True well-being comes from the core of the body. Recent studies indicate that the root of many illnesses and ailments lies in the gut and the liver. The power of medicinal plants such as artichokes, milk thistle, maca, matcha, and turmeric, for instance, supports digestion, says Peter Emmrich, naturopath and president of the European Association for Natural Medicine (Europäischer Naturheilbund e.V.). Learn more about this in our expert interview now.
"Fatigue is the liver's cry for help."
Concentration problems, fatigue, and exhaustion. What does all this have to do with digestion?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Fatigue is the liver's cry for help. When the liver is overloaded, we experience fatigue. If the gut is overloaded, toxins are formed by gut bacteria. These toxins are called biogenic amines, enterotoxins, and ammonia. They pass through the intestinal wall into the blood and reach the liver via the portal vein. At that point, at the latest, the liver is massively overloaded.
What happens when the liver is overloaded?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Then comes the symptom that many people have after eating. They get tired. If the liver is completely overwhelmed, many people also notice it at night. They wake up between one and three in the morning. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this is the "liver time." During the day, you are tired, and at night, when you want to sleep, the "liver fire" occurs, which rises to the head, so to speak, and wakes you up. If the liver were in balance, we would sleep wonderfully. Instead, we end up with sleep deprivation. A whole series of functional liver disorders arise.
"If the liver were in balance, we would sleep wonderfully."
Can mood swings and even depression be traced back to poor digestion?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Gut bacteria produce happiness hormones like serotonin and norepinephrine. But when the gut bacteria aren't functioning correctly, when the entire balance in the gut is disrupted and toxins promote putrefaction and fermentation processes, a deficiency in these happiness hormones results. Vitamin D is also not absorbed sufficiently. This leads to low mood, which in its extreme form is called depression.
So if I eat a balanced diet, I feel good. Would you agree with this statement?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Yes. Today we know that we have more nerve cells in the gut area than in the brain. The enteric nervous system is also called the second brain. In the enteric nervous system, the gut, the nerve cells are far more diffusely scattered than in the brain. That is why this "gut brain" was not previously perceived as a functional unit compared to the brain we have as a mass in our heads.
"Inflammation in the gut leads to a decrease in the happiness hormone dopamine."
It has been discovered that the gut flora, or the enteric nervous system, communicates with the brain via fatty acids. When the composition of gut bacteria corresponds to a pathological, disease-promoting gut flora, short-chain, saturated fatty acids are increasingly formed. These enter the bloodstream directly from the metabolism of certain gut bacteria and the breakdown of food components. And here is the key: these short-chain, saturated fatty acids initiate inflammation in the brain in addition to a signaling effect.
It has been found that in advanced stages, these inflammations lead to a decrease in dopamine, a messenger substance also called a happiness hormone that functions as a neurotransmitter in the brain.
"The decrease in dopamine leads to disease."
According to study results from Finland, the decrease in dopamine leads to clinical pictures such as Parkinson's disease, as Parkinson's patients have a different gut bacteria composition than healthy individuals. Scientists now consider these short-chain, saturated fatty acids to be triggers for all other neurological diseases, up to and including Alzheimer's, ADD, ADHD, schizophrenia, and psychoses.
What other ailments can toxins from gut bacteria trigger?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Toxins from gut bacteria can also trigger joint problems because they irritate the mucous membranes of the joints. For example: you suddenly wake up in the morning with a swollen knee and no one knows why. Then I ask the patient if they had diarrhea some time ago. In 99 percent of cases, the patient had diarrhea six, nine, or even twelve months ago, which had long since healed. But the diarrhea-causing bacteria, such as Yersinia or Shigella, put on a kind of camouflage, settle in the gut without causing damage, and are not recognized by the immune system.
Important: A good gut bacteria composition
The moment stress occurs, perhaps a flu-like infection—in other words, when the immune system becomes unbalanced—these bacteria take off their camouflage and produce toxins such as enterotoxins, biogenic amines, and ammonia. These toxins, in turn, irritate the mucous membranes of the joints. This means that if I pay attention to a good gut bacteria composition, I can expect an improvement or even a cure for the most severe neurological conditions and many other ailments.
Does that mean that these diseases don't have to occur if one takes care of a good composition of gut bacteria?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
If there are too few bacteria like bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and enterococci in the gut, the pH value in the gut rises, and 70 to 80 percent of all gut processes cannot be carried out. And when putrefaction and fermentation processes take place in the gut over the long term, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements that we normally absorb with our food are not absorbed at all. They rush right through the gut. That explains why, for example, vitamin B deficiency symptoms occur.
Bitter substances activate the juices of the liver and pancreas
How can I counteract this putrefaction and fermentation process in the gut?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
By using bitter substances. Bitter substances activate the juices of the liver and pancreas. And these juices, which the body then releases in greater quantities, inhibit the putrefaction and fermentation processes in the gut, and thus the aforementioned ailments disappear. You can use the power of the energy stored in the plant. That is, the bitter substances found in our medicinal plants. The bitter substances of medicinal plants lead to improved fat digestion, and the feeling of fullness disappears.
Which medicinal plants are available for detoxification?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
The entire Mediterranean region uses cynarin from the artichoke. The artichoke contains cynarin and chlorogenic acid. These are very important bitter substances that improve fat digestion, stimulate bile flow, and thus naturally improve blood lipids in the organism. Good HDL cholesterol increases, and bad cholesterol, LDL, decreases. Bloating, a feeling of fullness, pain in the upper abdomen—all of this is eliminated by bitter substances.
