The Grumbling Gut

There are a large number of diseases of the bowel and they all have different symptoms, but there is one constant with all of these diseases and that is inflammation of the bowel.

The digestive system is actually a very complex organ that has a finely tuned team of mechanical reactions mixed with chemicals. The team goes into action once food enters the mouth where it mixes with saliva, the food then moves to the stomach where it meets with digesting enzymes and other chemicals. The food mixes with the stomach secretions that are released; the mixture now moves into the small intestine, this is where new team members enter into the game. The liver and pancreas are now in action releasing digestive enzymes that break down the complex carbohydrates, fats and protein into sugars, simple fats and amino acids; these are now absorbed by the small intestine. The next team member is the large intestine or colon, the responsibility of this team player is to break down undigested food, fiber and water, as this mixture moves through the colon it is dehydrated by the colon cells becoming solid as it moves and turning into stool.

These diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), crohn's, colitis, etc., have inflammation at the source of their problems. Inflammation is the bodies' response to injury or illness, in the case of these diseases the inflammatory response turns on the bodies' digestive track and actually attacks it. This means it is an auto-immune disease. There are only two areas where your intestinal system can go astray, either your bacteria or your chemistry or it could be both. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a general term used for all the conditions in this class. IBS has no one cause and no one cure.

Let's take a look at the intestinal areas that can go wrong. The gastrointestinal system needs an optimum level of good bacteria or your chemistry will change. The main reason you lose your bacterial balance is the use of antibiotics, unfortunately we sometimes need these drugs in order to get infections under control, but the side effect of this type of medication alters the bacterial balance in the intestines. Once the body has lost its bacterial balance it takes some time for the disease to set in. The inflammatory response that the body sends to the intestines is designed to heal what ever damage it encounters. It can not heal a lack of beneficial bacteria so the inflammatory response can not do what it is

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