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Difficulties with
Digestion
I am increasingly alarmed
by the large number of people that I talk to that have
significant digestive troubles. Listening to their
stories, there are few things that can be more
uncomfortable, embarrassing, and interfere with our
professional and social lives as digestive issues.
It can be difficult to
pinpoint the cause of digestive problems since there are
many contributing factors. One factor may be irritation
of nerves in the mid and low back causing problems along
the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. When the nerve
interference is eliminated, a portion of the GI tract
will be able to function normally again. Chiropractic
treatments can help problems affecting this portion of
the body by stimulating the nervous system and the
immune system, helping the body to regain better
digestion and bowel movements.
The typical American diet
is deficient in fruits and vegetable and contains
excessive amounts of meat, refined grain products and
dessert foods. Such a diet can have numerous adverse
biochemical effects which predispose the body to such
inflammatory disease and illnesses as (but not limited
to): gastritis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis,
ulcerative colitis and appendicitis.
Another contributing
factor to digestive troubles can be built up toxins in
our bodies. Many things we eat contain harmful
chemicals, metals and other toxins. Even the air we
breathe isn't free from harmful substances to our body.
Over time, these substances build up in our body faster
than our body can eliminate them. This can cause us to
feel fatigued or cause organ systems like the GI tract to not
function properly.
Here are a few simple
steps to improve or reduce digestion problems.
- Have a chiropractor
examine your spine and nerves for possible nervous system
abnormalities.
- Improvements in digestion can be experienced by
making a few simple diet modifications. Try to eliminate or
at least limit your intake of fast food, fried foods, junk
foods and soda drinks.
- Make sure you're getting
enough fruits and vegetables each day. Daily additions of bananas,
apples, cherries, nectarines, strawberries, oranges,
berries, kiwi, peppers, beans, cauliflower, zucchini,
squash, spinach, broccoli, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes,
tomatoes, etc. will help protect your body from inflammatory
diseases. I really like “The 5 A Day for Better Health”
program (www.5aday.org)
that encourages people to select from the complete color
spectrum of fruits and vegetables. Especially during the
summer season there are so many delicious options available.
Remember, good nutrition does not depend on a single day,
but over several days and long periods of time.
- I recommend to many of my
patients a body cleanse program to eliminate built up toxins
that can also cause illness.
- Drink plenty of water each
day. Water aids in the removal of harmful toxins and helps
the GI tract work more efficiently.
- It may also be beneficial
to keep a food diary of daily food intake and any adverse
symptoms that are experienced that day. This will better
help you and your doctor determine what foods may be
contributing to your difficult digestion.
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