Digestive Problems

Two thousand years ago, Hippocrates said, “All diseases begin in the gut”.  Today, using modern lab testing, we are finding this to be profoundly true even if the symptoms appear in other parts of the body.  That’s why I routinely recommend that we start healing by addressing digestive health even if it’s not obvious that the problem is in the gut (because it often is!).

Digestive complaints are among the most common things that might cause you to go to the doctor’s office.  Common symptoms include heartburn, gas, bloating, pain, diarrhea, and constipation.  You might be told by your doctor that you have GERD (acid reflux), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and IBD (inflammatory bowel disease).

Some of the advanced tests that I do for gut health include DNA based comprehensive stool analysis, and urine testing for organic acids.  These tests allow us to pick up imbalances and infections that are missed on standard labs.  What we often find behind these nagging conditions are underlying imbalances in gut organisms such as dysbiosis (bacterial imbalances), overgrowth of yeast, and even, parasites.  Gastrointestinal biochemistry is also checked allowing us to determine how well the pancreas is working,  if there is any intestinal inflammation and even, if there is abnormal intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut)!

It’s important to have a healthy gut not only to be free of digestive complaints but for general health as well.  The lining of the gut wall is only one cell layer thick and on the other side of that layer is 80% of the body’s immune system.  When the gut lining isn’t healthy, particles that shouldn’t be crossing over can get in – for example, undigested food particles, toxins, and microbes.  This can lead to food allergies, auto-immunity, and toxins entering the bloodstream (metabolic endotoxemia).