Picture this: You are feeling great and eating well. When all of a sudden your stomach blows up for seemingly no reason. Then you become extremely uncomfortable with stomach cramps, pain and bloating.
This is an issue that comes up for many people who are trying to clean their cells of toxic waste matter. I have seen this with many of my clients who have been on a cleansing path for at least 6 months, who seem otherwise completely healthy, and are engaging in proper dietary techniques (a.k.a eating raw foods, juicing, getting colonics, etc.).
Just in case this is something that you think you may be suffering with. Here are a list of some issues that fermentation can cause:
- Sharp pains high up in the chest cavity.
- Random and almost instantaneous distention of the intestine (I mean going from six pack abs to six months pregnant after a meal).
- Having pain after eating salads, fruit, juice and other raw foods that are supposed to be healthy. This one can be particularly confusing since we have been told that these foods are good for us, but can be causing you real physical pain.
In this article, I want to break down why some or all of these things may be happening to you throughout your cleansing process. I also want to provide you with the tools to deal with gas when it comes on.
Especially within the first year to three of cleansing. For those of you who have deep issues you are healing from or who have a long history of toxic exposure due to consumption.
In order to do this we need to understand how gas acts in our bodies. Specifically in relation to how gas travels from the cells to the blood and to the colon.
Food rotting in our intestine before it can be broken down by stomach acid is one way gas is caused.
This putrefying food then feeds pathogenic bacteria that also create gas as a byproduct as they eat and multiply. This can happen rather quickly if you have a systemic infection of some type of harmful bacteria, parasites or fungus.
When gas is created in large quantities, quickly and too often, our colons simply cannot handle it all. That is when the physical symptoms described above set in. Furthermore, contrary to what you would think. The gas does not stay in only our colons.
The colon lining is permeable which allows gas (and water) to travel through it (leaky gut) and into the bloodstream. From the bloodstream it is then able to transfer into cells. To show how prevalent this permeability issue of the gut is I would like to provide this interesting example.
“According to research one in every three molecules in the blood comes from bacteria in the gut” (Pizzorno, 2013). Usually the molecule would be an endotoxin produced by the bacteria.
If this is true, then why not the gas of fermentation as well? There is more research to do here. I could also go into more detail. In light of keeping this article short, I am merely trying to convey a point.
This is why I find blood gas tests interesting. This is a test that tells you the levels of CO2 vs. Oxygen in your blood. The higher the level of carbon dioxide is to the oxygen level is indicative of two things. How acidic you are and how efficient your body is at getting rid of its waste products.
More specifically, how well your lungs are able to move oxygen into the blood and remove carbon dioxide. In other words, the higher the level of CO2 there is, the less efficient your body is able to eliminate the gas through your elimination organs. Aka the lungs.
We breathe in a combination of gasses in the air, consume oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide, and a handful of other gasses that we cannot use.
When our bodies cannot get rid of all of this gas. And it is forced to swim around in our blood stream. Eventually, it permeates the walls of your cells throughout your body. The gas becomes compressed in the cells. The cells becomes larger to compensate for the presence of the gas.
This makes the cells appear bigger than they are and can make physical features seem more deformed. Such as swollen eyes, irregular skin texture or bulbous noses. General stiffness and immobility can also be an indication of gas pressure (along with general inflammation).
This process is constantly happening when there is an abundance of putrefaction (systematic rotting of undigested food waste) in the digestive system. So in other words, gas is not just in our gut, it is in each part of your body. Most of the human body is made up of empty space and water.
Part of the cleansing process is getting rid of the gas from all of these places… including the cells!
As we engage in the cleansing model, the gas gets released from the cells and decompresses. It “fills up” the empty cavity that is the colon. As we know, this causes too much internal pressure, which puts stress on our organ’s smooth muscle tissue. This pressure can also cause spasms in the colon and other organs. Which we recognize as painful cramps.
Now that you understand what is happening in the body, let’s look at a few classic ways to deal with the gas as it comes up. Anyone who is into the cleansing model for health is bound to come into contact with this issue at some point in their journey.
The best way out is up
Gas, like all air is light and likes to travel upwards when it is hot and sink when it is cool. Since the gas in our body is always hot as our bodies are generally 98.6 degrees F, the gas is going to try to travel to the highest place.
