I Told You I Was Sick

Does your stomach always hurt? Digestive disorders affect millions of people in the United States alone. Just take a look at the stomach aisle the next time you’re in the pharmacy. It’s amazing how many products are out there to stop the symptoms of your digestive disorder.

The trouble with this approach is it doesn’t actually cure anything, it just masks the fact your intestines are screaming at you that something is going wrong in your body. Stop masking the symptoms. Your doctor may not tell you this but you can beat just about any digestive disorder naturally and in the privacy of your own home.

Common Digestive Disorders

• Acid Reflux Disease

Acid reflux disease affects millions of Americans. If you’re one of them, you may experience a constant burning sensation in your chest, a bad taste in your mouth, chronic belching, and difficulty sleeping. It may surprise you to know that acid reflux disease is not caused by too much stomach acid; it’s caused by too little. That’s right. Low digestive acid, also called hypochlorhydria, is the number one contributor to the symptoms you’re experiencing.

Unfortunately, the conventional treatment for acid reflux disease is acid reducers and proton pump inhibitors. This is one of the worst things you can do to reverse acid reflux. Further lowering your stomach acid and inhibiting your body’s ability to make stomach acid will only worsen your condition and cause you to become dependent on the pills.

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is just a medical term for “intestinal inflammation of unknown origin”. It is usually caused by leaky gut syndrome, food allergies, low stomach acid, and stress. Irritable bowel syndrome is not a disease, it’s symptom of a disease.

• Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a condition that is said to affect only 1 percent of the American population but in my opinion, plenty more people have gluten intolerance but they are either asymptomatic or think their chronic digestive problems are normal.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by the inability to digest the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. When a person with this autoimmune disease eats this protein, it causes the immune system to react by attacking the intestines.

Symptoms of celiac disease include chronic abdominal pain, gurgling intestines, flatulence, sinus problems, muscle aches, joint pain, and brain fog. The best way to test if gluten intolerance is causing your digestive upset is to eliminate all source of gluten from your diet for a period of one month and then reintroduce to test for a reaction.

• Ulcers

Stomach ulcers are commonly caused by a bacterium called H. pylori. H. pylori disrupt the protective layer of the stomach, causing erosions in the stomach or intestinal lining. NSAID pain relievers, acidic foods, and alcohol worsen stomach ulcers and should be avoided.

• Diverticulosis/Diverticulitis

Diverticulosis is caused by abnormal bulges in the wall of the intestinal tract. Though many are asymptomatic and not even aware they have this digestive disorder, a sudden attack of diverticulitis is quite noticeable and painful. Symptoms include abdominal tenderness, cramping, bloating, gas, fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting. If symptoms become too severe, medical attention is warranted.

What Causes Digestive Disorders?

Almost all digestive disorders can be traced back to low gut bacteria, low intestinal flora, low intake of fiber, and poor diet. Digestive disorders can also be caused by leaky gut syndrome and intestinal parasites.

Beat Any Digestive Disorder Naturally

Want to beat any digestive disorder naturally? You can do it but it’s not going to be as easy as walking in to your nearest pharmacy and picking up a pill. This is going to take some work on your part. First, you have to clean up your diet. Take all of your junk food and throw it in the trash or give it to a food pantry. Get rid of it.

Replace it with healing, fiber-rich whole foods like organic greens, apples, kiwi, cooked dried beans, brown rice, wild-caught fish, and healthy fats. Examples of digestion-promoting fats include coconut oil, butter, avocado, walnut, and extra virgin olive oil.

The second thing you should do is cut gluten and lactose products completely out of your diet for a period of one month. Since these are the most common food intolerances that cause digestive disorders, these are the best ones to cut. Once your one-month elimination period is over, add gluten back into your diet. Load up on it. If you have a reaction, you’ll know what to get rid of.

The same goes with lactose products. A few days after reintroducing gluten, reintroduce lactose products to see if your troubling symptoms return. If they do, you’re lactose intolerant and should avoid eating it. Alternatively, you can try a lactose enzyme pill to lessen symptoms when eating products containing lactose.

The third thing to do when you’re living with a chronic digestive disorder is to add three essential digestion-healing supplements:

• Probiotics

Probiotics are the friendly bacteria your gut needs to stay healthy. They are found naturally in fermented foods like sauerkraut and yogurt so I definitely suggest you incorporate them into your new healing diet as well. Just be sure you pick organic yogurt and not the kind with all those unnecessary additives and preservatives.

However, all the sauerkraut and yogurt you can eat in a day isn’t going to do for you what a quality probiotic supplement can do for you. Be sure to get one that contains at least 10 billion colony forming units (CFUs). These friendly bacteria will improve your immune system and the way your body absorbs nutrients from food. My go-to probiotic supplement is Solaray Multidophilus 20 Billion.

• Digestive Enzymes

Low stomach acid is responsible for nearly every nameable digestive disorder. I have low stomach acid and gluten intolerance myself and have been taking the same digestive aid for years with excellent results. The one I use is a brand called Solgar. Click on the upcoming link to read my Solgar Digestive Aids product review.

• Bulk Fiber

Bulk fiber is another great natural cure for digestive disorders. Nearly everyone with a digestive disorder doesn’t get enough fiber in their diet. Psyllium fiber eases both diarrhea and constipation by bulking up waste matter and flushing it from your system. I’ve used Yerba Prima Psyllium Whole Husks for years. It’s not the tastiest stuff in the world but it works almost immediately!

If you really want to heal your digestive disorders, you need to give your ravaged gut what it needs. This means eating a whole-food diet, eliminating anything in your diet your body can’t handle, and adding healing digestive supplements.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it.

Be patient with yourself and your healing process. Your digestive disorder didn’t develop overnight so it won’t be healed overnight. If you follow these steps and chronic digestive pain continues to plague you, make an appointment with your healthcare provider immediately. Your symptoms could be signs of a more serious health condition.

Don’t give up. When it comes to healing digestive disorders naturally, you’re in control. Why take a pill to stop symptoms when you can cure yourself completely?

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