Digestive Disorders

An Effective Causal Based Approach to Digestive Disorders

The digestive tract is an expansive well-coordinated system where foodstuffs are literally transformed into energy and new cells. The food we eat with a well-functioning gastrointestinal tract is able to be converted to fuel our everyday activities, to nourish existing tissues and to build new tissues whether that be for the heart, brain, muscles, liver, sex glands or any other body part. When the GI tract falters and this wonderful transformation process fails to work effectively, any and all parts of the body begin to dysfunction and dis-ease results. To be able to digest food efficiently is no small blessing.

The GI tract begins with the mouth constituting one long tube that extends all the way through the body and making its exit with the rectum and anus. Along the way are accessory organs such as the liver and pancreas. It covers a large area…if we were to lay out the entire GI tract flat it would cover the area of two tennis courts laid side by side! The majority of the human body is dedicated to eating, digesting, absorbing, assimilating and transporting foodstuffs around the body and then eliminating the wastes produced in the process. It is central to our well-being.

The digestive tract is an assembly line with each stage of the transformation process being utilized for the breakdown of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, making them available in the right forms for the body to utilize. Any breakdown in this elaborate assembly line leads to malfunction and disease.

Ironically, it is in the medical “treatment” of disease from which many of our common human ills begin. Antibiotics, the end result of many medical office visits, greatly disturb the massive assortment of bacteria that normally live in our GI tract (the “Microbiome”) and are important to good digestion and proper immune function. Antacids are the most commonly prescribed drug used by medical physicians for anyone complaining of digestive disturbances yet by suppressing hydrochloric acid production a pandora’s box of mischief is opened up (see video “The Hazards of Antacids”). Antacids and acid blockers limit the availability of hydrochloric acid and impair the digestion of proteins which require acid to begin their breakdown into polypeptides and amino acids. In addition, abnormal bacteria as well as parasites are more easily able to travel through our stomach unharmed and create mischief in the intestines whereas normally, they would be destroyed by stomach acid. Minerals including calcium and magnesium are not able to be properly broken down by the antacid/acid blocker user and the individual thereby suffers with mineral malabsorption. These are but one of the many drug types that exert harmful effects on the GI tract as every drug in some fashion will have a minor or major role in disturbing digestive function.

Disturbances of the GI tract have wide-ranging effects. Skin issues, rheumatoid and other autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue, anxiety, mental and behavioral issues, immune and allergic problems and many other health issues often have their genesis in gastrointestinal disturbances. Likewise, the solution to a wide array of health issues begins with a properly functioning GI tract. When the GI tract is functioning properly, energy levels are high and we are less likely to have bodily discomforts. In addition, diseases of all kinds are kept at bay.

A well-functioning digestive system does not produce discomforts. It digests food without complaints. Pains and discomfort before, during and after meals are not normal nor is the supposed need to take antacids for heartburn, laxatives for constipation, drugs for diarrhea or pills for excessive gas. When the GI tract is functioning well, we are barely even aware of its presence other than a feeling of satisfaction after we have eaten a healthy meal.

Treatments of all kinds for GI issues are problematic. The GI tract will always suffer to a greater or lesser degree and further decline in function when we take drugs, whether they be over the counter or prescription. Surgical removal of gall bladders, portion of one’s intestines or other portions of our GI anatomy will always lead to some impairment.

Not only does the GI tract affect the rest of the body, the rest of the body also affects the GI tract. Emotions such as anger, fear and anxiety, sleep habits, toxic environmental exposures, over work and over exercise and excesses in the diet will take a toll on the body as a whole including the GI tract. It is important to note that while diet is a critical factor in the proper health and functioning of the GI tract, it is not the only factor. At the Goldberg Tener Clinic, we always do a careful dietary workup on all patients but we know well from experience that other factors also have a profound effect on GI functioning and must be explored. This is done via the Case History, Physical Examination and Standard and Functional Laboratory Analysis.

I have learned over the past forty-five years of teaching and practice that helping patients with GI related issues requires a panoramic approach. For most of those forty-five years, I taught gastroenterology and clinical nutrition. I have never been bored teaching gastroenterology as it covers such as wide scope of health and disease areas when properly understood. I have also never grown tired of helping patients with GI issues for each case is unique and creates its own challenges.

Typically, the patients we see have already been to multiple gastroenterologists, taken a wide assortment of drugs including steroids and biologicals, had one or more surgeries and have continued to see their health decline. They often arrive at our office as a last resort. What initially began as fairly simple problems have cascaded into complex issues in large part due to the harm caused by ongoing medical and alternative medical interference.

The Bio-Hygienic Re-Creation System™

At the Goldberg Tener Clinic, we regularly see patients diagnosed with a wide assortment of medical GI diagnoses including gastric ulcers, “Irritable Bowel Syndrome,” Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, Diverticulitis, Constipation, Chronic Diarrhea, excessive bloating and gas, small intestinal bowel overgrowth and celiac disease among others. Unlike the medical and alternative medical approach, we do not treat any of these conditions yet we routinely have good results in bringing these patients back to good health. Our approach is always aimed at uncovering causal factors and then creating the right conditions to allow the patient to be restored to good health. This is part and parcel of the Goldberg Bio-Hygienic Re-Creation System™. We restore the GI tract to a healthy state by removing those factors and behaviors that have impaired it and providing the proper conditions for its Re-Creation™. In most cases, even after considerable medical meddling, restoration of health is more the rule than the exception when a proper program, individualized to the patient, not to the name of the disease, is instituted.

The effects of GI dysfunction are substantial. Likewise, when the right steps are taken with patience and perseverance and the GI tract begins to function well again, the health benefits also are substantial. A healthy GI tract is central to the restoration of health and a life that again becomes one where we enjoy many blessings and pleasures in the daily act of living.