DIGESTION: THE KEY TO GOOD HEALTH

Dear Friends and Patients,

In my daily practice, I rarely see a new patient that doesn’t have some type of Digestive Dysfunction. This condition is caused by the obvious S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) but also by many other unhealthy dietary habits that human beings have developed over the years. As a Naturopath, I truly believe that the key to good health, or to regain good health, is to have a well functioning digestive system. Let’s explore the different factors and causes that lead to digestive disorders as well as the many Alternative remedies that we can use to restore proper digestion.

First, a Short Lesson in Anatomy and Physiology:

As soon as we look at food or smell food, or put food into our mouth, the digestion process starts with the secretion of saliva that contains different enzymes which are already starting to break down food into smaller particles. This happens only if a person takes the time to chew properly, which seems to be a mission impossible now-days, as most people eat in a hurry, in between appointments, or in their car while driving. If an individual eats too fast, then there are fewer enzymes to break down the food particles.

Secondly, the food arrives in the stomach, where it is churned up and broken down into smaller pieces by stomach acids and additional stomach enzymes. It is the stomach that is mostly responsible for breaking down proteins. This part again requires some quiet time because the stomach basically stops secreting enzymes if a person is stressed. In normal conditions, the food stays for about 2 to 3 hours in the stomach, but if a person has digestive problems, the food can stay up to 8 or 10 hours in the stomach.

Thirdly, the food moves into the Duodenum, which is the first part of the Small Intestine, where the Gallbladder secretes bile to digest fats and the Pancreas secretes more enzymes to digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Fourth, the food moves down into the second and third part of the Small Intestine, where by now and under normal conditions, the food should be pretty much digested. It is then in the Small Intestines that the nutrients are absorbed through special cells called Villi. These Villi look like very fine hairs attached to the walls of the intestines. They have little openings like you might see in the pores of the skin to allow the nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, essential fatty acids, and sugars to be absorbed into the blood. It is extremely important that these Villi stay healthy to allow proper absorption, because as we will see later, if they are inflamed then absorption of nutrients is impaired.

Finally, the remaining food, that being mostly fibers which cannot be utilized by the body, moves down into the Large Intestine where it is eliminated through feces. This is in brief, how the digestive system functions. But many factors enter in the digestive scenario and can cause important Digestive Disorders.

What are the Causes of Digestive Disorders?

As you may have already understood, one of the major causes of Digestive Problems is STRESS. 
 The entire digestive system is under the control of the Autonomic Nervous System, which is devised into the Sympathetic Nervous System, and The Parasympathetic Nervous System. The Sympathetic Nervous system is responsible for increasing the rhythms of the body, such as heart beats, blood pressure, adrenalin discharges. For example, the Sympathetic Nervous System kicks in when we need to get up quickly in the morning, or run, or any action that requires an increase of energy and blood flow. On the other hand, the Parasympathetic Nervous System intervenes when we need to fall asleep, relax and slow down. During eating, ideally we are supposed to be in a quiet mode, sitting, chewing food, and relaxing, which means that the Parasympathetic Nervous System should be dominant. But if we are eating while driving, or answering the phone, or at our desk typing… then the Sympathetic
Nervous System takes over and puts us into a “fight or flight” mode.  When the Sympathetic Nervous System is dominant, the body naturally shuts down enzymes secretions, because it prepares us to be eventually ready for any fast action that may be required. Basically the body’s logic is: “we cannot run and eat at the same time”! Unfortunately, this is what most people do in our modern, fast pace, society, and this condition does indeed impair proper digestion.

The second major cause for Digestive Disorders is of course eating the wrong types of food and eating excessive quantities. Unfortunately too many people eat the typical American Diet made of boxed cereals with 1% non-fat milk or a donut and a Cappuccino for breakfast. Then, you eat a fast food hamburger with French fries and soda, for lunch. And for diner, a pizza! To say the least, we can only expect the digestive system to be in distress.
The body is simply not “made” to digest these things. The only thing this type of so-called “food” brings to the body is calories! The calories make us able to function, but it is absolutely to the detriment of every part and every organ of the digestive system. This type of diet requires the maximum use of every enzyme that your Stomach and Pancreas can produce. It requires the Liver and the Gallbladder to secrete more Bile to try to process the hydrogenated fats. This type of diet demands that the Pancreas produce a huge amount of Insulin to reduce blood sugar levels. And then the food rots into the Duodenum because it is not digested properly. It then inflames the Villi of the small intestines, and ferments into the large intestine creating putrid amount of gas. As an added bonus, it distends the stomach which puts pressure onto the Diaphragm, and then pushes
onto other organs such as the Heart and the Lungs.

