DIGESTION

Digestion (Spotlight series)

The digestive system is central to our whole being! When I say that I do not mean to be flippant, because it actually is a central feature of our anatomy. In a sense, the digestive tract is a long tube, around which our various tissues and organs are arranged. The food we take in is passed along that tube, being altered by grinding, chemical reaction and enzymatic breakdown. We absorb nutrients from it and dispel unwanted products of digestion as it passes, finally getting rid of the waste matter with the passage of a bowel movement. And the amazing thing is that it is, like most of our body workings, an automatic and well-nigh continuous process.

A knowledge of the anatomical positions of the various organs and of the position that the digestive tract takes up within the abdominal cavity helps to identify where a problem may be coming from. Again taking pain as an example, acute discomfort in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen could be indicative of appendicitis, whereas pain in the top of the abdomen, just below the breast bone suggests pain from the stomach, while pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen, just under the ribs is more suggestive of a problem with the gall bladder.

But to think of the digestive tract as a long pipe is obviously to oversimplify it. It is a dynamic tube, the different parts of which have specific functions. Digestion begins the moment that food is taken into the system. The smooth muscles of the digestive tract move food along, breaking it up, grinding and mixing it with a sequential outpouring of chemicals and enzymes in order to reduce it into absorbable nutrients. Ultimately, waste products and indigestible residues are passed out of the body as faeces.

Some tips to aid digestion

I make no claims for any type of diet. Yet the following are factors that I feel are worth considering. They alone may make a difference to one’s digestive system.

• Drink a cup of boiled water in the morning before breakfast. This seems to cleanse the stomach and often works wonders.
• Eat slowly. One of the main causes of indigestion is unchewed food.
• Don’t eat food “piping hot”. Our stomachs are not meant to have hot foods inside them. A useful thing to remember is that if it is hot in the mouth it is hot in the stomach. This includes tea and coffee. Food and drinks that are too hot may disrupt enzymes and injure the lining of the stomach. So, always wait for it to cool.
• Do not eat on the hoof. Meals should be taken at a leisurely pace. If you eat on the move, there is more chance that digestion will not begin. Instead foods in the stomach and intestine will start to ferment, producing gases that bloat you.
• Avoid eating fruit with the meal. Tempting though it is, because it seems lighter on the stomach than puddings, it is not good at the end of a meal. This is because fruit digests faster than dense proteins, so fermentation and gas accumulation may occur.
• If bloating is a persistent problem, try simplifying your meals. Instead of having lots of food groups at one meal try separating them. For example, proteins need acid enzyme digestive juices, whereas carbohydrates need alkaline enzyme digestive juices. When you have to break down both types all at once you are not achieving optimal enzymatic action, so some fermentation and gas accumulation may occur.
• Try taking slightly smaller servings and think twice about second helpings. As a good rule of thumb, try to get into the habit of estimating the quantity you allow yourself using “nature’s food bowl”. Cup your two hands together as if you were using them to make a bowl. The quantity of food that would fill that “bowl” should be your maximum at any meal.
• Make sure that you drink enough water. Ideally, hydrate your stomach with a glass of water half an hour before a meal.

Homeopathy and digestive symptoms

Homeopathy has great proven worth in dealing with many digestive complaints. And since homeopathy depends upon the individual’s own experience of a symptom, it has terrific scope for self-management of symptoms and minor complaints. For this reason I am not going to discuss any actual pathology, but merely run through some common symptoms, starting at the top of the wonderful dynamic tube that is the digestive tract and looking at the indications of some of the remedies which might help.

But first, be aware of certain warning symptoms which should not be ignored. An early medical opinion and diagnosis is important in the following situations:

• sudden severe abdominal pain;
• vomiting, especially if accompanied by abdominal distension;
• weight loss which is not from deliberate dieting;
• alteration in the normal bowel habit, either with persistent looseness or constipation;
• bleeding from the back passage.

The remedies that I have included in this brief look at the digestive system are by no means a definitive listing for each of these groups, but they are ones that I use frequently.

Difficulty swallowing

We call this symptom “dysphagia”. It is a symptom that I would always advise someone to have checked out by a health professional. Once that has been done, there are a handful of remedies that can ease the symptom and which may bring about a cure.

Asafoedida is a truly wonderful remedy when the individual actually feels “reverse peristalsis”, that is, waves of movement travelling up the oesophagus and carrying food back to the mouth. Indeed, this reverse peristalsis (peristalsis being the name for the movement of food or residues down the digestive tract) can occur anywhere along the length of the alimentary canal.

Globus hystericus is the name given to the sensation of having a lump in the throat. This is usually present all the time, but may seem so acute when faced with food that it cannot be eaten. Ignatia is the remedy of choice here, especially when swallowing is so difficult that choking occurs. It is a remedy that is often chosen in highly-strung, almost hysterical individuals. If such a problem occurs after a shock or bereavement then this remedy may settle it completely.