Digestive and Gut Health

Many individuals suffer daily with digestive issues that they have accepted as “normal” but cause them pain, irritation and embarrassment and can prevent them from living their lives to the fullest.  This is not a new problem because as far back as 400BC the father of medicine, Hippocrates was quoted to have said  “All disease begins in the gut“ this gives us an idea that humans have long had digestive issues and even then a healthy gut was thought to be important for well being.

Our Gut is the largest organ in the body, it is responsible for breaking down our food into the individual nutrients we use to run our bodies. Each part of the gut has a different job and different colonies of micro organisms and digestive enzymes  do the job of breaking down food into digestible pieces, that in turn become the building blocks used to support every process our bodies need to stay healthy. So when these processes fail all sorts of diseases and symptoms may occur.

If you are suffering any of these symptoms :

• Bloating, excessive gas
• Diarrhoea 
• Constipation 
• Abdominal Cramping 
• Heartburn or GERD
• Food intolerances
• Unable to attend social events
• Food intolerances & allergies 

 
Naturopathic medicine can offer effective solutions for uncovering and treating the root cause of digestive issues.

Some of the reasons you might be suffering these symptoms:

• Lack of hydrochloric acid & digestive enzymes
• Dysbiosis (imbalance microflora in the gut ecosystem)
• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
• Fructose or Lactose intolerances
• Parasites
• Intestinal Permeability 
• Thyroid issues
• Medication side effects (e.g. antibiotics, antacids)
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
• Chronic unresolved stress
  
  

What is SIBO- SMALL INTESTINAL BACTERIAL OVERGROWTH?

SIBO is a condition where bacteria which are normally found lower in the large intestine have overgrown in the small intestine instead.

These bacteria ferment starches and fibres  in food we eat and produce large amounts of methane, hydrogen or hydrogen sulphide gases that damage the small intestine and cause a lot of symptoms:  

Symptoms of SIBO are often the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). 60- 80 % of individuals diagnosed with IBS in fact have SIBO!

•  Bloating and gas (particularly after eating)
•  Constipation/diarrhoea 
•  Abdominal pain 
•  Belching, flatulence

•  Nausea
•  Reflux
• Leaky gut symptoms: rashes, food allergies 

Finding the root cause of your issues is the best way to optimise good health and help heal chronic health problems. 

Functional testing such as Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA or GI map ), SIBO Breath testing, Food Intolerance and Thyroid testing can be extremely helpful in diagnosing the root cause of your symptoms when combined with thorough case-taking by an experienced practitioner.