For example, think of how a carbonated beverage fizzes up into the air until the beverage becomes flat. Also think of how you air condition and heat your home. Everyone knows that cold air falls and hot air rises, which is why the second floor is always warmer and the ground story is usually the colder one.
Similarly, the gas in our colon is usually hot and tends to want to rise to the highest place, which when you are standing upright, is in the chest cavity. This is the cause of many cramps in upper abdomen and even in the chest and shoulders.
A relatable example of this pain is the feeling of a cramp in your chest when you overexert yourself. We used to call these stitches when I was a kid. Furthermore, another example is that many people will often mistake intense gas pains for a heart attack. (By all means if you are having chest pains go to the hospital regardless!)
The answer here is simple.
If the gas wants to rise to the highest place and the best existing exit is your anus (yep I said it). It makes sense to do inversions.
There are many types of inversions. For gas, the best inversion is the one that gets you to the most vertical angle with the least amount of muscle contraction or force. So inversions with the use of inversion tables are best and handstands are second best.
If you cannot safely do a handstand or use a table, shoulder stands, legs up the wall, or other types of assisted inversions are also very beneficial. (When I write a book, I will elaborate more on these different inverted positions).
The least physically demanding position you can take and hold the longest is laying down with your hips and legs elevated above your shoulders in a very supportive and relaxed way. This is a great way to rest and allow the gas to move at the same time.
When you encounter these horrible gas pains it’s always advisable to do a series of handstands on the wall, shoulder stands or use an inversion table.
If this doesn’t help the gas move, traditional yoga twists can further help dislodge gas from the splenetic and hepatic flexures where it generally likes to get stuck. Since there is a natural bend in these two areas of the colon.
Use of Hydrogen Peroxide in Enemas
Hydrogen peroxide is basically water with an extra oxygen molecule attached to it. It is unnatural and therefore highly unstable when exposed to air or sunlight. When the hydrogen peroxide is poured out of its brown container, the extra oxygen molecules dislodge themselves from the hydrogen and seek to bind with another molecule.
Since the oxygen molecule is alkaline/negatively charged it will bind with something that is acidic and positively charged, (opposites attract). Yes you learned that in middle school chemistry. This usually suffocates and kills whatever it binds with.
The seek and destroy action of the rogue oxygen molecule creates volatility in the body, which usually encourages the gas to move if it is stagnant or trapped.
Hydrogen Peroxide Enemas with Instructions
I suggest using food grade peroxide which is diluted to 3% as labeled. Use 1 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide in an enema bag containing two quarts of filtered, 98.6 degree F water. Using the water from the enema bag, about 10 oz at a time, while massaging your abdomen and inverting in between each 10 oz at a time will usually allow the gas to leave when you sit on the toilet.
Turn on the faucet so people don’t hear you ;).
Hydrogen Peroxide in Gravity Method Colonics
If you are lucky enough to be getting a professional colonic or using a home colonic unit, then hydrogen peroxide can be used in the tank with the water. Use the same dilution as described above.
Avoid Irritating a Gassy Colon
To avoid gas in the first place it helps to stay away from high fiber vegetables, raw vegetables with a lot of cellulose (like kale) and drink juice that is less cleansing. I can get into this in a lot more detail, but here are the basics…
The greener the vegetables used in the juice, the more gas they will kick up, so stick with lighter greens such as cucumbers, romaine lettuce, celery and zucchini along with root vegetables such as carrots and beets.
Since the gas tends to come up in layers it can take a long time to pass. You can only deal with it as it comes up. So be prepared with these tools whenever a debilitating amount of gas hits.
For meals, it helps to follow proper food combinations. I suggest downloading a chart or reading my guide. (The guide comes in an email when you join my mailing list for this blog). If you have trouble getting this guide and want access to it email me.
Also, eat more cooked foods than raw foods. My top picks are colored potatoes, yams, beets, squashes, goats cheese, sheep’s yogurt and cooked carrots or parsnips. As you feel better start to incorporate more of the deeper cleansers which are raw salads and darker green juices.
I hope this article has equipped you with some valuable tools to help you unlock your body the next time intense gas or bloating strikes.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566437/
A meal plan designed to jump start whole body healing and support digestive health...
