Unless they’re having stomach or intestinal pain, most people don’t give their digestive system a thought, and assume that things are going along just fine down there. But you might be having problems digesting food, and these problems can be causing or contributing to any health issues you might have.
Of course, not all digestive issues are painless or invisible, and your pain, nausea, or bloating can be clues to digestive problems.
Pretty much any condition related to poor nutrition might actually be related to poor digestion. It is said that you are what you eat, but more accurately you are what you’re able to digest and utilize from what you eat.
What is digestion?
Very simply put, food goes in one end, it goes through a series of processes designed to extract all the nutrients from the food, and whatever your body can’t use comes out the other end. But things can go wrong at any stage in the process, resulting in anything from pain to poor nutrition to allergic reactions.
What are some of the digestive system problems that can show up elsewhere in the body?
Some of these problems are:
- Celiac disease
- Allergies and sensitivities
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Parasites
- Insufficient hydrochloric acid
- Insufficient digestive enzymes
- Insufficient beneficial bacteria
- Leaky gut
- Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
Celiac disease
Celiac disease, also known as gluten intolerance or sprue, is caused by an intolerance and reaction to gluten, found in most grains. Wheat is especially problematic, since it is found almost everywhere in the American diet, but gluten is also found in oats, rye, and barley. Many people have a milder form of gluten intolerance that isn’t full-blown celiac disease.
Tiny fingerlike projections called villi line the walls of the small intestine, greatly increasing the surface area of the intestine. These villi absorb nutrients into the bloodstream. In celiac disease, the immune system attacks gluten, and in the process also attacks any villi that have absorbed it. The villi become inflamed, then shriveled, then eventually flatten out or disappear. The body then stops absorbing nutrients properly, with abdominal cramping and diarrhea and system-wide symptoms of malnutrition, including weight loss.
The whole body, or any organ, can be affected by celiac disease, due in part to the malnutrition that can result. Also, while attacking gluten, the immune system also attacks an enzyme that acts on gluten. This enzyme is found throughout the body: the skin, heart, thyroid, bones, and nervous system. The gluten antibodies can go after the enzyme and end up damaging these organs.
Allergies and sensitivities
Allergies and sensitivities (allergies involve the immune system, while sensitivities don’t) to foods can cause intestinal pain but also system-wide effects. Leaky gut, discussed in the next article in this series, is a major cause of food sensitivity. In leaky gut, food is incompletely digested and passes through into the bloodstream in this undigested form, where it doesn’t belong and is attacked by the immune system.
Food allergies can cause one to feel worse after a meal, with intestinal pain, gas, and bloating, or chronic nasal congestion or sinusitis, asthma, rashes, brain fog and trouble concentrating, or difficulty losing weight. Digestive distress of any type often has an allergic component.
The foods most likely to cause problems are wheat and gluten, soy, corn, sugar, yeast, and dairy.
If you seem to be allergic to almost everything you eat, take a look at what you’re eating the food with. If you have metal (mercury) dental fillings or nickel-containing dental work such as crowns and posts, these metals are taken in with every bite, and even that tiny amount could be causing your apparent food reactions.
An elimination diet such as that at CAM can help you and your practitioner figure out what foods might be causing your symptoms. Allergy desensitization, done by Dr. David Nelson at CAM, can help.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
IBS is also called Crohn’s disease or colitis. In IBS, the muscles of the bowel contract irregularly.
Diarrhea is usually present, sometimes alternating with constipation, and there is often intestinal pain and gas. IBS can be caused by parasites and/or food sensitivities, or by insufficient beneficial bacteria in the bowel.
Parasites
Parasites are any harmful microorganism, such as bacteria, yeast, or larger parasites called protozoa. When present in the gastrointestinal system, they can cause a number of problems.
Parasites such as helicobacter and fungus block the gallbladder and bile duct, and lower digestive enzymes because the bile duct carrying these enzymes is blocked. Carbohydrates and proteins may not be digested properly if the enzymes are deficient, leading to allergy and body-wide symptoms of malnutrition.
Blood and stool tests given at CAM can help determine if parasites are a problem for you.
Insufficient HCl
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) is found in the stomach and is crucial in the digestion of protein. If there isn’t enough, malnutrition and associated symptoms can result.
Symptoms of low gastric acidity include bloating, belching, burning and flatulence immediately after meals, fullness after eating, nausea after taking supplements, rectal itching, peeling or cracked nails, dilated capillaries in cheeks and nose, acne, and rosacea, as well as autoimmune problems such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and MS.
Insufficient HCl can cause heartburn. In the mistaken belief that heartburn is caused by too much stomach acid, many people take antacids, which help in the short term but worsen the problem in the long term. This continued use of antacids can contribute to malnutrition, since protein now can’t be digested properly.
One sign of insufficient HCl can be found in a standard blood test; high blood chloride (Cl) is present relative to sodium (Na). Certain supplements such as betaine HCl, copper, and niacin can help with this.
Low digestive enzymes
Digestive enzymes are crucial in digesting food, and many people are low in them. They are found in raw foods, especially vegetables, which many people don’t get nearly enough of. They are also in enzyme supplements.
Enzymes are needed to run every process in the body, and when these valuable enzymes need to be used for digestion, they aren’t available for other bodily functions, which can result in symptoms nearly anywhere in the body.
Insufficient beneficial bacteria
Beneficial bacteria are so numerous in the intestines that they outnumber your own cells. They perform many functions, including being needed for proper digestion. Antibiotics, taken for any bacterial infection, can kill or unbalance these good bacteria, as can a poor diet, especially one high in sugar. A proper bacterial balance can be aided by taking these bacteria, found in some foods such as good quality unsweetened yogurt or supplements.
Leaky gut and SIBO
Leaky gut syndrome and SIBO are covered in the next two articles in this series.
What to do
If you know you have a digestive problem, or if, after reading this article, you suspect that your digestion needs some assistance, make an appointment to see a practitioner at CAM, who can give you the tests and treatments that can help.
