Naperville Integrated Wellness

NAPERVILLE'S TOP RATED LOCAL® FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FACILITY

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If you have a problem with digestion or gastrointestinal conditions, there are 3 areas you might to consider.  These areas may be the root cause of your problem.  I have written countless blogs on the digestive system and how it works. But I want to explore 3 zones you may not be familiar with.

ZONE 1:   The Foods You Eat  

If you are having digestive problems like gas, bloating, pain, nausea, IBS or an autoimmune disease of the digestive tract, your diet is often a root cause of the problem. It is not always a matter of a good diet or a bad diet; we all have different opinions on what is considered healthy and not healthy. I think we would all agree that fast-food, highly processed foods or foods that are high in sugar would not be great choices. What is not so obvious is the impact of your food choices on the immune system of your digestive tract.

Many people have food allergies and food sensitivities; even to “healthy” foods. If you are eating foods that are creating a negative impact on the immune system of your gut (which is where most of your entire immune system is located) then you will be putting a stress on your gut which eventually leads to digestion dysfunction and unwanted symptoms. It is for this reason that I find food allergy and food sensitivity testing to be helpful when creating any food plan.

You may have heard about the pros and cons of food testing, but I have found that most people (including doctors that order the tests) don’t understand how to properly interpret the test results.

True, if not interpreted and implemented properly, much of the food testing is practically useless. I use food testing with many of patients not only to discover specific foods that are causing problems, but the types of foods their immune system does not agree with. If you continue to consume foods that trigger an immune system response, then it can be very difficult and in many cases impossible to heal the digestive system and restore normal and healthy function. This is where the help of a functional medicine doctor (who understands these food-immune system relationships) can be very beneficial.

ZONE 2:   Nervous System and Digestion

In addition to eating foods that do not trigger your immune system, you must have healthy nervous system function of the digestive tract. There are 3 major sections of the nervous system that must be working together for proper digestion to occur.

These include the vagus nerve (which originates in your brain), the nervous system that surround the gut (enteric nervous system) and a group of nerves that come from your low back…more specifically your sacrum which is located between your lumbar spine and tail bone).

Autonomic Nervous System

All 3 belong to what we call the autonomic nervous system. I have seen patients develop digestion problems after giving birth or after a fall on their butt which caused pressure on the nerves from the low back and sacrum. I have also seen patients with TMJ (jaw dysfunction) or upper neck problems that affected their vagus nerve and this contributed to their digestion issues. Then there is the enteric nervous system and it can be affected negatively by nerve chemical (neurotransmitter) imbalances. In this case chronic stress or the use of psychiatric medications were affecting how this part of the nervous system worked.

In addition to diet, you must have proper nerve function that controls how your digestive tract is going to function.

ZONE 3:   Stress and Digestion

 We all know that stress is bad for us, but it can also cause digestion problems.digestion-problems-functional-medicine

When you are under chronic stress, the autonomic nervous system switches over from a “rest and digest” mode into the “fight or flight” mode. Your autonomic nervous system is composed of 2 major parts, the parasympathetic (rest and digest) and the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system.

What Causes Poor Digestion?

When you are under too much stress, for too long, the sympathetic nervous system is activated too much of the time and this shuts down your digestive tract function. Your body perceives itself to be constantly under attack or threat and digestion ranks low when you are in survival mode. This is why it is important to make sure you are getting enough sleep, exercising and if needed, practicing stress management or relaxation techniques.

As you can see, your digestive system is very complex and the various systems of your body need to be working in harmony for healthy digestion to occur.

It is not uncommon to find all 3 of these root causes out of balance at the same time. You might be eating foods that trigger the immune system, have a structural problem, or neurotransmitter imbalance and be overwhelmed with stress.

The good news is that your body does not need to be working perfectly to have good digestion, you just need to correct or improve enough of the root causes and your body will handle the rest; good digestion can be restored.

There is not a person walking this earth that has all body systems in perfect balance.  Most people do have problems digesting food. The good news is that perfection is not required to be healthy and feel good again.

In functional medicine, our job is to find out how we can help it regain control and get back to normal and healthy function once more.

If you have a chronic health problem or looking to heal your gut naturally, and if you are looking for help, please feel free to contact our office.  As the best Chicago functional medicine doctor, we should be nearby.

My wish for you… health, happiness, and a better quality of life!

If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Sexton go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations.

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. Why? The FDA enforces its position that these words can only be used with drugs. This approach does not use drugs.

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