Digestion often goes awry in large part due to failure of the endocrine system (i.e., the glands that make hormones.) Hormones control the feelings of being hungry and of being full, they signal the release of enzymes for the digestion of fats, they control how sugar is regulated in the blood, and on and on. We’ve already discussed how the endocrine system stands or falls on the health of the thyroid gland. Thus, hypothyroidism, no matter what the root cause, is a major factor in digestive system failures.
Don’t Underestimate Good Digestion
The proper digestion of your food is key to maintaining good health. You can enjoy the most balanced, hearty, local, sustainable, organic, exquisite foods this world has to offer, yet if your body can’t process them into the nutrients it needs to function, you are slowly starving.
Reflux and GERD are common diagnoses in recent years. Over the long term, these conditions can evolve into more serious tissue damage including Barrett’s esophageal syndrome, hiatal hernia damage, ulcers, osteoporosis and other diseases of malnutrition, and even cancers. Many people use over-the-counter, or herbal, or even prescription grade acid blockers to relieve their heartburn or gas. Even young children are being given digestive aids like Prilosec for their tummy-aches, meanwhile developing a life-long aversion to many foods.
But there are many risk factors associated with these interventions, especially for young digestive systems. Hydrochloric acid in your stomach is essential for the digestion of proteins; how can it be good to block these acids? Digestion and absorption of the nutrients must be aided, not blocked, in order to restore and maintain a healthy gut. Rather than antacids, patients need to learn what is causing these symptoms and get rid of it! Then those tissues can finally heal.
What is the Right Diet for You?
Many of today’s health discussions include perspectives on diets for problems with the digestive system, such as chronic candida in the gut, leaky gut, ulcers, celiac-sprue, high-histamine diet intolerance, auto-immune diets, PALEO diets, gluten-free diets, vegetarian or vegan diets, Eat Right for Your Blood Type diets, and GAPS diets, to name but a few. All of these diets have value for some people, and Pati has worked with all of them. However, we are all unique, and in a unique “recovery period.” No single perspective is in its entirety right for every body on the planet at all times. Here is the trick: what is right for you? Muscle-testing can determine the allowable ranges within each of these diets for you, without expensive food allergy testing or stool analysis.
A very common finding through muscle-testing analysis is dysfunctional bile ducts. These are the vascular vessels that deliver bile, which aids in the digestion of fats, from your liver and gall bladder into the first part of your small intestine. The ducts can become inflamed due to food insensitivities, parasites, scar tissue, or even anger. Pati has often found that focusing on the health and function of these at the start of digestive recovery has made the turn-around faster and more gentle. In every case of acute pancreatitis Pati has worked with, even when the client has just been discharged from the hospital, focus on the bile ducts was immediately beneficial.
Then again, sometimes digestive distress is simply a virus, bacterial overload, or parasites.
Digestion is Different for Everyone
Pati’s protocol for your digestive system will be specific to your needs, right now, and will evolve as your body heals. For example, you may need to start with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, a gluten-free diet which is also polysaccharide-free, and is the best diet for celiac. Even though meats are allowed on this diet, Pati may find that you shouldn’t eat chicken and/or chicken eggs, too. While most vegetables are allowed on this diet, you may not be able to digest celery, or may be allergic to broccoli. You may also need supplemental digestive enzymes to help you digest your optimal foods in order to heal your gut.
A short review of the Support Materials link on this site, specifically the special diet guidelines, will give some indication of the protocols Pati has found to be successful.