Oftentimes, we encounter people who inform us of digestive issues based on their ability or inability to have a bowel movement. But digestion is a lot more than that!
Digestive wellness is about assuring that the body is able to:
1) make stomach acid, appropriately, in order to purify the first part of the digestive system and to break down proteins;
2) communicate with the brain to create a migrating motor response to assure that the
stomach can grind foods into smaller bits for absorption later in the digestive system;
3) properly make brush border and digestive enzymes in order to begin the process of breaking down foods to small particles to assure absorption of nutrients;
4) properly make and release bile to assist in the emulsifying of fats in order to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K;
5) assure that nothing is inhibiting absorption of nutrients in the small intestine;
6) balance healthy bacteria with imperfect flora in order to keep bodily inflammation and immune balance in the body;
7) assure proper elimination of the residual food-stuff.
They say you are what you eat, but truthfully, you are what you absorb! Conditions like Celiac Disease, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Small Intestine Fungal Overgrowth (SIFO), Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease, and Colitis (ulcerative or not) can impair how well you absorb nutrients, maintain health, and balance your immune response.
The majority of your immune system resides in your digestive system. This makes sense because you bring more foreign things into your body by way of your mouth than any other method. The basis of lots of immune, autoimmune, reactive conditions (like joint arthritis), and auto-inflammatory conditions such as eczema and psoriasis are induced by way of an imbalanced gut flora and an altered immune response because of this.
We use PCR and Culture testing in order to observe digestive function and to observe overgrowth. We test H. Pylori by way of stool to look for the most common cause of gastritis and low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria). We, at times, use micronutrient testing to assure absorption of nutrients.
