Digestive Health

Common concerns:

• Indigestion
• Acid reflux
• Irritable Bowel syndrome
• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Food sensitivities
• Small intestine bowel obstruction
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

There are many conditions that can affect the digestive tract since each section of the digestive tract has different functions. Insufficient hydrochloric acid impairs the digestive function of the stomach while insufficient bile affects the ability of the body to digest fat. Health of the pancreas is crucial to digestion as the body relies on it for the production of various digestive enzymes. Proper liver function is especially important in processing nutrients, making bile and detoxification. They all work in coordination to give us a healthy digestive tract.

Conventional Treatment

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and antacids are often prescribed to treat acid reflux. Medications are also used to treat symptoms such as diarrhea and constipation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Liver health is monitored through liver enzyme levels of blood tests and liver scan. For Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, dietary advice approach is generally used as there is currently no medication available for treatment. Generally, medications are prescribed to treat Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Naturopathic Treatment

Naturopathic doctors seek to find the root cause of the digestive symptoms. Diet and lifestyle counseling plays a big part in the treatment. Proper stress management and choice of food can provide significant improvement in digestion. Herbal and nutritional supplementations such as digestive enzymes are helpful with digestion. Liver herbs such as milk thistle help to improve liver function and restore liver health of patients with NASH. Anti-inflammatory supplements such as currumin are effective supplements to consider as adjunctive treatments to medications.