We often take digestion for granted. Who thinks much about what happens to food after we eat it? And anyway, aren't some of those digestive processes a bit-well-inappropriate as topics for polite conversation?
But good health depends on adequate digestion. Without sufficient physical and chemical breakdown of foods, the nutrients every human cell needs to function would not be available. Poorly digested food is toxic; when it sits too long, it can be absorbed and recirculated through the body, stressing the liver and the immune system and eventually causing disease. And if the body works too hard to digest food, vital energy is diverted.
Digestion starts in the mouth, where salivary enzymes begin the chemical processing of food and the teeth break it down physically. (Garry D'Brant, a chiropractor and clinical nutritionist who treats digestive disorders in Greenvale, New York, recommends chewing each bite twenty to thirty times.) From the mouth, food slides down the esophagus to the stomach, where high concentrations of hydrochloric acid dissolve it further. Material then passes to the small intestine, large intestine and to the colon before being eliminated. Along the way, material is moved through dozens of feet of gastrointestinal tract by peristalsis, waves of contractions that propel food through the hollow digestive canal. As food makes its way down the canal, nutrients are extracted and absorbed by the body.
Though not technically part of the canal itself, the liver, gall bladder and pancreas are crucial to digestion. The liver produces bile, which emulsifies fats and aids peristalsis. Bile is stored in the gall bladder, which contracts and secretes the bile into the small intestine. The pancreas produces three important digestive enzymes: amylase, which helps digests starch; lipase, which takes part in the absorption of fat; and protease, which breaks down protein.
Digestion disturbances can be painfully obvious. Some ills, thankfully, disappear quickly, like the discomfort from overindulgence in food or alcohol. Others persist chronically, and can, potentially, cause a health emergency.
These conditions include:
n Gastroesophageal reflux, a failure of the valve between the stomach and lower esophagus, allows stomach acid to back up and makes us reach for antacids to quell the subsequent heartburn.
n Gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach's mucous lining, can come and go (with the arrival and departure of irritants like spicy foods or aspirin) or turn into a long-lasting condition.
n Ulcers linked to infection with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria; use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or other diseases can eat away the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.
n Gastroenteritis, distress caused by a flu infection or food poisoning.
n Ulcerative colitis inflammation of the colon.
n Irritable bowel syndrome (commonly called "spastic colon"), marked by alternating episodes of constipation and diarrhea.
n Crohn's disease, a complex chronic inflammation that affects the intestinal wall.
Digestion Maintenance
Although digestive problems sound grim, they can usually be treated-and healthy digestion maintained-with natural medicine from a variety of healing traditions. Acupuncturist Nigel Dawes, a faculty member at the New Center College for Wholistic Health, Education and Research, Syosset, New York, uses acupuncture and herbs to alleviate gastrointestinal disorders. The acupuncture corrects energy (qi) imbalances that disturb digestion and is particularly effective in treating anxiety-related disturbances like "nervous stomach." And it works quickly, says Dawes. "We see symptom changes in one week or two." Since herbs are taken orally and work directly on the digestive system, "they are often the treatment of choice for GI (gastrointestinal) problems," he continues. "Herbs can really help change the environment in the gut." Herbs are especially effective when digestive tissue breaks down (as in destruction of intestinal villi, which leads to poor absorption), obstructions, yeast (Candida albicans) overgrowth or chronic debilitation with weight loss (such as the wasting AIDS patients experience).
Dawes has used astragalus root as a tonic to strengthen muscle tone of intestines and intestinal peristalsis. Ginger, raw or dried, improves gastrointestinal secretions. "And licorice root is in almost every digestive formula," he says. "It's an antispasmodic, increases secretions and calms nervous disorders of the stomach." He uses cinnamon bark as a circulatory tonic, to improve the blood supply to the intestines, and uses atractylodes to help move fluids through the digestive canal.
Homeopathic Help
Homeopathic remedies are matched not only to a patient's disease, but to their emotional and behavioral patterns, making homeopathy especially appropriate for stress-related digestive problems. "The colon's not sitting in front of me (in isolation). The person is," says Steven Nenninger, N.D., describing how he diagnoses digestive conditions. Consequently, he prescribes different homeopathic cures for different individuals even though they might seem to suffer the same disease. For instance, a Crohn's disease sufferer who's highly sensitive and emotional might respond to the homeopathic treatment pulsatilla. Someone else with Crohn's-who is dignified, neat, perfectionistic and tends to suppress emotions-would find more relief from natrum muriaticum (homeopathic table salt.) Causticum as an ulcer remedy might be the best treatment for the sympathetic soul who bridles at injustice. (Nenninger used it to treat a client "who was so sensitive, she couldn't watch the news at night.") Nenninger uses ignatia to treat any digestive problem that began while a person was grieving for a deceased loved one.
