Is your digestive tract feeling a-okay?

If your digestion is not working 100% it can lead to other health problems that can cause more than just stomach aches, gas and bloating, or diarrhoea.

Chronic health problems might stem from GI issues. Examples may include autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, skin problems such as eczema and acne rosacea (red cheeks), and heart disease (just to name a few). So in the bigger picture, how can we deal with all that can go wrong in the Gut area?

In Functional Medicine we use a program that goes by the simple acronym of the ‘5Rs’:

Remove

Replace

Re-inoculate

Repair

Rebalance

When applied to various chronic health issues, the 5R program can lead to a dramatic improvement in symptoms, and sometimes even complete resolution. Each program, as with all our treatments is formulated to be designed for you the individual. Because health is not a cookie-cutter approach.

Some interesting facts:

·       80% of your immune system is related to your gut

·       Your gut is also referred to as your 2nd brain – and 70% of your happy hormone, serotonin is made in the gut.

The elements of the 5R program are described briefly below.

1. Remove

Remove stressors: get rid of things that negatively affect the environment of the GI tract including allergic foods, parasites, and potential problematic bacteria or yeast. This might involve using an allergy “elimination diet” to find out what foods are causing GI symptoms, or it may involve taking medications or herbs to get rid of a particular bug.

2. Replace

Replace digestive secretions: add back things like digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid (low stomach acid which is very common), and bile acids that are required for proper digestion and that may be compromised by diet, medications, diseases, aging, or other factors.

3. Re-inoculate

Help beneficial bacteria flourish by ingesting probiotic foods or supplements that contain the “good” GI bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacillus species, and by consuming the high soluble fiber foods that good bugs like to eat, called prebiotics.

4. Repair

Help the lining of the GI tract repair itself by supplying key nutrients that can often be in short supply in a compromised gut, such as zinc, antioxidants (e.g. vitamins A, C, and E), fish oil, and the amino acid glutamine.

5. Rebalance

It is important to pay attention to lifestyle choices. Sleep, exercise, and stress can all affect the GI tract. Balancing those activities is important to an optimal digestive tract.

Depending on your condition it will depend on how long each of the 5 R steps will take.