Gut Health and Chiropractic
“Look well to the spine for the cause of disease”.
- Hippocrates
The brain and nervous system regulate every tissue, organ, and function within the body. It is like the conductor of the orchestra. It instructs the body when to digest food, when to release an egg from an ovary, when to go to sleep, and hundreds of other functions to maintain balance within the body, a homeostatic state. As Hippocates’ quote says, “look to the spine” if there are any issues showing up in the body, because the spine houses the significant, influential, adapting, nervous system. As chiropractors, we assess the function and adaptability of the nervous system to help your body maintain a balanced, high functioning state, called homeostasis.
When it comes to gut health, the body must be in a state to digest food properly, which means the brain needs to perceive its environment as safe to turn on the digestive system in preparation for absorbing the nutrients it is about to consume. If the brain is perceiving increased stress, then the response in the body is the opposite of digestion; it is preparing itself to run, fight, or freeze, which all cause an increase in cortisol and adrenaline levels, creating a cascade of altered functions. If your brain and nervous system are having difficulty in perceiving safety, then it will most likely be struggling with digestion. This can look like acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea, malabsorption, fatigue, abdominal pain, brain fog, etc. With routine chiropractic care, your body begins to adapt to stress better, which stimulates proper functioning within the body, including digestive issues.