Digestive Disorders

Are you dealing with digestive issues that you can’t get to the bottom of? Have you been given a diagnosis such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or been told that you need to go on heavy-duty steroids to treat your inflammatory bowel disease such as colitis or Crohn’s disease? Are you dealing with abdominal pain, acid reflux, chronic loose stools or habitual constipation? Then please, consider Chinese herbal medicine as a treatment option. Using these tools and others, I am very often able to help my patients heal their digestive systems, regulate their bowels and help them live their lives with more energy, comfort and vitality.

Chinese medicine considers digestion to be at the heart of good health, and whenever a patient comes in, I always consider the state of their digestive system, no matter what their chief complaint is. It doesn’t matter if they’re coming in for arthritis, kidney or heart issues – if there’s an issue with digestion, I treat it, as otherwise their progress towards health and vitality will be compromised. It makes sense though – without great digestion, you won’t be properly absorbing the nutrients in your food, no matter how high the quality of that food is.

What I’ve seen over the course of my practice is that many, if not most, people have digestive issues to varying degrees. Once you know what to look for, you’ll see it everywhere, from poor morning appetite, occasional acid reflux or constipation to more serious issues such as Crohn’s or colitis. This is because of many reasons, including stress, poor food quality, rushed eating, eating too many cold or raw foods such as smoothies, or undiagnosed food allergies and sensitivities. Stress is also very hard on digestion.

Chinese medicine is very good at diagnosing and treating digestive issues. Herbal medicine and dietary advice are at the heart of treatment, but it can also include moxibustion and acupuncture, depending on stress and other factors. The beauty of the Chinese approach to digestive issues is that we are very often able to correct the root cause of the problem safely and effectively. By doing so, symptoms will disappear by themselves.

How do we do this? As always with Chinese medicine, the treatment approach is very logical. If there is inflammation, then first we identify what food is causing it and remove that from your diet. We then use herbal medicine to heal the gut lining, improve digestive ability, reduce bloating and regulate the bowels. Along with this, particularly if stress is part of the clinical picture, I may recommend acupuncture. If digestive power is low, as is usually the case in constipation, loose stools and bloating, then I will often use moxibustion (Chinese heat therapy) to quickly add yang warming energy to rapidly increase your body’s ability to digest food and absorb nutrients.

Many people in our society are dealing with digestive issues that decrease the quality of their lives, without knowing that there are safe, effective treatments for their problems. If you are suffering from digestive issues such as those mentioned above, please reach out using the buttons below with any questions you have or to book an appointment at either my Meaford or Collingwood clinics.