01 Oct Utilizing Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs for Digestive Issues
Approximately 62 million Americans suffer from digestive issues on a regular basis.
High levels of ongoing stress and harmful effects of the traditional American diet, which is high in sugar and processed foods are primarily responsible for the digestive issues. Digestive issues may range from minor irritants, such as bloating, gas and loose stools, to life-threatening conditions such as, diverticulosis, ulcerative colitis, crohn’s disease, chronic diarrhea, and various cancers that target digestive organs. Whatever the cause of these illnesses, it is always worth being proactive about your digestive health. The information contained in this article should definitely get you moving in the right direction with your digestion but also with your health in general.
Let’s take a look at a few common disorders and how acupuncture or natural therapies can help them.
- Bloating and gas: Often these symptoms arise from eating too fast or too much, eating refined foods or excess sugar, alcohol or coffee or with repetitive stress. Aside from slowing down and eating less of these foods, utilizing Chinese and western herbal medicine in conjunction with acupuncture is highly affective in treating these symptoms.Some of the formulas I regularly use will treat digestive issues that have arisen due to: excessive stress or gas and bloating during menstrual cycles, reducing phlegm, which is often a root cause of gas and bloating.Probiotics: Acidophilus and bifidus — Candida overgrowth in the gut is often the cause of bloating and gas but many digestive issues. Candia is considered a pathological yeast that causes an array of physical and emotional imbalances. Probiotics are essential to good gut bactiera and overall health.
- Constipation: Eating the standard American diet, which lacks a healthy amount of dietary fiber, can easily lead to chronic constipation. Constipation most often occurs from a diet that is low in dietary fiber, antioxidants and is high in, problematic to digest, additives and refined ingredients. Many people are constipated and don’t even realize it. They may have regular bowel movements but their systems are not being flushed thoroughly, which creates intestinal toxicity. Intestinal cleansing is a high priority in healing a large number of chronic health issues. There are numerous nutritional supplements and natural herbal remedies that can relieve constipation and heal the underlying root issue of imbalances.
- Aloe juice decreases inflammation and promotes peristalsis (smooth muscle contraction in the bowel).
- Psyllium husk is high in fiber that alleviates constipation with water to flush the system.
- Chia seeds, Flax meal many other seeds are excellent high fiber sources to relieve constipation.
- Senna leaf is useful for severe constipation.
- Chinese herbal formula: Ma Zi Ren Wan and Run Chang Wan are gentle laxatives that are not addictive or habit forming
- Diarrhea: Chronic diarrhea can be dangerous to your health. It is still one of the leading causes of death in the world. In the condition of chronic diarrhea you are not absorbing any nutrients or liquids and thus the body is losing what it needs to function. Diarrhea is related to spleen weakness or intestinal inflammation. It is essential to make this a top priority and heal this condition. Stress and anxiety are often root causes of diarrhea and can trigger regular bouts of diarrhea. In addition to the Chinese herbal medicines I used regularly in my practice, the following western herbs are beneficial in treating diarrhea:
- Chamomile, Peppermint Slippery elm , and ginger harmonize and soothe the stomach to stop diarrhea.
- Probiotics such as acidophilus are essential to use long-term to treating diarrhea but keep the gastrointestinal track healthy.
- Irritable bowel Syndrome: Commonly know as IBS, is a very common problem affecting millions of Americans. IBS is often used by Doctors to diagnose patients who’s symptoms don’t match any other diagnosis or they are not sure what is causing the bowel issues. IBS is characterized by bowel movements that fluctuate between diarrhea and constipation with accompanying abdominal pain or distention. People with IBS tend to be sensitive to a variety of foods including: gluten, refined sugar, wheat and high fiber foods. Symptoms often persist and may be resistant to conventional treatments. In Acupuncture, IBS is discussed as being a disharmony between two different organ systems one of which is related to hyperactivity due to excess stress, anger, and frustration, which then leads to the weakening of the other organ thus leading to loose bowels and fatigue. In this case, an acupuncture treatment would be to relax and reduce the hyperactive organ and strengthening the deficient organ system.
- I recommend committing to weekly acupuncture and herbal treatment for 4-8 visits, depending upon the severity and duration of your symptoms.
- Probiotics are extremely important as well such as Acidophilus and bifidus
- Herbal supplements: Peppermint and Chamomile have a soothing effect on the GI system and can reduce the irritants
- Chinese Herbal Formulas
Most digestive disorders respond well to regular acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatments.
Making dietary changes that will restore the GI system is very important to the recovery process. In Chinese Medicine, your digestion is one of the main ways of gauging your overall health. Maintaining a healthy digestion is essential for good physical and mental health.
Please note that if you are suffering from crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or colon cancer, these diseases are more complex and require you to seek professional allopathic medical advice and treatment. There are many powerful natural remedies for these diseases, but they need to be administered based on your specific needs.