Welcome to the March issue of the Health and Wellness Catalyst Blog
This month's blog is about my long and effective personal and professional experience with stomach and intestinal symptoms and problems - I have seen more GI disorders in my professional career than anything else and I help people get very good if not great results when I work with clients and patients in my clinical practice.
It is important to realize that everyone's circumstances are different, so that the nutritional (diet and targeted nutritional supplements), stretching, fitness and exercise, and stress management or relaxation techniques, need to be individually and effectively designed. In holistic terms, these approaches address physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Without including all of these approaches, it may be difficult to get the results that you may want, particularly when the symptoms may have been present for a long time.
Dietary approaches and guidelines:
As with most chronic and/or complex disorders that I see in clinical practice, sugar, dairy and wheat are the most common offenders and needed to be avoided or rotated (1-2 times per week), at least for a period of time, to see how much they may be contributing to current symptoms. However, many people need to follow a more comprehensive elimination diet (also restricts or rotates corn, citrus, coffee, peanuts, other gluten grains - rye and barley, eggs, and other allergenic or frequently included foods or beverages). I have worked with many people who feel that they no longer know what to eat and we have to begin with well tolerated proteins (poultry, fish, etc), cooked low carbohydrate veggies, and starchy vegetables and rice. Again, it must be remembered that the best diet may not get results unless targeted nutritional supplements, exercise and relaxation techniques are also addressed.
Targeted nutritional supplements:
In my experience, a good probiotic and a digestive enzyme are the two most important supplements to take, although others can be helpful if symptoms continue . As I have previously written in this blog, and before that my newsletter, the microbiome project will significantly change and improve gastrointestinal care because we will know in each of the GI disorders what bacteria is normal and abnormal for each condition. There will also be information and understanding for gut bacteria as it relates to autoimmune disorders (eg. MS, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and many others), neuropsychological problems, asthma and allergies, colon cancer and many more medical diagnoses and symptoms. For right now, we know that lactobacillus and bifidobacteria species are most important and healthy, and that it is important to have a good diversity of different bacteria in the gut (by eating more naturally grown organic foods which have not been exposed to so many pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals).
Stress management techniques:
1. Stretching, fitness and exercise - exercise is a great stress management technique and has an important effect on the 'second brain' or nervous that is in the GI tract. Again this should be individualized to make sure that you like your work out program and will continue it over the long term. It generally would include aerobic exercise, some weight training and some more meditative exercises like yoga, tai chi or chi gong. There are so many options here that I will just suggest that you find what works best for you and if you are having any difficulties, you should get assistance from the current practitioners that you are working with.
2. Mind-body and relaxation techniques - again, there are many options here including mindfulness, meditation, guided imagery, biofeedback, counseling, others that overlap with exercise (yoga, tai chi and chi gong), and many other approaches. The important point is that stress often has a tremendous effect on not only quality of life but also disease management - in the near future I will post my lead author abstract supporting this relationship, which I will presenting as a poster at the International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health in Las Vegas, May, 2016. I am also submitting the article for consideration of publication in a peer reviewed journal - I will let you know when and where that article will be published as soon as I can get that published.
Conclusions and Bottom Line:
1. Stomach and intestinal problems can be effectively managed through natural approaches, although medication can be necessary for some people.
2. Developing the right dietary approach is essential by avoiding or limiting sugar, dairy, wheat and/or other foods to which you may be intolerant.
3. Targeted nutritional supplements such as a probiotic and digestive enzyme are often important and helpful.
4. Exercise and stress management techniques are essential for the effective management of symptoms for most people.
5. Find the right practitioner or practitioners that will help you heal your gut.