Over eating, and over eating the wrong type of food, is in my opinion, the most important reason why we have the current epidemic of diabetics, overweight people, and the large number of cardiac patients in this country.
And I do believe that it all starts because of bad digestion, from heartburn and acid reflux, gas and bloating, to diarrhea, or constipation. Unfortunately these Digestive Disturbances are often considered as “normal” and taking “Tums” or “Beano” seems to be considered equally “normal”. As a Naturopath, and in my opinion, these conditions being considered as “normal” is a huge mistake and truly detrimental to our long term digestive health and hence our long term health. I think that these “little nuisances” are very important signs of unhealthy dietary habits, and that they need to be addressed early, before they transform into serious diseases.

The third major cause of Digestive Disorders is Food Intolerances. Most people don’t know that they can be intolerant to many foods, which can create a myriad of disorders, not only in the digestive tract such as gas and burping, diarrhea or constipation, but they can also be the sources of chronic allergies, skin conditions, mood disorders, fatigue, and even the source of auto-immune diseases. I find that testing a person for food intolerances is the most important thing to do for any suspected Digestive Disorders.
The most common foods for which we are intolerant are dairy, eggs, soy, and gluten. Gluten is a protein contained within grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Other intolerances are also possible but these four are the most prevalent causes of digestion disturbances. If they are found to be positive through Saliva Testing, then these offenders need to be removed from the person’s diet for at least a year, sometimes for as long as two years. Then, re-test to verify if the intolerance is gone or, as the case may be, still present. Some people are genetically intolerant and will never be able to put a particular food back into their diet, while others may be able to overcome a specific food intolerance.

The fourth major cause of Digestive Disorders is parasites, bacteria, and fungus.
  Anybody can get these invaders from food, traveling, use of antibiotics, and / or simply from an imbalanced digestive flora. Parasites usually come from food, such as exotic fruits and vegetables, meat, or simply contact with cats, birds, and dogs, or bad water. Traveling overseas can also be a major source for parasites to invade our digestive system. Candida or any type of fungus is a very common ailment now-days because of usage of antibiotics. Antibiotics are good to eradicate bacterial infection, but very often can create an unbalanced digestive flora where Candida can grow. Typical symptoms of Candida overgrowth are gas and bloating, constipation, but Candida can also manifest into a difficulty to concentrate and fogginess, or sometimes headaches and fatigue. While it is true that everyone has a “healthy” amount of Candida in their digestive flora, I believe
that an overgrowth of Candida is the culprit for many symptoms
. Bacterial overgrowth usually comes in combination with either / or fungus overgrowth and / or the presence of parasites. Every part of our digestive system has its own flora. The flora of the mouth for example is different than the flora of the stomach. The flora of the small intestine is different than the flora of the large intestine. Each flora is composed of many different friendly bacteria that live in balance in their own milieu. If a parasite for example is introduced into this well balanced flora, it disturbs it to the point that unfriendly bacteria start growing and invading this milieu, which creates Digestive Disorder symptoms. Everything in the body has to do with balance: Too much or too little or the wrong kind of bacteria and we are in trouble. Antibiotics can disturb the bacterial flora, as well as food, such as sugar.

The fifth major cause of Digestive Disorders is Inflammation. Inflammation is caused by all of the above reasons (stress, wrong diet, food intolerances, bacteria, Candida, and parasites) and thus, it is very common. It can manifest in any part of the body, but the Digestive System is a preferred area for inflammation to prevail. We have to understand that Inflammation is the logical and natural way for the body to respond to any sort of invaders, stressors, or irritants. It is a normal reaction, but when chronic inflammation occurs into the digestive system, then it starts to create more serious problems such as gastritis, stomach or duodenal ulcers, I.B.S. (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) or Ulcerative Colitis.

