Getting to the Guts of Digestive Disorders

By Dr. Molly Casey

Chronic digestive disorders can wreak havoc on one’s daily quality of life. These issues are common and often not spoken about as they can elicit a great deal of embarrassment. In any event, digestive health is important and the lack thereof can cause an extreme disruption of daily life and activities. Let’s delve into digestion disorders.

Qualifications and Statistics

The National Institute of Health estimates that 60-70 million people are affected by digestive disease. It also states that in 2010, 48.3 million visits occurred because of digestive diseases to either a primary doctors office, emergency room or an outpatient department. In 2010, there were 21.7 million hospitalizations due to digestive diseases and deaths due to digestive disorders in 2009 were at 245,921. Please note that chronic health issues have continued to increase over the years, especially with the increase in obesity rates and decrease in food quality in the western world.

Types

The term “digestive diseases” covers a wide range of health issues, anything from hernias to constipation, from ulcerative colitis to irritable bowel syndrome, from hemorrhoids to GERD, and gallstones to pancreatitis. The purpose of this article is to bring a wide-range overview of the issue and some basic tenets that will assist anyone in their journey to avoid or combat digestive issues.

Conservative Care

The goal here is to build up the host. The host is your body. The more time, energy, effort and money you put into building up your host, the less time, energy, effort and money you will need to spend attempting to fix and repair it.

Optimal nervous system function - Having an optimal nervous system is the foundation of all health. The nervous system is the communication system. Your brain speaks to every single cell, system, structure and organ through the spinal cord and miles of nerves that splay off the cord and exit through the spine. The cells, systems, structures, and organs communicate information back to the brain via the same routes. The better this communication path functions, the better your experience of health and life. Giving your host (your body) the single best chance at life and health requires clean communication. Chiropractic adjustments assist in allowing clean communication by removing decreased range of motion and restrictions in spinal joint motion; facilitate better spine motion and health and you facilitate better cells, organs, structures, and system function. It’s that simple and that profound.

Proper flow - Digestion is about proper absorption and movement. Our bodies need to be able to optimally absorb the nutrients it requires for sustenance and to keep out the material that it doesn’t need or is harmful. In addition, the body needs to be able to move and rid itself of the material it doesn’t need. This requires proper water. Water helps absorption, it helps flow of waste material out of the system, and it also facilitates dilution of the toxic junk in our foods today. Exercise also assists in the removal of waste material and the ability of the body to perform digestive and absorption processes. Move your body regularly and with intensity.

Strong abdominal muscles - Digestion takes work. The abdominal muscles provide a structure and space of protection for the intestines. Weak abdominal muscles can slow the digestive processes and, if weak enough, allow for the intestines to “pop” out of place (also known as a hernia). Regular and proper core strengthening exercises can assist in increasing the structural health and function of the digestive system.

Living in optimal health and decreasing one’s chances of chronic conditions requires work -- energy, effort and even money.

Proper nervous system function is more than simply not experiencing back pain. Proper water intake and clean food is more than simply about losing weight. Strong abs are more than simply about getting a six-pack. This is health, wellness, longevity, and quality of life you’re working toward. Stop into The Joint Chiropractic and let us help you help yourself by improving the quality of your daily life and health!

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.