Articles
Major causes of gastrointestinal problems
- Microbial imbalances
- Parasitic infections
- Bacterial overgrowth
- Yeast infections
- Viral infections
- Imbalances of normal flora
- Functional disturbances
- Stomach acid deficiency
- Pancreatic digestive enzyme insufficiency
- Secretory IgA deficiency
- Damaging agents
- Food sensitivities
- Pharmaceutical agents (e.g. NSAIDS,
chemotherapy)
- Excess alcohol
- Environmental chemicals (e.g. mercury)
- Oxidative stress
As you can see there is no
one size fits all treatment.
Tests which may be useful in determining the causes of gastrointestinal disturbances.
|
|
Test. |
Description. |
|
1. |
Complete Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) |
A CDSA is an extremely useful test not performed by standard
laboratories. It tests for digestion markers in stool (fibres, food remnants,
fats, meat fibres, vegetables fibres, starch cells), infections (bacterial,
yeasts, parasites), levels of healthy flora (e.g. lactobacilli,
bifidobacterium) and additional markers (mucus, pus, occult blood, white blood
cells, red blood cells). More advanced CDSA’s have more features. |
|
2. |
3-Day stool parasitology and other parasite testing |
A 3-day stool parasitology checks for parasitic infections
(e.g. giardia, cryptosporidium) in 3 stool samples collected on different
days. This vastly increases detection rate. Parasitic
infections are common in western countries, including Australia and America. |
|
3. |
Intestinal permeability (‘leaky gut’) testing |
Increased gut permeability leads to increased absorption
of partially digested food particles, infectious agents, chemicals, antigens,
etc. and is associated with a host of different health problems. |
|
4. |
Elimination diets for food sensitivities |
An elimination diet allows individuals to determine if
they are reacting negatively to particular foods. |
|
5. |
Salivary secretory IgA (SIgA) |
SIgA is an immune protein secreted by all mucous
membranes. It’s primary function is to fight infections and maintain the
integrity of the gastrointestinal lining. Individuals may be deficient in
SIgA due to genetic or acquired reasons. |
|
6. |
Heidelberg stomach
acid testing; or experimental use of Betaine HCl supplements. |
Contrary to popular belief depressed levels of stomach
acid are considerably more common than excess levels. Depressed levels of
stomach acid impair digestion/absorption and increase risk for
gastrointestinal infections. |
Interactions between different factors.
There is a huge range of
interactions between the factors described above. For example:
- Leaky gut can cause food sensitivities while
food sensitivities can cause leaky gut.
- Some parasitic infections predispose to yeast
infections.
- Secretory IgA deficiency can cause
gastrointestinal infections, food sensitivities and leaky gut.
… these are just a few of
the many examples that exist.
I don’t have a digestive disorder (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome), is this information relevant to me?
Very much so! Most of my
clients have some digestive issue that they are usually not aware of. This
information is relevant to anyone with chronic health problems and those aiming
to preserve their health. Benefits of ideal digestive function/balance:
- Optimal nutrient absorption.
- Increased immune function. A large proportion of
the human immune system is located in the digestive tract.
- Increased chemical elimination. For example our
healthy flora, among other things, assists mercury detoxification.
- Decreased food sensitivities and increased
tolerance for nutritional supplements.
- Flora influences genetic expression.
- Flora improves lipid (cholesterol,
triglycerides) profile.
Blake Graham, BSc (Honours), AACNEM
Clinical Nutritionist
Perth, Western Australia
Phone/Email: See Contact page
*Non-Perth residents may enquire about phone consultations.
