What’s Your Gut Trying to Tell You? Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs to Boost Digestive Health
You probably don’t think about your gut that much, other than when you’re hungry or when you’ve eaten foods that don’t agree with you. For many people, the gut is just a way to process food and nutrition, then expel what the body doesn’t need. But the truth is, your digestive system is the foundation for your overall health. A compromised digestive system disrupts the entire body. It doesn’t matter whether you have a sprain or thyroid disease, almost all health issues require attention to digestion.
“The digestive system supplies energy needed for the bodily processes of growth, repair, defense, locomotion, regulation, respiration and reproduction. …Any disruption to the digestive function affects all other organ systems, and thus, the whole body.”
– Jane Lyttleton, BSc Hons (NZ), M Phil (Lond), Dip TCM (Aus), Cert Acup (China), Cert Herbal Medicine (China), Fellow AACMA, Reg AHPRA
Your Microbiome – A Reflection of Your World
Just as healthy digestion leads to a healthy body, issues in the digestive system can manifest into bigger problems throughout the body. In Chinese Medicine, you get your energy (or qi) from your parents but everything you come in contact with and ingest affects that energy. This includes the air you breathe, the food you eat and the water you drink – everything you need to survive.
Everything you ingest into your digestive track and lungs becomes part of your microbiome. Your microbiome is made up of trillions of microorganisms that live on and in your body. In fact, there are 10 times as many microbes in your body than there are cells. And the majority of these microbes live in your digestive tract. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, that means that your microbiome then impacts the health of your bodily functions, your energy and your genetic expression. It affects vitamin and mineral absorptions, hormone regulation, immunity and detoxification. And because the gut to brain communication is a two-way street, outside variables like stress can actually alter the structure of the microbiome, which is thought to be pathophysiology of some psychiatric disorders.
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs Always Addresses Digestion
Because your gut is so important, at WholeSelf Acupuncture we address digestion in most cases regardless of your initial symptoms. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs have a positive effect on the microbiome by working to regulate the intestinal flora, gut bacteria and the entire digestive processes. Acupuncture and herbs also treat digestive-specific issues and diseases like bloating, acid reflux, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, Crohn’s and Gastritis. And because the digestive system directly impacts mental health, Chinese Medicine that regulates your gut can also help to treat anxiety, depression, mental focus and ADD.
Even though your microbiome begins before birth, it’s constantly changing and it’s never too late to repair and regulate digestion. The best time to get it in check is before it translates into disease. The digestive track can start to adjust within days of treatment, which means you could start feeling the results almost immediately – although longer lasting results can take a few months of treatment to achieve. Why struggle with slow and irregular digestion? Show your guts some love and make an acupuncture and Chinese herbs appointment at WholeSelf today!