinclair, A.O., Ph.D. (a tenured Professor in the Department of Genetics at the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard) is also a big advocator in fasting. He has found from his research that can add 10 years to your lifespan, as well as all the other physical and mental benefits. He just eats one large, balanced meal a day or alternatively suggests to eat within a 2 hour window a day. This can vary for people, for example if lifting heavy weights on certain days, you body may need more protein and calories and in turn meals, but still with fasting most days. He touches on fasting in the video below:

When fasting, Dave Asprey likes to ensure that the body gets all the electrolytes minerals it needs. Significant electrolytes include sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and bicarbonates. You can get most of these by mixing a teaspoon of pink Himalayan rock salt with water in the morning. This is often called Sole water. Note this won’t break your fast, as no sugar, carbs or proteins are ingested.

Himalayan pink salt has up to 84 other minerals and trace elements. Also, Irish sea moss has 92 of the beneficial 102 minerals and was highly recommended by healing with diet guru Dr. Sebi. You can get other key vitamins from eating a mix of key greens and seeds or using a ‘supergreen powder and multi-seed powder‘ that includes minerals such as B6 and B12. You can get vitamin A from fish or certain cod liver oil tablets. Andrew Huberman supplements high quality cod liver oil daily for improved mental function. Also, both Dave Asprey and Andrew Huberman suggest getting 20 minutes of sunlight a day and if you can’t get that, to supplement a strong vitamin D3 supplement (a stronger dose like 10,000IU) with Vitamin K2 (around 200mcg to help absorb the Vitamin D3)(around 200mcg to help absorb the Vitamin D3). TUDCA bile salts are also effective at aiding the absorption of vitamin d.

Dave Asprey also has a diet he suggests for overall health that he calls ‘The Bulletproof Diet and Roadmap’. Note that this isn’t specifically for leaky gut or autoimmune diseases, so things like citrus fruits (such as lemons, limes and tangerines) and white rice are not advised for autoimmune issues, but it is an easy to digest (no pun intended!) breakdown/chart for overall diet.

His most favorable/‘Bulletproof’ (underlined) and favorable/‘Mostly Bulletproof’ (not underlined) foods include:

Beverages/Drinks – Filtered or mineral water, green tea, water with lemon/lime.

Cooking – Lightly heated or cooked, convection baked or baked at/under 320°F, lightly grilled, poached, pressure cooking, simmer boiled, slow cooking, sous vide, steamed al dente.

Dairy – Colostrum, organic grass-fed butter, organic grass-fed ghee or butter, organic grass-fed cream, grass-fed sheep’s yoghurt.

Fruit – Avocado, blackberries, coconut, cranberries, lemon, lime, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, tangerine.

Nuts, Seeds & Legumes – Coconut, cashews, coconut flour, macadamia, raw mold-free pistachios.

Oils & Fats – Cacao butter, coconut oil, dark chocolate, fish oil, grass fed animal fat and marrow, grass-fed ghee or butter, grass-fed tallow, krill oil, pastured egg yolks.

Organic Veggies – Asparagus, avocado, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, fennel, olives, artichokes, butternut squash, cabbage, coriander/cilantro, green beans, green onion, leaks, lettuce, parsley, radishes, summer squash, zucchini.

Protein – Grass fed beef and lamb, pastures eggs and gelatin, colostrum, pastures collagen protein, grass-fed whey, haddock, low-mercury wild fish (like anchovies), petrale sole, sardines, sockeye salmon, summer flounder, trout.

Starch – Organic acacia, partially hydrolyzed guar gum, arrowroot, butternut squash, carrot, plantain flour, resistance starch powder, white rice.

Sweeteners – Xylitol, erythritol, stevia, monk fruit, d-ribose, maltitol & other sugar alcohols, sorbitol.

His ‘kryptonite’ food to avoid at all costs include:

Beverages/Drinks – Aspartame drinks, diet drinks, packaged juice, soda, soy milk, sports drinks, sweetened drinks.

