Emma Lawson has some advice for the aches that won’t go away.
If you’ve ever had to deal with a digestive problem, you know that it greatly decreases the quality of one’s life: you lose energy, willpower, become sluggish, and depressed. In more serious cases, intestinal problems can lead to severe illnesses and even cancer, so proper care and timely reactions to any symptoms and discomfort are highly advisable.
These are things that I have used or researched. I only recommend what works for me.
Where to start?
The first thing to do is to adjust your diet and see if that is helping, maybe avoid food that is giving you problems, or eat less of something. Fasting for a few days can also get your gut back in check, sometimes it just needs a break.
Prevention
Try giving your gut optimal conditions for going back into a balanced state: cut out all sugar, alcohol, artificial and processed foods and drink plenty of water. Maybe you are just dehydrated. Do regular exercise, there are yoga sequences that aid digestion. Give your intestines at least a 12-hour break overnight, so if you need to have breakfast at 7am, your last meal the previous night should be around 7pm. Keep your stress in check and learn how to manage your stress response in the body with techniques like autogenic training.
Detox
Our gut accumulates a lot f toxic waste from food over years, and if we don’t do cleanses, it just stays there. Meat eaters are in more danger of developing an illness than non-meat eaters. There are many ways to do a cleanse, with herbs, with juice, fasting, or with ayurvedic traditional methods. This will be beneficial for your overall health, not only your gut.
Find the root cause
If none of these things helped, you need to consult some professionals and look into food allergies, intolerances, an overgrowth of yeast and bacteria and parasites. These are some of the most common problems causing bloating, cramps, gas, IBS, constipation and diarrhea.
Food intolerances
Maybe you are simply sensitive to certain foods and they are causing you trouble. Do food allergies tests to check for any food intolerances, including gluten and lactose intolerance since these are common. The solution is cutting out these foods from your diet.
Candida albicans
A very common condition is the overgrowth of yeast in your gut and this can cause many problems like fatigue, depression, bloating, flu-like symptoms, brain fog and so on. It feeds on sugar and carbs so you will need to follow a strict diet for a while and take herbal remedies like oregano oil.
SIBO
Another common under-diagnosed condition is bacteria overgrowth in your lower intestine. They get to your nutrients before you do and produce a lot of gas leaving you with leftovers and toxins. These are usually treated with antibiotics, herbal antimicrobial remedies and a strict diet like FODMAP. A very common bacteria that can cause ulcers is Helicobacter pylori and close to 50% of the population has it in their intestines. You should check a comprehensive list of H. Pylori symptoms and do a blood test if it looks suspicious.
Parasites
Unfortunately, we can be hosts to intestinal parasites, which are large organisms living in our gut, and they host bacteria and viruses, so fighting bacteria alone won’t be effective if they come out of a larger host. These can be successfully dealt with electro therapy and a zapper, combined with a good cleanse.
The most important thing when treating your gut is to be consistent, disciplined and persistent. It usually takes months for the gut flora to balance itself out and you should keep in mind that relapses are also very common. Take your problems seriously and make your intestinal health number one priority since it is the home of your immunity and your health.
Photos courtesy of Emma Lawson/Shutterstock and Leonid Mamchenkov
I have a friend that has been out of the country for a couple years. He has had digestive issues for a long time now. It is hard to say right now if it is just a food intolerance or a parasite, but is certainly a good idea to get tested when these symptoms show to avoid further issues.