A 3-Pronged Approach to Help Your Gut and Overall Health

A lot goes on in our intestines and it effects our physical and mental health. Our gut is part of our immune system. Keeping it’s lining from being irritated and keeping a healthy balance of good bacteria in the right places in it is very important for body including our brain.

SIBO is common in our society. People often have it and don’t know. What is it? It’s short for small intestine bacteria overgrowth, sometimes referred to as small bowel bacteria overgrowth (SBBO). This is when too much of 1 or more of 3 types of bacteria multiply to become too many in the small intestine (the first part of the intestine that food goes through). Many people know that in our intestines we want certain good bacteria to help kill bad bacteria and sometimes take probiotic (bacterial) supplements. It is our large intestine, which is at the farthest end of the intestines, that should have billions of bacteria in it. However, our thinner and longer small intestine should have much less bacteria in it.

Some GI specialists and Naturopaths that specialize in this think that about 80% of people who’ve been diagnosed with IBS actually have SIBO

Symptoms:

It is very common to have acid reflux come into your throat and/or passing gas when you aren’t having a bowel movement on the toilet. Gassiness can be of various smells.

2 type specific symptoms are:

• Being constipated – having firm stool that is difficult to pass
• Having diarrhea – loose stool.

Why and how does this happen?

One way to think about it that I find helpful is comparing the contents of our intestine to water and its contents on land. When water is in a flowing stream or river it is cleaner than water in a fairly still pond or lake. The water being still promotes multiplication (spread) of much more algae and bacteria. How our nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and endocrine system (hormones) are working affect the efficiency of our digestion. Also surgeries and their scars can create pulls on our digestive organs and intestines. Having an accident may jar organs, compressing or slightly shifting them and/or the joints where the nerves leave the spine to organs.

What to do?

There are 2 important things to do to help with the healing:

1. See a naturopath to help figure out a plan to stop hurting and heal the mucus lining of your intestine and kill the extra bad bacteria. It will include how to eat after to not hurt the mucus lining and not let the bad bacteria multiply again.
2. Have sessions with a holistic manual therapist with thorough Osteopathic Manual Therapy training in both visceral (organ) and cranial work in addition to joints and fascia helps optimize the structure of your body for things to function well.
3. Do activities that involve mindfulness and meditation, and at extra stressful times in life see a psychologist or psycho-therapist.

Amy Shantz,

BHK, dipMT