Cooking – Blackened, burnt, charred, deep fried, microwaved.

Dairy – Condensed or evaporated milk, conventional ice cream, dairy replacer, powdered milk, factory dairy.

Fruit – Canned fruit, fruit leather, jam, jelly, raisins.

Nuts, Seeds & Legumes – Corn & soy nuts, soy.

Oils & Fats – Commercial lard, margarine & other artificial trans-fats, oils made from GMO grains.

Organic Veggies – All other corn (except fresh), canned veggies (Kevin Trudeau suggests staying away from tinned tomatoes in particular as the acid corrodes the metal of the tin, leaving more heavy metals in your food), soy.

Protein – Beans, cheese & other pasteurized or cooked dairy (except butter), soy protein, wheat protein/gluten.

Starch – Corn, corn starch, garbanzo flour, gluten-free powders, millet, other grains, potato starch, wheat.

Sweeteners – Acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose.

You can view his full ‘The Bulletproof Diet and Roadmap’ here and more on his website here.

Again there are many foods experts like Dr. Hyman, Dr. Bulsiewicz, Dr. Jin W. Sung and Dave Asprey agree on, but also some where they differ. Depending on your situation (e.g. just leaky gut, autoimmune, general health etc.) is usually best to stick with the foods that are generally advised as a whole for a foundation. Then, for some of the foods that some suggest (and others don’t) could be gradually included in your diet to see what effect it has on your body.

Also, many people ask if air fryers are good for you/healthy. Dave Asprey doesn’t mention them in his diet roadmap, but you can see is his opinion of them quoted below which falls inline with the general consensus that air frying is a healthier alternative to deep fried foods, but oven-baking often preserves good nutrients while filtering out the bad ones, making oven baked foods even healthier than most air-fried foods.

“Air fryers are interesting. They are unquestionably better than deep frying, even if you deep fry using quality coconut oil, which is more stable than omega 6 seed oils. Your goal in cooking should be to make nutrients more available, break down toxins, and make things taste good. That means the cooking methods that add toxins, like deep frying and charring, are at the bottom of the list. There are two concerns about air fryers, though.

1. Fats oxidize primarily from heat, air, and light. When you use high heat and high airflow, you will increase oxidation. That’s bad. If you use some kind of spray garbage oil or canola oil before you air fry, it’s bad news. If you use saturated fat like butter or ghee, it’s probably fine. Those are stable oils.

2. High temperatures, especially on protein with carbs, form AGE. The chemical name for this is Advanced Glycation End product, and it is something that gums up the detox mechanisms inside your cells called lysosomes. I wrote about this in my anti-aging book Super Human.

So, where does this put air frying? If steaming or poaching is a 10 out of 10 for safety, air frying is probably around a 6.5 or 7 (if you don’t use bad oils and you don’t overcook the food). If you think I am paying too much attention to this, look again! There is a very big difference between a steamed brussels sprout with added butter and a deep-fried blackened brussels sprout. They actually do different things to your gut bacteria and the cells in your body.”

You can see all of Dave Asprey’s best-selling books here, including ‘Smarter not Harder: The Biohacker’s Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want‘.

Dr. Sebi & Sadhguru 🌿

Dr. Sebi is one of the most renowned people for healing with diet and fasting. He was found innocent in of his claims of healing people of cancer and HIV by the state of New York and the supreme court, as well as many other diseases. He would only eat organic, non-meat foods for an alkaline diet and is famous for saying, “If nature didn’t make it, don’t take it!” We have a whole article dedicated to him here.

Note that Dr. Sebi highly recommended Irish sea moss which has has 92 of the beneficial 102 minerals and also bathing with sea salt to get more electrolytes in your system through the skin (especially good for the skin).

Sadhguru also discusses foods that have positive and negative influence on the body in the videos below:

More can be read on Natural Healing here and more can be read on curing diseases here.