Natural Solutions for Digestive Problems

I have found very few digestive problems that require medication or medical procedures to resolve. Usually these types of problems can be fixed by making a few simple changes. The most common solution is simply drinking more pure water and less coffee, soda, alcohol and tea. We should drink half our weight in ounces per day.  So a person weighing 150 lbs. should drink 75 oz. of water per day.

In the book, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, it explains the physiology behind hydration and good digestion. Essentially there are two main reasons. First, the stomach’s mucous lining needs to be thick to protect the organ from being injured by the stomach acid. If one is poorly hydrated this lining is thin and therefore ulcers form. Second, the pancreas secretes bicarbonate into the small intestine to make the stomach contents less acidic when they are released into the duodenum (first part of intestines). This prevents the acid from destroying the small intestines. The bicarbonate solution is 99% water. So if one does not drink adequate water the pancreas takes a long time to make bicarbonate and thus the stomach holds its contents for too long, resulting in reflux.

Another important point about water is that it’s important not to drink much of it during a meal because it dilutes the stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) rendering it unable to digest the food effectively.  One should wait at least a half hour after eating before drink water. Also it is very important to sip water throughout the day and not drink a lot all at once. Our cells can only absorb about four ounces every half hour. When one drinks more than that it simply passes through the kidney and is urinated. So to become well hydrated take a couple sips every half hour!

Part Two

In addition to the issue of dehydration, many adults over the age of 40 do not produce enough hydrochloric acid (HCl) in their stomach to breakdown their food effectively. This results in poor assimilation of nutrients. The minerals, vitamins and amino acids are not absorbed completely by the small intestines and therefore the cells lack the raw materials to manufacture repair proteins to maintain the body. This cycle leads to degeneration and more rapid aging. When Vitamin B12 is inadequately absorbed this leads to anemia and fatigue. When calcium is poorly absorbed this leads to bone problems, like osteopenia, and muscle weakness.

The solution to this problem is simply to take HCl tablets with meals and refrain from consuming too much water during a meal, since the water dilutes the stomach acid. There are several herbs as well that help digestion such as licorice and fennel.

There is evidence showing that most people over fifty have the bacterial infection that is associated with ulcers, Helicobacter Pylori. In my Santa Barbara chiropractic clinic I order these tests for people with chronic digestive problems. People with H. Pylori take an anti-biotic to resolve this. For people who resist taking anti-biotics there is always cabbage juice. Cabbage is referred to as Vitamin U because it works so well on ulcers. This requires juicing and drinking a whole head of cabbage per day for a couple weeks in most cases.

Part Three

One of the major causes of digestive problems as well as chronic fatigue syndrome is the yeast infection Candida Albicans. Candida is a fungus that lives naturally in the intestines and vagina. Also inhabiting these areas are the beneficial bacteria acidophilus, bifidus and bulgaricus, collectively known as the flora. The flora produce B Vitamins, aid in digestion, and keep Candida from getting out of control. When the intestinal flora is strong, it keeps the Candida in check and there is no problem. When the flora is weak, the Candida can grow in numbers and bore microscopic holes in the intestinal wall (leaky gut syndrome) allowing the Candida to enter the blood stream. This enables the Candida to travel to other areas such as the lungs, brain, mouth, skin and nails and cause infection. The main symptoms of Candida infection are fatigue, gas/bloating, foul smelling discharge, thick white coating on the tongue (thrush) and nail infection.

Causes:

Candida thrives on simple sugars. People who consume a lot of sugar, bread, wine, fruit juices are feeding the Candida. The anti-Candida diet consists of mostly vegetables and protein. This starves the yeast. What causes the flora to weaken is usually the use of broad spectrum antibiotics. These drugs kill the beneficial bacteria inhabiting the gut leaving the Candida free to proliferate unchecked. There is also evidence that mercury toxicity from dental fillings can contribute to the overgrowth of candida.

Diagnosis:

As a holistic chiropractor in Santa Barbara, I am able to detect many strains of Candida using kinesiology testing with various homeopathic vials. This is used to confirm the symptom survey. Medically Candidiasis is diagnosed by stool sample and treated with the drug Nystatin. In my chiropractic office I counsel people to get rid of simple sugars and treat the infection with probiotics, homeopathics and anti-fungal herbs. To schedule a free consultation call (805)962-8548.

Part Four

Food is our fuel. No other species eats for entertainment. Every week the FDA approves 20 new man-made chemicals to enter the consumable marketplace. That means every year approx. 1000 new chemicals can be added to our foods and beverages. The typical diet consumed in America is tragic. It is pouring good health down the drain and has led to a health crisis that can’t be cured by modern medicine. The current estimates are that nearly 50% of men and 40% of women will get cancer! The main reason for this alarming rate of disease is diet and stress. The typical refrigerator and cupboard in America is filled with dairy products, foods laden with corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and colorings, soda, artificial juices, cereals drenched in sugar, genetically modified foods, coffee, and processed meats. What are absent are fresh fruits and vegetables.

When you add alcohol, cigarettes and drugs to the mix it is not possible to maintain good health for long while living in this way. Not only has the “normal” American diet led to skyrocketing rates of disease and obesity, but has created a restless culture living on anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs. Stable homes with both parents in a loving relationship and healthy children are becoming rare. People are so out of balance today that it makes it very hard for a health practitioner to restore people to a high level of health. Our addiction to these non-nutritive foods must be broken if we have any chance of enjoying health and vitality.

For those who are attempting to do all the right things, like eat a healthy organic diet, exercise, drink lots of water, and manage stress, they too are sometimes frustrated by ailments stemming from food sensitivities or intolerances. It is often hard to figure out what foods are the culprits. The most common offenders that I find in my office are dairy, wheat, soy, citrus, corn, and peanuts. There are blood tests which test our immune response to hundreds of common foods. These can be very valuable. We can also get stool tests to see if we have intolerance to gluten (wheat). In my holistic chiropractic clinic, I simply do muscle testing to determine whether a person’s body likes or doesn’t like a certain food. Studies have correlated muscle testing with other more “scientific” tests, and they have found a very high level of agreement.

I encourage everyone to find out which foods they do not tolerate well. Mothers who are nursing should especially find out what foods their infant’s do not tolerate. Many infants stop nursing much too soon because their mothers are unknowingly eating foods they (the infants) are allergic to and it is coming through in the breast milk. Many cases of ADD can be immediately resolved by eliminating their food allergies.

For more info go to:  www.sbchiro.com