Bloating, a feeling of fullness, pain in the upper abdomen—all of this is eliminated by bitter substances
There are many people who have back pain in the lumbar region. The true cause is a bloated abdomen that pushes air backward; the muscles cramp up, which can lead to a herniated disc. Another clinical picture is when gas in the transverse colon cannot escape and pushes against the heart. The heart gets out of rhythm, and cardiac arrhythmias occur; this is Roemheld syndrome.
Does everything start in the gut and end there?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
That is correct. That is why Hippocrates said: "Death sits in the gut." This means a healthy gut is the guarantee for a long, healthy life. That is why bitter substances are important.
"A healthy gut is a guarantee for a long life."
What other bitter substances are recommended?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Besides the artichoke, there is milk thistle. This plant contains the ingredient silymarin, which optimizes liver function. Milk thistle is capable of breaking down toxins like alcohol. It regulates alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver. Alcohol dehydrogenase is a natural enzyme that breaks down alcohol. Alcohol occurs naturally in our food, such as in sauerkraut, apple juice spritzers, and kefir. The liver-stimulating milk thistle regulates, among other things, alcohol dehydrogenase.
Let's stay on the topic of fatigue. Which plants help us with physical and mental fatigue?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
There is maca root, the Peruvian ginseng. It is used in cases where the main problems are exhaustion, fatigue, impotence, frigidity, problems in the pelvic area, and lumbar spine syndrome. Maca is the plant that acts energetically here—that is, according to Chinese philosophy, it restores strength to the body.
If you have problems "downstairs," namely in the gut brain and the pelvic area, then you need maca.
Also, matcha green tea offers excellent bitter substances, like maca, artichoke, and milk thistle. Matcha also contains polyphenols, which activate the digestive glands and trigger a disinfectant effect. It also provides the green leaf pigment chlorophyll, which contains magnesium as a central atom. Magnesium is extremely important for energy metabolism, cellular functions, and the uptake of oxygen from the blood.
Matcha contains polyphenols, which activate the digestive glands and trigger a disinfectant effect.
We need magnesium so that oxygen can enter the cell. If magnesium is missing in the cell, it leads to things like calf cramps. To prevent this, one should regularly drink Japanese matcha green tea because it is rich in chlorophyll. That is nature's most natural supplier of magnesium.
Are there other plant-based bitter substances that can help?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
The ashwagandha plant from Ayurvedic medicine is suitable for the brain and brain functions to increase cognitive performance. It offers bitter substances, secondary plant compounds, that ensure vitamins and minerals optimally reach the cell. If the bitter substances are missing, the vitamins and minerals just rush through the gut. And not much remains from a delicious organic diet.
Secondary plant compounds are antioxidants
Secondary plant compounds are antioxidants and scavenge free radicals. Thus, these colorful substances are the most wonderful way to detoxify the body. In this case, not from toxins like ammonia or enterotoxins, but from free radicals that attack and damage our cell walls. That is why the antioxidant ashwagandha is important, just like the polyphenols in Japanese green tea and turmeric.
What is the deal with turmeric?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Turmeric, also called curcuma, is a super-substance for inflammation. It detoxifies the liver and balances elevated liver values. It is a first-class pain reliever and anti-inflammatory agent. It is a yellow substance—again, an antioxidant—that scavenges free radicals so that cell walls are not damaged. That is why turmeric is the pivot and cornerstone of Ayurvedic medicine.
For the gut core: turmeric and probiotics
Is it true that the body cannot utilize turmeric very well? It is said that in combination with black pepper, this improves. Is there any truth to that?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
Correct. When we have inflammation in the gut, pepper ensures improved blood circulation, so more turmeric is absorbed. The ancient Chinese already did this. They added pepper to stimulate circulation in the gut so that more of the substance passes into the blood. Thus, I have better utilization. Turmeric is even cortisone-like in its effect. 100 milligrams of turmeric is just as strong as ibuprofen. The active ingredient ibuprofen often has side effects that turmeric does not have.
How can I additionally support the effect of bitter substances?
Naturopath Peter Emmrich:
If the gut flora composition is disrupted, we have putrefaction and fermentation processes. We must counteract them by cultivating healthy probiotics, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria—that is, the healthy germs. And that is possible over weeks and months in combination with bitter substances.
I advise my patients to do this for six to eight weeks. They should only evaluate how they feel after a quarter of a year, after twelve weeks. How did they feel before? Did they have sleep disorders, rashes, flaky skin, bloating? After twelve weeks, there is an improvement. And if you then optimize your nutrition—cutting out pork and consuming good, healthy omega-3 fatty acids, like oils (e.g., linseed oil and fish oil)—then you have done a lot for your gut. Because the true essence of good health lies in the gut.
Good to know: Bitter substances are health-promoting
Bitter substances, such as polyphenols and terpenes, to name just two, are part of the secondary plant compounds. They are naturally present in fruits and vegetables. They give the plant its bitter taste, such as in green tea, and serve as protective substances against UV radiation and pests. It is considered scientifically proven that bitter substances are health-promoting.
-Would you like to learn more about the liver and detoxification? You can read more here.
