When you address the actual cause of your digestive symptoms, you optimize every other possible aspect of your health.

Fixing digestion was referred to as a “North to South” process in my nutrition training– it will have downstream effects everywhere in the body. And conveniently, fixing the steps higher up is often the solution for everything else.

So, you always start at the top to look for potential deficiencies or afflictions– first in the brain, the stomach, gall bladder, pancreas and liver, small intestine, and the colon. 

The brain may need support like:

Less stress or managing stress physiologically, creating a parasympathetic state. You can remember this vital factor with a term: rest and digest.

• Supportive herbs like lemon balm, lavender, peppermint, wood betony support both a calm brain and digestion.
• Essential oils can also facilitate a sense of common and peppermint oil, clove, ginger and vanilla oils act as carminatives to stimulate digestive functions from the top- down.
• Eating enough food and eating food that suits your body’s current digestive ability is sometimes the missing piece to put your body into this state, as chronically not getting enough energy won’t supply the digestive system with the energy it needs to function, and also sends the body the message that there’s an emergency. 

If your stomach isn’t acidic enough, the pyloric valve won’t close and acid in your stomach will come up into the esophagus

The vast majority of the population have too little stomach acid, not too much. This is why medication doesn’t cure the problem and you have to keep taking it, which can lead to things like osteoporosis from poor absorption.

Tums and other antacids, as well as prescription proton pump inhibitors simply neutralize the contents in the stomach, so it doesn’t hurt. This is the ultimate band-aid on a very fundamental health issue.

Interventions that support stomach function include: 

• Ginger
• HCl
• Digestive bitters
• Betaine from beets

Support the liver and gallbladder with things like:

• Choline
• Dandelion
• Bitter Greens
• Sour foods
• Soluble Fiber:
  • beans
  • psyllium
  • chia
  • oats

The pancreas needs enzymes to digest, which come from raw food and can be taken supplementally. Papaya and pineapple are high in enzymes papain and bromelain which have benefits all over the body.

And support the colon with:

• Fiber
• Probiotics
  • Native (permanent) and transient (temporary)
  • Bacteria and yeast
    • Sacromyces bouilardii, lactobacilus, etc
• Heal and seal the gut:
  • L Glutamine
  • Chlorophyll
  • IPS supplement by Biotics
• Vitamin C, magnesium, and choline increase bowel movements

Deeper root causes can hinder the entire process:

• Metabolism (BMR)- body temperature being too low from the brain being in a “famine state” or having poor thyroid function won’t allow digestion the energy to function
• Pathogens:
  • Sibo
  • Often parasites
  • Candida
    • often related to parasites
    • Can be caused by environmental mold 
    • Heavy metals, other toxins induce candida. Ex when I had Candida it was caused by cadmium, often caused by cigarette exposure

• Inflammation, can be caused by toxins, stress, infections
• Nutrient deficiencies in things like zinc, B1, niacin, magnesium, choline, and any macronutrient deprive the organs of what they need to make raw materials like stomach acid, bile, or pancreatic fluid.

If you’d like personalized health guidance tailored to find your needs nutritionally, you can arrange a consultation with me here

Be well!