Line from Spine to Digestion
Garry D'Brant uses chiropractic adjustment to unblock his patients' flow of qi from the spine to the digestive organs. "But energy flows the other way, too," he points out. "If digestive organs are not functioning well, they will send back a message to the spine, causing it to misalign." D'Brant also uses acupressure. His recommendation: locate the valley between your thumb and next finger, and pinch gently. If this acupoint feels sore, you probably suffer a degree of digestive difficulty. Rubbing the area can help resolve the problem, "especially if it's headaches that occur after eating." D'Brant also suggests people rub a spot several inches below the kneecap, outside the tibia, to increase stomach qi and help the body better digest foods.
Dr. D'Brant tells people with gastrointestinal complaints to try qi gong, which moves energy throughout the body, or yoga, which massages internal organs and eases constriction. "If someone has stomach or abdominal pain, those areas will be rigid if you touch the person," D'Brant says. "Both these activities stretch the body, and rid it of rigid or tight places." He recommends doing these exercises before eating, "to avoid impeding qi."
Ayurveda for What Ails You
Ayurveda, the ancient traditional medicine of India, maintains that almost all disease derives from poor digestion. As in homeopathy, Ayurvedic therapies are tailored to match the individual. But Ayurvedic practitioners focus on the three doshas, or body/constitutional types: pitta, vata and kapha. For instance, says Ayurveda practitioner Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha, pittas are fiery types already prone to heat excesses. Too much garlic or chili pepper "could flip them into the red zone," he says, causing acid reflux. Pittas-and vatas-must eat every four hours, Sada Shiva Tirtha says, but it's perfectly okay for Kapha types to skip breakfast.
Ayurveda employs common spices as digestive herbs, to be added while cooking or sprinkled on food that's already been prepared. Sada Shiva Tirtha recommends coriander, cardamom, cumin and turmeric ("just a pinch") for all doshas, and fennel for pitta and vata only. And though you may have cut back on dairy foods to promote healthy digestion, "Ayurveda considers dairy as something not just good but holy," he says. An Ayurvedic method of preparing dairy is to boil organic milk, let it cool, and then add one of the digestive spices. Or mix half a cup of organic yogurt, half a cup of water, and cumin seeds to make a drink taken with or between meals to aid digestion.
Cleansing the Tract
Organic, whole foods are a boon to digestion; processed foods and foods full of antibiotics, hormones and pesticides may tax the liver and make the body work harder to extract nutrients. Systems that have been stressed by bad eating and poor digestion can be cleansed, however, and refreshed with a number of substances. For instance, milk thistle extract has been shown to improve digestion and help the liver clean out the digestive system. Clove bud is an antioxidant that treats dyspepsia and gas while uva ursa leaf acts as a diuretic that can prevent amoebic diarrhea.
In addition, several substances, by speeding elimination, can rid the digestive tract of toxins. Psyllium fiber cuts gastrointestinal transit time (speeding food along its way) and can reduce LDL cholesterol levels. (LDL cholesterol is the blood cholesterol linked to heart disease.) Other fibers like oat bran, rice fiber and prune fiber also produce similar digestive effects.
Steven Nenninger, N.D., sometimes recommends supplements, specifically vitamin C and quercetin (antihistamines that can control gastrointestinal inflammation), and soluble, gluten-free fiber. If your digestion is slow-and you've no history of inflammation, ulcers, colitis or Crohn's-he recommends one to two capsules of digestive enzymes (lipase, protease, and amylase, one or a prepackaged combination of all three available at health food stores), with meals.
FOS Fosters Good Bugs
Fostering the healthy growth of microorganisms called bifidobacteria in our lower intestines can also promote better digestion while possibly dropping our risks of cancer and heart disease. (These little germs may produce anticarcinogenic substances and help eliminate harmful fats before our bodies absorb them.)
These helpful bacteria thrive on starches called fructooligosaccharides (FOS). FOS, found in fruits and vegetables, can also be taken as a supplement made from Jerusalem artichokes. Because it feeds these good bugs, FOS has been credited with lowering blood pressure, reducing blood fats and reducing constipation.
Many health practitioners, no matter what their specialty, agree on one thing: our stress-filled culture upsets our stomachs. Avoiding arguments at the dinner table, listening to peaceful music and eating slowly (not gulping food in the car, while talking on the cellular phone) can all help digestion. "Minimize stress to the greatest extent you can," advises Steven Nenninger. "If you can't, figure out why not." He recommends counseling for those who need help making lifestyle changes that promote healthy digestion. (If you're the type who feels unworthy of good health, the homeopathic remedy Nenninger recommends is natrum muriaticum.)
And watch your metaphors: if you catch yourself saying "I can't stomach that" or "I'm fed up," your digestive system may be sending you a not too subtle message. o
Susan Risoli is a certified herbalist and freelance writer.
