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The staff at Wellness Alternatives understands that alleviating your gastrointestinal distress is important to you. You want it to stop, so you can live a normal life without the discomfort, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and/or pain. The most common information for indigestion and GI health on the web discusses the various symptoms, which foods to avoid, and what pills to take. In reviewing this information, it appears you are doomed to bland foods, antacids, or laxatives the rest of your life. We found the information to be a simplistic view of digestive health and it does not accurately reflect the actual anatomy, physiology and neurology of your body.

Our challenge is getting you to understand the complexity of care required to manage digestive health. The appropriate treatment of gastrointestinal disorders is at the same time much easier and much more complex than eating bland, tasteless food and taking pills. Many factors and systems are involved in the patterns associated with GI issues. These include: stress, cortisol, posture, hormones, microbes, stomach acid, and more.

Why is my gastrointestinal tract a red hot zone?

Each of the following processes act as a 'thermostat' in one part of your digestive tract. Any or all of them can create discomfort and contribute to a disease process. Each factor will influence another part of your GI tract, and if broken, will stress another zone, much like a broken thermostat in a multi-zoned home.

• low stomach acid (HCL)
• damaged immune barriers
• thin gut mucosal lining
• malabsorption of nutrients
• food irritants
• bacterial overgrowth and undergrowth
• yeast overgrowth

One imbalance influences another. An expert diagnostician with grounded principles in anatomy and physiology can determine through accurate stool, blood and saliva testing the order of importance and which symptoms need to be addressed.

The importance of stomach acid

Every facet of our health and well-being depends on proper digestive chemistry and our ability to produce stomach acid. The importance of stomach acid is well documented. Your body needs stomach acid for a lot of good reasons:

• Stomach acid plays an essential role in the immune system by killing harmful bacteria and parasites that are ingested with food.
• Stomach acid activates the enzymes needed for food digestion.
• Stomach acid signals the pancreas to release digestive juices and enzymes to further breakdown food. Without stomach acid the digestive juices and enzymes remain in the pancreas and begin auto digesting the pancreas.
• Stomach acid initiates peristalsis, the rhythmic contractions of the intestines, which crush, mix and move the food through the GI tract.
• Stomach acid is essential for the absorption of Vitamin B12 which plays key roles in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous systems and in the formation of oxygen carrying red blood cells. At Wellness Alternatives, we see in our clinical practice that over 60% of our patients are functionally unable to carry adequate amounts of oxygen to their body.
• Stomach acid performs an essential digestive function by reducing food clumps into smaller particles, so that the intestines can absorb nutrients quickly and effectively.

The effect of suppressing stomach acid with over-the-counters and/or drugs is to decrease nutrient absorption to such a degree that there can be long term health consequences. In the process you are also compromising an essential part of your immune system. Stomach acid kills harmful microbes on contact and without it these intruders can flourish and tax your immune system. The longer the duration of acid suppression, the higher the risk of harmful effects.

If a patient has high marks in Category II and/or III of the Metabolic Assessment Form (MAF), there is a high probability of an imbalance in microbial ecology. (This form may be found under the New Patient Paperwork tab.)

Symptoms that may arise, in typical order of occurrence, include:

• Digestive or bowel complaints such as diarrhea, constipation, gas pains, bloating, belching, indigestion, or heartburn
• Foul smelling stool/gas
• Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss
• Overall weakness
• Enlarged liver and gallbladder
• Itching
• Clay- or light-colored stools
• Hair loss

The Myth of producing "too much acid"

If your doctor says you are producing too much acid, know this is the most perpetuated myth in healthcare today. To understand this you must understand pH. The lower the pH, the stronger the acid. If your stomach is working properly it produces an acid pH of 2. The stomach contains hydrochloric acid, which has a pH of generally 1-3. This does not mean your stomach is producing copious amounts of stomach acid; instead it means if your stomach is working efficiently, the acid produced is normal and very acidic.

These optimal pH levels must be present in order for pepsin (a protein-digesting enzyme) to function. If the pH is not acidic, protein digestion will not occur.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) will directly degrade proteins and it also creates conditions in the stomach that encourage the formation of red blood cells by converting Vitamin B-12 and the ionic form of iron. The enzymes secreted by the stomach lining are specially "designed" so that they work best in a strongly acidic solution.

Ulcers

THE ACID "ATE A HOLE IN YOUR STOMACH" MYTH

One bacterium, H. pylori, is associated with ulcer formation and secretes chemicals that neutralize the acids. With its flagella, the bacterium moves through the stomach lumen and drills into the mucus gel layer of the stomach, "injecting" the inflammatory inducing agent peptidoglycan from its own cell wall into epithelial stomach cells. This destroys and thins the lining of the stomach or intestine, creating an irritation or ulcer. Damage to the epithelial cells is the result of the toxic ammonia that is produced along with the other by-products of H. pylori (protease, catalase and certain phospholipases).

When acidic foods come into contact with the thinned lining, it causes pain much like getting acid from a tomato or lemon into a cut on your finger. It is not too much acid but instead a little acid in the wrong place (acid on diseased tissue). Sometimes the protective ability of the stomach lining breaks down and a hole into the stomach or duodenum develops. These are gastric or duodenal ulcers, respectively. Removing bad bacteria, restoring proper gut flora and repairing the stomach and gut lining are keys to avoiding and correcting ulcer-type diseases.

Taking antacids will make an environment where undesirable bacteria flourish even though antacids may lessen your discomfort for a period of time. Other types of microbes will also take advantage of the low stomach acid environment created by antacids and create imbalances leading to disease processes.

