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Part 4 Recovery Series: Supplements to Heal the Gut, Accelerate Wound Healing, Counteract Radiation Damage & Detox

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I mentioned in Part 1 of my RECOVERY series that I had been hospitalized for 14 days and had thoracic surgery. In this series, I layout my blueprint for accelerating recovery and coming back stronger from a setback.

In Part 3 of my RECOVERY SERIES, I went over the food I consumed to help bounce back faster. But food alone wasn’t enough. Yes, there are A LOT of supplements listed below but keep in mind, my body went through a lot. It required many additional nutrients above and beyond what I could get from whole food alone – I needed concentrated doses of certain nutrients.

Now, you don’t have to go all in and get every supplement on this list. But review the list and decide what goals you’re trying to achieve and use that to make a decision with what you should use.

Here’s what my supplement routine looked like for 60 days following my surgery and hospital stay:

Protocol Overview

Protocol Details

My Surgery Recovery Stack

This stack is designed to reduce pain and inflammation while accelerating wound healing and help maintain muscle mass. I only took the first two if I was experiencing pain which was surprisingly not very often at all. I took ZERO pain killers after my surgery. I avoided NSAIDs and other pain killers because they can wreak havoc on your liver, gut, and kidneys and completely blunt the inflammatory response needed for healing.

  • Curcumin (Meriva SR form, which is more bioavailable than standard curcumin preparations), 1,500mg three times a day with food. Curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory, but it doesn’t have the side effects and risks of ibuprofen. 4.5g (4,500 mg) per day is a relatively high dose, but doses of up to 8g per day have been shown to be safe for short periods, and I believe that higher doses are necessary for short-term therapeutic benefit. (Important note: curcumin is contraindicated if you are taking a blood thinner, which may be prescribed post-surgery.) I like the Thorne Research soy-free brand.
  • Boswellia AKBA (this is an extract of Boswellia that is more potent than the whole herb), 100mg three times a day with food. Boswellia is also anti-inflammatory, but it works with a different mechanism than curcumin, which makes them a complementary pair. I like the Pure Encapsulations brand.
  • Wobenzym PS, three tablets three times a day on an empty stomach. Wobenzym is a blend of systemic enzymes. Proteolytic enzymes such as papain, bromelain, trypsin, and chymotrypsin promote healing[1] by supporting the production of cytokines, activating immune system proteins such as alpha-2-macroglobulins, breaking down fibrinogen, and slowing the clotting mechanism. This supplement can help heal wounds faster or assist you with bouncing back more quickly from surgery. There isn’t much research behind it, but anecdotally I’ve found it to be helpful for inflammation, and there isn’t much risk, so I decided to include it. Even if it’s a placebo, it’s safer than a lot of the other options!
  • CBD oil. CBD is the non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, and it is anti-inflammatory and analgesic. I find it to be helpful with the pain and with sleep (because of the pain). I like Thorne’s Hemp Oil+.
  • Collagen. After major surgery, collagen accumulation at the wound site is necessary for optimal healing, according to a 1996 study in the British Journal of Surgery.[2] It also assists with healing connective tissue. I like Vital Proteins collagen peptides.
  • Four Sigmatic Plant-Based Protein with adaptogens and medicinal mushrooms. I like the Peanut Butter flavor.
  • Physician Muscle Health Formula, an advanced nutrition product made from fertilized egg yolk that has been shown in multiple clinical studies to accelerate muscle gain and help improve recovery.

After reading this study on factors influencing the efficacy of nutritional interventions on muscle mass, I added creatine and HMB into my protocol.

My Gut Healing Stack

Needless to say, the amount of broad-spectrum antibiotics, hospital food and other gut-damaging drugs did a number on my GI track. To repair it, I focused on supplements that repair the interior lining of the gut while repopulating the gut with good bacteria (probiotics) and feeding the probiotics with prebiotics.

  • 14-Day Pure PaleoCleanse Detox mentioned above.
  • ION Gut Health delivers bacterial metabolites to promote a healthy firewall of tight junctions in the gut wall and blood-brain barrier. These metabolites provide the communication network to support the return of biodiversity to the gut ecosystem that supports normal immune function. It also supports respiratory and immune health.
  • Seed Synbiotic is a well-researched probiotic and prebiotic.
  • Collagen. As I mentioned in my my post about using food for recovery, bone broth and one of it’s main components, collagen may help with gut health.  Although there is no scientific evidence to support this claim, some health practitioners promote the use of collagen supplements to treat intestinal permeability, or leaky gut syndrome. I like Vital Proteins collagen peptides.
  • Colostrum, an ancient solution for people struggling with conditions related to weak and fragile immune systems, (constantly getting cold/flu viruses), viral infections and bacterial infections and gut issues. According to research, it has been shown to stimulate the growth of intestinal cells[3], strengthen the gut wall[4], and reduce permeability in the intestines[5]. In other words, like RESTORE, colostrum helps to seal tight junctions, making your gut less permeable to foreign invaders. It is not only essential to mammals in the wild, but its powerful immune-supportive compounds strengthen our immune systems, help us to prevent diseases, and its growth factors assist in speedy recovery from injury. I like Douglas Labs 100% Pure New Zealand colostrum.

