Digestive Health

Digestive Health

Your digestive system deals with a lot of materials from the outside. Everything we eat and drink passes through the digestive tract and it has to filter out the useful bits and send them to the blood circulatory system. Other than that basic process, the digestive system affects so many other functions in your body. Here are a few reasons why it’s important to pay attention to your digestive health.

The digestive system is like a second brain

There is more to the digestive system than just digestion. It has a connection to your brain and provides substances like Serotonin, which is an antidepressant neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in your nervous system. Serotonin is one such messenger that sends feel-good vibes to the brain. It can control your mood swings and has a direct effect on depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders.

Ever experienced loose stools, stomach cramps, bloating and feeling gassy, symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome when you’re stressed out? You can thank the imbalance of Serotonin for that. 95% of the body’s serotonin comes from the digestive tract. So, the digestive system is almost like a second brain to your body. So, taking care of your digestive health will have a direct impact on your brain health.

Digestive system is related to immune functions

The digestive system is also closely related to immune functions. Your body produces antibodies like IgE and IgG in response to food. These antibodies protect your digestive tract from foreign bugs.

Types of food reactions

When IgE or IgG are active, they cause different reactions in the body. There are two types of food reactions.

• Food allergies – Food allergies happen immediately after you consume the food. Peanut allergy is a good example of allergies. When talking science, IgE is responsible for allergies.
• Food sensitivities – Food sensitivities can take from an hour to a few days to develop. So, it’s hard to guess which food is causing the reaction without testing. IgG is the antibody behind food sensitivities.
  
  Food sensitivities can cause conditions like Irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, feeling down, having trouble paying attention, migraine, weight gain, and eczema.

How to identify if you’re having food sensitivities?

So, how do you identify if you are having a reaction because of food sensitivity? Look for these symptoms.

Systematic	Feeling tired and weak, Fever, Chills, Sweating, Puffiness
Skin	Itching, Redness, Swelling, Rashes
Brain	Feeling depressed or anxious, Having trouble with memory, Behavioral problems, Headache
Lungs	Food-induced bronchitis, Asthma symptoms
Musculoskeletal	Joint pain, Stiffness in muscles, Swelling
Digestive tract	Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Constipation, Abdominal pain, Gas, Bloating, Weight gain

The most common way to identify the food type that is causing a food sensitivity is to take an IgG food sensitivity test. If the result of this test shows that you have intolerance to many food types, it can be a sign of the leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

As the name suggests, Leaky gut syndrome happens when the gut is leaking. Your intestinal lining controls the substances that enter the blood circulatory system. But, when the border control of the lining is damaged, larger substances pass through to the blood circulatory system. This condition is called Leaky Gut Syndrome.

When this happens, your body alerts the immune system. So, the immune system releases antibodies to fight the foreign substance. IgG is an antibody that is released when triggered. Chronic infections, parasites, fungi, or unhealthy bacteria can also trigger the above-mentioned symptoms.

Good bacteria in the digestive system improves your health

Not all bacteria are bad. For your health and wellbeing, you need a good balance of friendly bacteria in your digestive system. Some of these good bacteria are lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and E. coli.

These bacteria decrease the overgrowth of unhealthy pathogens and enhance your immune system. They multiply so fast that the bad bacteria get no space for growth. But, that’s not all. Some friendly bacteria even help in producing vitamin K and some B vitamins.

Factors that affect the population of friendly bacteria in the digestive system

The balance of good bacteria changes according to how we live and what we do in our day-to-day lives. Some factors that can affect the population of friendly bacteria are;

• Use of antibiotics
• Daily exposure to food and water that contain chemicals harmful to good bacteria
• Regular consumption of highly processed food
• Low fiber diet
• High sugar intake
• Stress

Natural methods are the best and safest way to improve the health of your digestive system. So, book your consultation today and start getting healthier naturally.

Common digestive health problems

Food sensitivities Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis
Chronic candida/ parasitic infections
GERD ( Gastroesophageal reflux disease)