Digestion

Acid reflux and heartburn are the most common digestive problems. Symptoms include a hot/burning feeling radiating from the center of your abdomen and up into your chest, and possibly a sour taste in your mouth from bile (the digestive enzyme), excessive salivation, or possibly partially digested food in your mouth. If left untreated, it can progress to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which can erode the esophagus over time (the “swallowing tube” your food goes down) and possibly even cause esophageal cancer. Heartburn can be triggered by smoking, drinking alcohol, carbonated beverages or coffee/tea, and eating some foods such as chocolate, citrus fruits, fatty/fried foods, tomatoes, garlic/onions, or spicy foods. Foods and beverage triggers can be different from person to person; the more you eliminate the easier it will be to identify remaining triggers. Pregnancy or some medications may also trigger acid reflux or heartburn, as can being overweight, and lying down or bending over after a meal. A hiatal hernia is a stomach abnormality that can allow stomach acid to enter the esophagus.

Peptic ulcers are sores in the lining of the stomach or the small intestine. It is now known that the majority of peptic ulcers are caused by Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that damages a protective layer of mucus. Other causes include smoking, excessive aspirin or NSAID use (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories such as Ibuprofen), alcohol overuse, and smoking. If ulcers are not treated they can cause internal bleeding, and eventually cause holes in the lining of the stomach or intestinal wall, which can then cause serious infections.

Gallstones are primarily comprised of cholesterol and bilirubin (the yellowish pigment found in bile) and can range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. Gallstones are more common if you are female, over 50, and overweight. Pregnancy, rapid weight loss, or taking birth control pills or Hormone Replacement Therapy hormones also places you at increased risk for stone formation. Typical Allopathic (Western) treatment is surgical removal of the gall bladder (the organ responsible for producing bile needed to digest food), or drugs or sound waves to break up the stones in some cases. Usually surgery is performed when inflammation or infection of the gallbladder, pancreas, or liver is diagnosed. If you have a sudden severe pain in your upper right abdomen, between your shoulder blades, or under your right shoulder, you may have gallstones that have gotten stuck. If the pain is accompanied by fever, vomiting, nausea, go to the emergency room immediately, as you may have developed an infection.

Food allergies, food sensitivities, food intolerances (including lactose intolerance) are discussed in Allergies.

Loose or pencil-thin stools can be caused by a weakened digestive function, known as “Spleen Qi Deficiency” (the ancient Chinese thought that the Spleen digested food, but it actually refers to the digestive function of the stomach in modern day). Other symptoms may include fatigue, lethargy, bloating and gas, weakness, dizziness, poor appetite, weight gain, diabetes, hypoglycemia, eating disorders, cravings for sweets, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, easy bruising, obsessive worry, and/or some kinds of headaches (it doesn’t have to be all of these, and this is only a partial list of potential symptoms). The digestive function can be weakened by eating too many cold and raw foods, undercooked grains, too many fruits, juices, and sweets, too much cold water or iced beverages/frozen foods, too many hard-to-digest herbs, and herbs that are not the correct ones for your particular set of symptoms. Dairy and tofu will also aggravate symptoms. Spleen Qi Deficiency can lead to conditions such as Fibromyalgia, since it causes dampness to literally accumulate in your body and muscle tissues. Spleen Qi Deficiency is usually part of the Chinese Medical diagnosis for IBS (if the Spleen is weak, it is easy for the “Liver Qi to invade the Spleen” and cause alternating diarrhea and constipation).

My recommendations:

Stop eating junk food and processed foods to the extent possible. Fresh foods have a lot more nutrition, and therefore energy to power your body. Eat easy-to-digest foods such as soup and cooked vegetables (raw foods are hard to digest and take more energy). Even if you are able to switch to more fresh foods, I still recommend taking a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral since our food sources are depleted due to too-frequent crop rotations and long shipping distances to our grocery stores.

Drink more water if you aren’t drinking enough, or if you drink a lot of diuretics such as coffee. Drinking more water may completely resolve problems with acid reflux and heartburn, and may help prevent the formation of gallstones. Drink about two quarts of room-temperature water per day (cold takes more energy), or more if you have a larger body mass or sweat a lot. A general rule of thumb for kids and adults weighing more than 100 pounds is your body weight multiplied by the number of ounces (i.e., 140 lbs. = 70 ounces). Drink at least one extra quart per day if it is very hot out, and extra water during and immediately after a work-out. If you drink too much water, you can deplete Vitamin B-1 (thiamine). Thirst is not necessarily a good indicator of whether or not you are dehydrated. Your urine should be a light yellow, unless you have just taken a multivitamin or B-vitamin supplement. Drinking more water can help you feel more energized almost immediately.

If you have symptoms of Spleen Qi Deficiency, it will be aggravated by dairy, tofu, raw foods and undercooked grains, sweets, hard-to-digest foods, and cold or frozen foods and drinks. It will be relieved by foods that help to fortify the digestive system such as squash, white rice, ginger, oats, cinnamon, yams, onions, black beans, pine nuts, soups, and small amounts of animal proteins. Drink room temperature or hot beverages instead of cold, and cook your foods enough to start the chemical breakdown process so that your digestive system doesn’t have to work so hard.

In order to uptake calcium, you need stomach acid. If you are taking some kind of acid blocker or neutralizer, even if it has calcium in it (such as TUMS), you are not uptaking the minerals you need. Try to take a multimineral supplement at least two hours before or after the acid neutralizer so that you can uptake at least some minerals. Ingesting caffeine, alcohol, or other substances can lead to depletion of calcium, magnesium, potassium, B-vitamins and other nutrients, so it is particularly important to take a multimineral supplement if you both neutralize your stomach acid and deplete your minerals. Making sure you have enough calcium is also helpful in preventing gallstone formation.

Eliminate any foods and beverages that may be causing your digestive symptoms. There is likely more than one, so that makes it hard to sort out at first. But as your symptoms become less frequent, it will be increasingly easier to identify the remaining foods and beverages.

Try eating five to six small meals per day. Don’t try to do multiple other tasks while eating, and don’t eat for at least two hours before bedtime. Limit your fat intake to no more than 25% of your daily calories. Limit saturated fats (as from meat, dairy products, coconut oil, cocoa butter, butter, margarine, and shortening) to less that 7% of that, trans fat to 1% (as from processed foods, chips, crackers, cookies, and shortening), and the remaining fats should be from nuts and seeds, fish, and vegetable oils.

Identify any medications that may be causing your digestive symptoms.

Your health care provider can test to diagnose if you are lactose intolerance with a breath test, a blood test, or a stool acidity test. If you have bloating, abdominal pain, and/or diarrhea after ingesting a large quantity of dairy, you are likely lactose intolerant. You can and over-the-counter lactase if you choose to eat some dairy.

Allopathic (Western) medicine uses antibiotics combined with acid-reducing drugs to kill Helicobacter pylori, after testing for the bacteria. A simpler solution (and less expensive!) is just to take Oil of Oregano and/or Grapefruit Seed Extract for seven days and see if your symptoms improve. However, if you have severe pain and/or feel very sick, you may have developed an infection, so go to the emergency room.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs treat digestive problems very successfully, and your practitioner can give you dietary and other suggestions. An acupuncturist can also treat underlying conditions that cause digestive problems. If you have diverticulitis, diverticulosis, Crohn’s Disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or celiac disease, see a Naturopath or Acupuncturist for treatment.

Disclaimer: The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. Information on this web site is provided for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. The products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases or, medical problems. Nutritional benefits may vary from one person to another.