Irritable Bowel - You Don’t Have to Live With It!
Bowel habits are something many of us don’t especially like to talk about, but if you see a naturopathic doctor, be prepared to go into details! Why? Because the health of your digestive system is, quite simply, one of the most important keys to the health of every other part of you!
This may not seem readily apparent, but if you stop to think about it for a moment, it makes perfect sense. What keeps you alive? The food you eat, of course! And if that food is not digesting properly, what happens? Your body cannot absorb nutrients from it and, slowly, you become deficient in many of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients your body needs and chronic disorders begin to appear.
The human body is very resilient; it can function for a surprisingly long time without optimal nutrition. Over time, however, it will begin to show signs of deficiencies. These can vary from person to person, and depending upon which nutrients are depleted.
What are some symptoms that digestion is not working optimally? I’m sure most of us are familiar with at least one of these!
GasBloating
Belching
Stomach or abdominal pain or cramping
Heartburn/Reflux/Indigestion
Constipation
Diarrhea
Nausea
Vomiting
Hemorrhoids
Canker or other mouth sores
When digestion is not occurring optimally, the result over time is chronic inflammation throughout the body because wastes are not clearing properly. What sorts of symptoms might you see as a result of this inflammation? Some are: Post-nasal drip
Congestion/stuffy nose
Chronic sinus infections
Pain in the ears
Ear infections
Chronic sore throats
Brain fog/fuzzy thinking
Fatigue
Hives
Joint pain
Arthritis
Headaches
Acne
Eczema
Psoriasis
Some autoimmune diseases
If it seems to you that digestive complaints are common, that’s because they are! Every day, I see patients complaining of some (or all) of the symptoms above. What’s worse, many don’t realize they don’t have to tolerate these symptoms. Some have lived with the discomfort for so long, they assume it will be part of their lives forever. Why does digestion go awry? There is not just one reason, but the most common cause is stress, and we all have plenty of that. Whether your stress is related to your job, your relationships, the economy or your own health, it is likely to affect your digestion. When we are stressed, we go into what is frequently termed the “Fight or Flight” mode. Think of it this way: when an animal (including we humans) is faced with a threat, it naturally tends to either fight or run from the threat. This is an ancient, biological response – we really can’t control it. Unfortunately, as humans, not only do we interpret our daily stresses as “threats” to our well-being, but we really can’t “fight” or flee from most of them. This puts us in an awful position. We have the biological response, but there is no release for the pressure of our stresses! We can’t fight, and we can’t run. What happens? Well, unfortunately, the “fight or flight” response continues. When an animal is fighting or running, the last thing it needs to do is digest, right? So the body naturally slows the entire process of digestion. That would be okay, if we were only stressed occasionally, but unfortunately many of us go around in an almost constant state of stress, and hence the digestive process is severely impacted a great percent of the time. Eventually, the body deems this change almost permanent, and we begin to experience the symptoms mentioned above, as the food we eat ceases to be properly digested and utilized by the body. This is precisely why you and so many of your friends and acquaintances may find the topic of this article eerily familiar. As the stresses in our world mount, I see more and more patients complaining of digestive difficulties. But you don’t have to live this way. There is a lot you can do. In my office, I use a superior food intolerance test to help you determine what foods may be causing you problems, then we work together to determine if there are foods you must avoid and for how long, while we employ any number of naturopathic therapies to heal your digestive system. There is no “protocol” for this, because each patient is different. As a naturopathic doctor, I am looking at your digestive system, but I’m also looking at you as a whole person. What else is going on in your life? What other complaints do you have? How are they related? What other organ systems are involved, and are there other tests we should use to help get a clear, scientifically based picture of what is at the root of your complaints? Once we’ve collected the data we need, we use that data to formulate a plan individualized to your particular complaints and test results. This approach is extremely effective. I have had many patients exclaim in astonishment, “The heartburn is just gone! And I’ve been taking medication for it for years! It went away in less than a week!” Or, “I can’t believe it! I’m ‘regular’ again. I’ve never been ‘regular’ in my life, even when I was a kid!” In answer to frequent questions from patients: Does dairy always cause constipation? No! But some of my patients assume it does, because they’ve experienced it their entire lives. No, dairy does not cause constipation, beans do not cause gas, and garlic and onions do not cause belching. Not when your digestion is working properly. Think about it. Wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of those pains?