An interesting thing to consider is that taking probiotics will not be nearly as effective long-term without taking colostrum and RESTORE and doing the PaleoCleanse Detox because the probiotics will pass through your GI tract and not “stick around” in your gut the way they are supposed to. They give friendly bacteria a place to grow by keeping leaky junctions in your gut more tightly sealed.

In addition, if you are trying to re-colonize your GI tract (raise the levels of friendly bacteria in your gut like I was) like I was, then you should also combine colostrum and RESTORE with probiotics. When you have a healthy population of friendly bacteria combined with colostrum and RESTORE for the probiotics to cultivate, a more hostile environment is created for harmful microorganisms and there is less space for digestion disruptors to proliferate.

My Radiation, 5G and EMF Protection Stack

Whenever I’m exposed to large amounts of EMFs in airplanes, airports, offices, hefty use of a cell phone, etc., I’ve been using this stack. So, after extensive exposure to CT scans and x-rays, I loaded up on this stack for a month straight.

Note that your body does not store radiation so you can’t “detox” it. Per Mayo Clinic. “After a radiographic, fluoroscopic, CT, ultrasound, or MRI exam, no radiation remains in your body. For nuclear medicine imaging, a small amount of radiation can stay in the body for a short time.” But ionic radiation can cause damage to, and mutation of, DNA so the purpose of these supplements are to reduce and even reverse the damages.

5G Protection Stack:

I also added a few potent antioxidants that have been shown to repair damaged cells, DNA and proteins:

  • Panax Ginseng[7]
  • Ginkgo Biloba[7]
  • Curcumin[8][9]
  • Probiotics[10]
  • Melatonin[10]
  • N-acetylcysteine (NAC) boosts production of glutathione, an important antioxidant that helps reduce free radical damage and plays a role in the detoxification of heavy metals and other harmful substances. Keep in mind that since NAC boosts glutathione, which is a powerful detox agent, you may experience debilitating detox symptoms if you start with too high a dose. To avoid this, start low, with say 400 to 600 mg once a day, and work your way up. Also, if you are currently taking an antidepressant or undergoing cancer treatment, be sure to discuss the use of NAC with your physician, as it may interact with some antidepressants and chemotherapy. 1500mg/day broken up into 500mg doses, three times a day.

My Detox Stack

I also wanted to detox my body of any additional drugs that I may have been given during my surgery such as sedation and anesthetic drugs while supporting the various stages of detoxification process and the organs involved.

  • 14-Day Pure PaleoCleanse Detox, an elimination diet that removes food associated with damaging the tight junctions of the gut wall. The kit consists of two protein powder shakes that contain highly bioavailable beef and collagen protein and additional supplements that assist with Phase 2 and 3 of detoxification. This is not only great for detoxing and healing the gut but also for wound healing.
  • Quicksilver Scientific’s Push Catch Liver Detox
  • NAC mentioned above.

Beef Lung – My Fringe Supplement

This is a bit fringy but I also took Ancestral Supplements’ Beef Lung capsules to support my lung recovery. Based on the ancient ancestral wisdom that “like supports like.”, consuming lung may nourish and support our own lung and respiratory health. Additionally, radio-isotope studies have found that dietary proteins travel to and preferentially support the same proteins in our own bodies. In normal-speak, the parts of an animal you eat may directly repair the same parts in your own body. This means that lung tissue (in my case) and collagen protein can directly help your body repair its tissues and joints.

I don’t know about you but I think that’s pretty damn cool.

Because I had thoracic surgery, lung tissue was an important building block for me. Lung tissue is rich in arteries, capillaries and veins which may nourish and support our own vascular and circulatory health. Ancestral Supplements’ Beef Lung provides all the building blocks… lung and vascular specific proteins, peptides, enzymes & cofactors along with molecular biodirectors (DNA instructions) to code and/or express the building of healthy tissue.

Ancestral Supplements has a whole line of organ-based supplements so you can customize what you take based on what you’re treating or optimizing.

List of Supplements I Used

Use code AAVIP10 for 10% off all supplements listed below unless otherwise noted.

READ PART 3 – Food – The Secret Weapon to Bounce Back Faster from Surgery

READ PART 5 – Become Harder to Kill with Movement & Exercise

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, so please don’t take this as medical advice.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Oftentimes, I’ve worked out a discount for you. Please understand that I have experience with all of these products, and I only recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.

Comments

  1. Cathie says

    Amazing content. I’ve been doing about half of what you list and will discuss the rest with my doctor. Thank you so much for yours input.

    Reply

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