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If you feel bloated all the time, suffer from chronic constipation or have heartburn, you may have a sluggish digestive system. This means that the food in your stomach and intestines is moving too slow. The symptoms of bloating and constipation can be uncomfortable and contribute to other symptoms such as lethargy and depression.
When food moves too slow through the digestive tract, fermentation and putrefaction take place. Food spoilage optimizes the terrain for harmful bacteria to grow. These bacteria give off metabolites which cause inflammation in the intestines. The chronic inflammation then contributes to more sluggish digestion, not to mention systemic issues such as fatigue and depression. This is due to the fact that these harmful bacterial metabolites can go through the intestinal barrier, into the blood stream, and even cross the blood brain barrier!
There are dietary things you can do to “tone” your digestive system. The most important step you can take is to increase fiber. Raw fiber comes in fruits and vegetables. Fiber works the muscles of the intestines more than cooked food does, thereby toning the muscles. The fiber also helps pick up waste as it moves through the intestines which assists in cleanup. In addition to fiber, raw fruits and vegetables contain living enzymes which assist in the digestive process. Eating foods that demand less hydrochloric acid (HCL) significantly helps to lighten the digestive burden. Animal protein uses a lot of HCL, so modifying your protein intake will save energy and speed up digestion.
There are supplements one can take to facilitate digestion. Digestive enzymes that include HCL can be helpful. Ox bile and pancreatic enzymes may also be necessary, especially as we get older. Probiotics are widely used to help with constipation or diarrhea.
Optimal digestion requires a healthy nervous system and certain neurotransmitters. If it is suspected that your sluggish digestion is due to insufficient nerve stimulation, energy medicine such as acupuncture or cranial sacral manipulation can be powerful tools in assisting nerve function. There are also supplements one can take to increase neurotransmitter production for Serotonin and Dopamine.
Finally, one cannot ignore the microbiome when working with the digestive system. The microbiome is made up of all the microbes that exist in your body… the good, the bad, and the ugly. Did you know you have more microbes than cells? Through their metabolic processes, microbes produce metabolites… some good, some harmful. Many good bacteria are essential for their friendly metabolites such as serotonin, dopamine, and butyric acid. The goal is to optimize your internal terrain for the growth of friendly bacteria, and create an inhospitable environment for the bad guys. This means minimizing the fermentation and putrefaction of food in your gut!
It is important to note that finding out the CAUSE is critical when trying to resolve your symptoms. Of course a healthier diet will help everyone. However, to balance the microbiome and neurotransmitters, and to facilitate nerve function may require further attention from a health professional.
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Source by Jane Hendricks