We approach digestive disorders from a whole body perspective. Just as there are root causes to any illness, gastro-intestinal (GI) disorders can also be traced to specific problems.

Many physicians like to quickly diagnose a digestive problem as IBS, Crohn’s, or colitis. However, these conditions are not that clear cut and often stem from many different imbalances. Too often, traditional medicine concentrates only on addressing the symptoms with approaches like laxatives for constipation, bulking agents for diarrhea and acid blockers for reflux. Yet, this does nothing for overall well being. While the patient may feel better in the short-term, they are rarely cured and frequently predisposed to more problems down the road.

In order to properly alleviate any digestive disorder, we need to identify and treat all of the causes. GI Effects Stool Analysis is the most accurate and effective method of revealing everything happening inside the GI tract.

Equipped with this information, we correct bowel disorders using our 4 phase approach:

Phase 1: Remove Offending Pathogens
We use natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic herbal agents that are very potent in eradicating harmful factors. Unlike many of the brute force anti-fungal and antibiotic medications on the market, our products are still gentle on the rest of the body while being just as effective.

Phase 2: Optimize Digestion
To establish efficient digestion, we add everything from digestive enzymes to hydrochloric depending on the needs of each individual.

Phase 3: Reintroduce Beneficial Bacteria
Our custom probiotic regimen will build up essential bacteria levels in your GI tract to make it more resilient and keep pathogens at bay.

Phase 4: Repair and Healing
This is the most important and unfortunately most omitted step in conventional gastroenterology solutions. When a person has dysbiosis, a gastrointestinal imbalance, pathogens can do a lot of damage on the stomach and intestinal lining by creating microscopic holes which allow food particles to seep through. This causes something called, “leaky gut” and contributes to food allergies and other problems. Healing the stomach and intestinal lining by repairing erosions and regenerating mucus membranes is essential to ensure effective and lasting benefits from our treatment.

Approaching digestive conditions through our 4 phase program coupled with the use of the highest quality products, results in a swift and successful treatment while preventing relapses down the road.

A properly functioning digestive system is the first step to reaping the benefits of good nutrition and developing strong immunity.

For our Immune System
The GI environment is so principally important to to our health that it can actually dictate whether we will be healthy or ill. Aside from the more known functions of taste, smell, digestion and absorbion, the GI tract is also crucial to good immunity. The digestive tract is 27 feet in length and has an average surface area (if you undo all of the loops) of about the size of a tennis court. All of that surface area exposes us to tremendous amounts of toxins, antigenic proteins and bacteria. Just as the skin is the first line of defense against external threats, the GI tract and its lining are the first line of defense for our immune system from our foods and internal threats – it regulates what gets in and what goes out. Because of this, the GI tract has developed an amazing ability to heal if given the right tools.

For our Mood
Also, it is the only system in the body that has its own independent nervous system (the enteric nervous system) which carries out most of its core functions and can actually dictate and reflect our mood. Neurotransmitters, the chemicals your brain uses to communicate with your body, are actually stored in the gut. In fact, 95% of your serotonin (the “happy” neurotransmitter) is found there.

How Digestion Works
Digestion begins in the mouth, where the teeth break up food and mix it with saliva. Salivary enzymes initiate the breakdown of food into usable forms, particularly the initial digestion of fat and starch. The stomach mechanically churns food, breaks up and emulsifies fat, and exposes the molecules to multiple enzymes such as hydrochloric acid and pancreatic juices. The resulting semi-digested slurry is passed from the stomach to the small intestine. The small intestine is filled with billions of bacteria (about three and a half pounds — equal in size and functional importance to a major organ); some friendly, and some not. Friendly bacteria promote good health and protect the body from the unfriendly bacteria.

Dysbiosis
When the intestines contain the optimal balance of good and bad bacteria – allowing more than 400 organisms to reside in harmony while preventing the overgrowth of any particular one – it is in a state of symbiosis. However, the delicate order of ecology in the intestines can be disrupted fairly easily, inducing dysbiosis (“dys-symbiosis”). Dysbiosis can result from either a deficiency of good bacteria or an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. In each case, organisms that are not usually predominant in the intestines, such as unfriendly bacteria, yeast (Candida) and protozoa, will actually cause disease by releasing toxins and altering nutrition patterns in the body. Optimal health requires that the intestinal flora maintain a healthy balance.

Major Causes of Dysbiosis

Changes to our food supply
Humans have evolved for millions of years with a food supply that has been virtually the same until the last 100 years. Many of today’s new convenience foods are genetically modified, chemically processed, and doused with pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. This is where the problem begins

Food Sensitivities
Sensitivities to foods such as gluten can also be a huge problem. While most people may not have full blown celiac disease, many are sensitive to gluten which can manifest as IBS or other digestive complaints. Our ancestors ate many different types of grains like spelt, rice, quinoa, millet and amaranth. Nowadays, because wheat and other gluten sources are in so many products, we can unknowingly ingest them 8-9 times per day. Therefore, the problem stems from the abuse of these grains.

External sources
Stress, pollution and medications can cause substantial disruptions to the flora in your digestive system

The Perfect Storm
Over exposure to proteins coupled with low digestive capacity, low acidity, low enzymatic production, leaky gut and dysbiosis leads to the perfect storm creating all of the digestive problems we see today. Our approach focuses on fixing each problem, individually, to correct your digestive disorder and keep it from coming back.