How to Effectively Address Digestive Disorders:

First of all, I recommend having a Digestive Stool and Saliva Analysis through a laboratory that I use by the name of Diagnos -Tech. Diagnos -Tech is the best laboratory that I know of for conducting complete and comprehensive Digestive Analysis. It is a home test, which consists of taking 2 different stool samples and 2 different saliva samples. The samples are then sent directly to Diagnos -Tech by the patients. About 10 days later, I will receive the results from the Diagnos -Tech Laboratory. The test result allows me to evaluate your particular food intolerances, inflammation level, parasites, Candida or other fungus, bacterial flora, bacterial overgrowth, and enzyme production, as well as the immune system into the digestive system. According to the findings I will determine a natural health protocol to eliminate invaders, rebalance the flora, and supplement into enzymes or support
the immune system. A particular diet will be determined according to your results and also your particular issues. After usually 3 months of this protocol we will re-test and verify that the invaders are gone, as well as look at the improvement into the digestive flora, enzyme levels and immunity.

As far as supplementation, you may know that I am very particular in the choices of the products that I use, and of course, they will be different according to your particular results.  I have found that Gastrex from Standard Process is extremely useful to address stomach issues such as heartburn and acid reflux. I usually recommend 3 Gastrex three times a day on an empty stomach 15 minutes before meals with warm water. If this is not enough, then I use Marshmallow Root (from MediHerb): 1 teaspoon 3 times a day before meals. This is extremely soothing and healing of the stomach mucosa. To reduce inflammation of the small intestines, I use either Okra Pepsin (from Standard Process): 5 to 9 capsules first thing in the morning on empty stomach or GI Revive
(from Designs for Health): 1 teaspoon twice a day diluted in water. These supplements are not available over the counter or at any health food stores. They are dispensed only through and by health professionals such as me. If you have any digestive issues, or know someone who does, and would like to be tested, just email us at john@montereybaynaturopathy.com or call us at: 831-642-0202 to schedule an appointment. I will be pleased to do everything I can to help you resolve these most important health issues.

I truly believe, as a Swiss Homeopath Doctor used to say during his long career, that, “…80% of the diseases start into the digestive system”. There is no secret: If you want to be healthy, you need to eat properly, but you also need to digest, absorb, and eliminate properly. Otherwise, this is where sickness will start and manifest into either / or diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol, as well as hormonal imbalances, metabolism troubles, insomnia, mood disorders, and of course digestive disorders. 

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Finally, a Multi-Vitamin that is 100% Food Based and 100% Organic!

My readers and patients know that I am a fanatic when it comes to choosing and recommending Vitamins. My philosophy is that the body properly utilizes ONLY vitamins that are made from food. This means that we get them from our diet (food intake) of course. But if we need to supplement extra vitamins because we are depleted, then they need to be food based
, and not synthetically made from cheap substances like high fructose corn syrup.  I  use Standard Process supplements because they are food based, but they never have had a Multiple that satisfied me completely.  This is because the Standard Process Multiple supplement is lacking many of the useful vitamins, and the quantity of each vitamin contained therein is low.  So, researching everywhere and looking at everything I could, I finally found a company that manufactures a Multiple Daily Vitamin with good quantities of the main useful vitamins, and is made ONLY with FOOD and CERTIFIED ORGANIC!  The name of the manufacturer is FIRST ORGANICS and to date, they have four products: A Multiple Daily Vitamin, an Immune Support, a
Vitamin C, and a Vitamin E. All made only from Organic fruits, vegetables and oils. There is nothing better than that!  They are now available in / through my office, and will SOON be available through my web store at: www.YourGoodHealthStore.com. Call us at 831-642-0202 or email us at john@montereybaynaturopathy.com for further information on this most important First Organics Multi-Vitamin product line.

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Upcoming Seminars:

OVERCOME STRESS AND FATIGUE - Thursday, August 2, 2007.

WEIGHT LOSS AND WEIGHT MANAGEMENT – Thursday, September 6, 2007.

Our Seminars are held at the Energia Body Centre (between Macy’s and Mervyn’s) in the Del Monte Shopping Center. There is a $10.00 door fee.

To reserve your place, please call our office at 831-642-0202.

The entire contents of HEALTH AWARENESS are based upon the opinions of Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath, unless otherwise indicated. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as an offering and sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath within the U.S. and Europe. Beatrice Levinson, Naturopath encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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