Interview with Dr. Axe + A Review of the his new book Eat Dirt
If you hang out with me often enough you will hear me drop a title of a book here and there. I will talk about how it has influenced me to make changes in my life. A great example is my love of Kris Carr’s Book, Crazy Sexy Diet. I rave about the life changing lightbulb moments I had after my cancer diagnosis from that book. I still 100% recommend it to anyone that comes to me with a new cancer diagnosis. I have read tons of books about gut health. It is such an important topic I read everything I can get my eyes on. I have always struggled with the black and white mentality that authors, doctors and wellness professionals have taken when it comes to healing the gut. Bottom line, I don’t believe in stripping a whole food group out of your diet to heal your body. Although I swim against the current I believe moderation is key to a healthy long life. I do however believe that any processed/prepackaged foods are evil and real food is the key to healing the gut and the body. So most of the books I read on gut health I could agree with 75% but never 100%. Then I read Eat Dirt by Dr. Axe and I agree with 100% of this books content. Talk about lightbulb moments, this book is full of them.
My Lightbulb Moments From Eat Dirt! 
- Road Maps – Some of you are reading the term “gut health” for the first time right here. It is a new concept for you to “heal your gut” so you will in turn heal other problems in the body. Dr. Axe’s new book Eat Dirt is your road map! This is one of my favorite things, on the cover it says “Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to CURE it”. Not only is the gut explained but you are given a road map to curing it! It’s bold, accurate and exciting information!
- Too Clean – I have always struggled with telling people to stop washing their hands so much, but Dr. Axe doesn’t! In this book there is a big push to ditch the hand sanitizers and stop scrubbing the heck out of everything. Allow some dirt in your life and your families life. I found it so compelling how he totally nails it with this subject. I have to tell you I ditched some of my homes sanitizers after I read Eat Dirt.
- Chapter 8 – You have to read the whole book, but if I could I would rip out chapter 8 and send it to every person on the planet! Our gut is damaged by stress and in chapter 8 he totally freaked me out by how crucial the relationship is between stress levels and gut health. The whole book is brilliant but this chapter is special! The great news is you get a road map to help you out of the “stress cadet” spiral!
- What’s Your Gut Type – He lists 5 gut types in Eat Dirt. This is the first time I have read something on gut health that really lays it out in such a laymen’s practical way. He explains how I could identify my gut type and then how to cure it with real foods. I know you will have the same reaction when you read the gut types and can easily identify what kind of gut you have. It is truly a lightbulb moment!
I could write 100 reasons why you should read Eat Dirt by Dr. Josh Axe. It is packed with easy to read and comprehend explanations. It has a road map to cure your leaky gut that you simply have to follow to get results. It is backed by science and medical studies galore. It is practical and his most personal book to date. I loved it! Two thumbs up for Eat Dirt!
My Interview with Dr. Axe – His New Book Eat Dirt
G2K: I love the title of your latest book, Eat Dirt…I giggled when I first saw it because I had an elderly friend that used to say “Oh I could Eat Dirt…” when she had done something wrong. So I felt a special connection with that when I read the title. You have to tell us, do you really suggest that we EAT DIRT in your new book?
DrA: Well, maybe not by the spoonful from the backyard, but “eating dirt” is really about allowing the naturally occurring and healthy environmental elements into our diet. Today, we live in such an over-sanitized society that we are literally scrubbing away some of the key elements that are found in nature which support our immune system.
G2K: I have read the book and I find it to be the most personal book you have written. I loved the connection and your passion for helping your mom though her cancer journey. I am a breast cancer survivor so that was very special for me. Can we have an update on your mom since the book was written?
DrA: My mom is doing great! She is currently cancer free and loving life. She’s active and healthy and we are so grateful for her continued wellness.
G2K: I love that this book is not only a presentation of symptoms of leaky gut but is a scientific validation as well. It is quite powerful for the reader. You give result oriented steps to help heal our gut woes in chapter 10. Then in the book you devote entire chapters on healing the 5 different gut types. You provide hope and that is a valuable resource when you are sick! If you could share only one tip for my readers for healing leaky gut what would it be?
DrA: Listen to your body. To often we ignore the signs and symptoms that our system is trying to tell us. Know that there are natural and holistic ways to heal and seal your gut, and that what you choose to eat will directly impact your wellness.
G2K: I am a real food blogger and the thing that gets me most excited is when you say Food Is Medicine. You are speaking my language! Can you elaborate what you mean when you say Food Is Medicine?
DrA: There are so many dietary choices that we make each and every day that contribute to our over all wellness. Consuming healthy, real foods is a real game changer for many people and using FOOD as your medicine (rather than pumping your system with additional toxins) is an excellent strategy for over all wellness.
G2K: I am on a mission to help millions of people fall in love with their kitchens. I think that in turn helps them fall in love with themselves. You hand out some amazing recipes in this book. One of my favorites made the cut, Peppermint Patties. Because this is a food blog we have to talk about recipes a little. Chapter 17 is devoted to recipes. What are some of the ingredients that you focus on to help us heal our gut?
DrA: #1 is going to be bone broth protein. Whether you get those important amino acids and minerals from making your own at home or utilize a bone broth protein powder, there is so much in that power packed food to help heal and seal your gut.
#2 is going to be raw cultured dairy. It contains probiotics and SCFA’s that can help heal the gut. Kefir, raw yogurt, amasai and raw cheese are some of the best.
#3 is Fermented Vegetables – these content organic acids that balance intestinal pH and probiotics to help support the gut. Examples are foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and kvass.
G2K: I saw Birthday Cake Smoothie in the recipes and a Burrito Bowl, so those have gut-healing ingredients in them? Sounds to good to be true!
DrA: It’s true! One of my goals is to teach people that eating healthy and being Gut Friendly DOES NOT mean you are limited to foods that taste like sticks and grass!!!! You can incorporate healthy, gut friendly food into your daily diet and NOT sacrifice taste.
G2K: One last question, we all saw you on Dr. Oz recently talking about Eat Dirt. You even got Dr. Oz to eat some dirt! I think my favorite part is Dr. Oz sticking his tongue out at you. On the segment you were talking about weight loss and gut health. Can you tell us the relation between our gut health and that last 10 pounds some struggle to lose? (Click here to see Dr. Axe on Dr. Oz)
DrA: Sure! One of the key culprits to a slow metabolism is consuming inflammatory foods with poor gut health. Basically, if you have poor gut health, you INCREASE the opportunity for inflammation. This happens when undigested food particles slip through your gut lining and into your system. Your body then recognizes this undigested food as a toxin (because it is NOT supposed to be outside your gut) and goes to attack it. Your body thinks that undigested food is a toxin. This stresses your body out, and you produce the stress hormone cortisol. Now, usually, we LIKE that your body recognizes that something bad is happening, for example, if you were in imminent danger you would want your fight or flight response to kick in. Unfortunately, too often poor gut health, or leaky gut, puts our system into a constant state of fight or flight and it makes the rest of our metabolic function inherently inefficient and those last 10lbs inherently stick around.
Thanks Dr. Axe!
Thank you Dr. Axe for writing Eat Dirt and providing amazing supplements to help us cure our leaky guts! If you want more information see DrAxe.com and click on Shop to see a full line of gut healing supplements. My favorite is the new Bone Broth Protein! Follow Dr. Axe on Facebook for his new live broadcasts, delicious recipes and sound advice!
