How’s your gut today?
Your stomach is a strong muscular sac that acts to mix food with digestive juices and churn it – mechanical digestion - so that it partially breaks down. Because the stomach secretes strong hydrochloric acid to break down food, it has to protect itself. It has certain cells that do this by producing an alkaline mucous layer. Did you know that a sedentary lifestyle can often cause stomach problems, as the stomach requires physical movement also to remain strong, just like any muscle?
Here are just some of the things that can go wrong in your stomach:
• Dyspepsia: characterised by a feeling of fullness, often discomfort centrally (under the ribs) and sometimes nausea.
• GERD: Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (or “heartburn”). Incredibly common, and commonly ignored as a sign of food intolerance. Common trigger foods are: wine, coffee, spicy food, chocolate (40%), peppers, tomatoes, and the most oft-ignored one…gluten.
• Peptic ulcers: Caused when the protective mucous layer of the stomach is exposed and hydrochloric acid damages the stomach wall. Quite a dangerous situation, and you will often get pain with this.
• Hypochlorhydria: (basically under-acidity of the stomach). This is very common today, and can present with some of the following symptoms: bloating, burping, flatulence, sense of fullness across central abdomen, nausea, weak or cracked fingernails, acne, iron deficiency, undigested food and chronic candida.
Then of course there’s your microbiome - that complex mix of 2-3 kilos of bacteria, of which only approximately 1/3 are common to others - the rest are unique to you! So taking a probiotic needs to be carefully considered, and eating foods that fuel a healthy microbiome is something that can really deliver on your overall health, not just that of your gut.
Get tested:
At the HEAL clinic we’re huge fans of getting tested before leaping to conclusions, or treatments that might not be right for you. Our functional gut testing shines a light on what’s going on “down there” and really drives good decisions about how to repair your gut.
We have an assessment process that involves a simple consultation followed by recommendations based on your unique situation. Contact us if you’d like to know more: ask@healhealth.co.nz
