The Hidden Problem with Your Digestion

by Lauren Deville, Natural News:

A huge percentage of people who seem perfectly healthy on the outside go through life feeling quietly bloated and uncomfortable. It seems like everyone around them can eat anything they like with no obvious consequences, while they seem to react to anything and everything.

It’s nothing so extreme they can’t deal with it, of course; if they found themselves doubled over in pain from a particular food or restaurant, they’d quickly learn to avoid the trigger. But they’ve never been able to pinpoint the problem. Their bowels alternate between constipation and diarrhea, with no apparent pattern. Because they can’t identify the cause, and because the doctor has told them all they can do is manage symptoms, they’ve just learned to live with it.

And yet they wonder… does everyone feel this way? Is this normal?

I see cases like this every day. There was even a time when I lived it myself. And I can tell you: the answer is no. It’s not normal, and it is possible to heal.

The collective term usually applied to such symptoms is Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS. This is less of a diagnosis, and more of a description of symptoms.1 This is because there are several possible underlying causes.

The digestive process begins in the mouth and carries on through the esophagus, to the stomach, with contributions by the liver and the pancreas, and then absorption of nutrients should occur in the small intestine. The remaining waste then passes through the colon and out the anus.2 The problem can begin in any one of these places, or in several.

In my practice, I’ve found there are one of four main causes of digestive disturbance: Dysbiosis, Hypochlorhydria, Food Allergies, or Slow Bowel Transit.

The Four Causes of Digestive Disturbance

Dysbiosis.3 Dysbiosis is an imbalance in your gut flora. You can think of your gut flora as being part of two groups: the good guys, and the bad guys. We all have some of each, but we start suffering physically if there are more bad guys than good guys.

Hypochlorhydria.4 Hypochlorhydria means that you have too little stomach acid. Trying to digest food without stomach acid is like trying to brush your teeth without toothpaste: you can go through the motions, but the gunk remains undissolved. In the same way, when you try to eat food without enough hydrochloric acid, your food cannot be properly broken down. This means the bacteria in your gut will have to do it for you.

Food Allergies.5 Food Allergies are when your immune system gets a little confused and thinks that something good for you is actually bad for you. Because it is your immune system’s job to protect you from anything that it perceives as bad, it starts attacking certain foods as invaders, when it should be recognizing them as your friends. This typically happens because of a breakdown in the gut lining that lets food particles end up in places they shouldn’t.

Slow Bowel Transit.6 Slow Bowel Transit means that your food takes too long to digest—kind of like a car driving 35 on the highway. Slow bowel transit isn’t the same as constipation because it is not a problem with the stool itself, but with the digestive tract’s ability to process it. Of course, slow bowel transit can actually cause constipation, so it is possible to have both.

The good news is, no matter which of the four main causes of digestive disturbance you have, you can likely improve your digestion if you follow these simple steps. You can get your healthy digestion back.

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