Factors Contributing to Digestive Disorders

1. Sympathetic Dominance
   • If you are stressed, or have been stressed in the past, your sympathetic nervous system may be overworked.
     • The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is a branch of the autonomic nervous system that becomes more active during times of stress. Its actions during the stress response comprise the fight-or-flight response.
     • When activated due to stress, the gastrointestinal tract is slowed or shut down. Acid production is shut off. This is a protective mechanism because the blood supply is rerouted away from your gut to your arms and legs in preparation for the "fight or flight reaction." In this situation, body energy is not utilized to digest or absorb nutrients.
2. Elevated Cortisol
   • During periods of high stress, your body produces the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is a corticosteroid hormone or glucocorticoid produced by the adrenal cortex, which is part of the adrenal glands. It is usually referred to as the "stress hormone" as it is involved in response to stress and anxiety. Cortisol increases blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduces immune responses.
   • Cortisol suppresses the production of sIgA cells - the main immune cells of the gastrointestinal barrier.
   • The immune system that protects us from harmful invaders is now unable to protect the Gastrointestinal Mucosa (see explanation under "Low Cortisol"). This may eventually promote a leaky gut pattern.
3. Low Cortisol
   • With prolonged stress, which most everyone now experiences, the adrenals become fatigued. Once fatigued the adrenals intermittently produce cortisol - sometimes too much, sometimes not enough.
   • Low cortisol down regulates cyclooygenase-1 (COX-1). COX-1 is responsible for production of prostaglandins (which, among other functions, controls inflammation.)
     • This results in a thinning of the mucosal lining and an unhealthy intestinal mucosa.
   • Gastrointestinal Mucosa
     • The mucosa is the innermost layer of the gastrointestinal tract. This layer comes in direct contact with the food, and is responsible for absorption and secretion, an important process in digestion.
     • Without a healthy gut mucosa the cells responsible for making stomach acid and digestive juices don't produce, your body loses the ability to break down food, the protective immune barrier (sIgAs) become inflamed and damaged, and the balance of healthy gut flora (bacteria and yeast) is compromised.
   • Enterogastric reflex
     • The enterogastric reflex inhibits the production of stomach acid and digestive juices.
     • Appropriate enterogastric reflex is a protective and self-regulating mechanism when:
       • Sensors note acid has been secreted in the upper intestine
       • Protein breakdown is happening
     • Inappropriate enterogastric reflex inhibits the production of stomach acid and digestive juices when:
       • The small bowel is distended with food, gas, and bloating
       • Irritation of the GI mucosa is present
       
       This in turn inhibits gastric motility and secretion of gastric acid (HCl) when it is needed. Food now stays in the stomach for prolonged periods. This is the same food you had to put in the fridge an hour after you served it. It is now sitting in your stomach at 98.6 degrees. What do you think it is doing? Rotting & fermenting next to your thin, irritated gut lining!

WITH ALL OF THIS HAPPENING, YOU CANNOT PRODUCE TOO MUCH STOMACH ACID! DON'T BELIEVE THE MEDICAL MYTH.

Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulphate and Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria

SRB type bacteria can proliferate in the colon as a result of large amounts of animal protein and processed food, especially those which contain sulphur-based preservatives. One of the end products, hydrogen sulphide, is as toxic as cyanide, and can turn into sulphuric acid. This can be the first step in the development of ulcerative colitis.

Dietary sulphate may allow growth of SRB's, which inhibit the growth of methanogenic bacteria. This may explain the absence of CH4 in the breath of many people in western populations. Why do we care? The result is bad breath and foul odorous gas.

Caution should be used when treating joint inflammation with glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate supplements.

IBS & Gastrocolic Reflex

The gastrocolic reflex or gastrocolic response is one of a number of physiological reflexes controlling the motility, or peristalsis, of the gastrointestinal tract. It involves an increase in motility of the small intestine and colon in response to the stretch in the stomach and byproducts of digestion in the small intestine. Thus, this reflex is responsible for the urge to defecate following a meal. When pressure within the rectum becomes increased, the gastrocolic reflex acts as a stimulus for defecation. Clinically, the gastrocolic reflex has been associated with irritable bowel syndrome; the very act of eating or drinking can provoke an overreaction of the gastrocolic response in some patients with irritable bowel syndrome due to their heightened visceral sensitivity. This can lead to abdominal pain, urgency, diarrhea, or constipation. An experienced doctor can determine the cause of visceral sensitivity through detailed assessments and lab testing.

Recommended Lab Testing for Digestive Disorders may include:

Stool Profiles use DNA analysis to identify microbiota including anaerobes, a previously immeasurable area of the gut environment. DNA assessment is specific and accurate, avoids the pitfalls of sample transport, reports results as specific numbers, and is more sensitive than classic laboratory methods. Blood panels look at issues such as the formation of B12, inflammation, nutritional imbalances and much more to an expert diagnostician.

Saliva panels can look at Cortisol and Hormone levels to determine if a compromised gut barrier is affecting hormone transport, availability, and elimination.

IN CONCLUSION

The Four R Program. We hope we have provided the information you need to make some sense of the way you are feeling and what is happening in your body. Wellness Alternatives provides accurate, scientific testing and the knowledge and expertise to interpret and make appropriate recommendations so you can quit symptom suppression and correct your particular imbalance. Let us help you Remove, Repair, Replace, and Restore proper upper GI and lower gut function. Call us today to schedule an appointment. 636-227-4949