Happy Monday Everyone!  This month has been topics all about digestion.. Have you enjoyed it?  We’ve gone over the gut/brain axis, stomach dysfunction, diet, infections,  toxins, the gallbladder and much more!  Well, what’s left you say?

Well, we would miss a part of the picture if we didn’t look at the emotional systems effect in our digestion.  As well as another “stressor” that inhibits digestion.

All of the healing arts’ schools recognize the importance of emotions in health, and health care practitioners (regardless if they are body-oriented or mind-oriented), deal – expertly or not – with patients’ emotions and realize the consequences of aberrant emotional stress.

In chiropractic, we are taught that “subluxations” or areas within the spine or cranial system that aren’t moving correctly create nervous system dysfunction.  We are taught these subluxations are caused by either: Thoughts, Trauma or Toxins.

We all know that stress can affect us in many ways.  Make us tired, worn out, body pains, hair fall out, hormones disrupted.  But what about digestion?

Well.. Have you ever heard of the phrase I got “butterflies in my stomach” when I was nervous?

I’m sure we all have at some point.

That is because the emotion of anxiety, is held in the stomach.

“Emotions are based on minute proteins in the body called Information Substances (IS). These IS are comprised of neuropeptides, hormones and other specialized information molecules that permeate the entire body, including our DNA.

This dynamic has been scientifically validated in research. Chiropractors know first hand about physiology influencing emotion via many examples of PMS sufferers. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over 2,000 years has embraced a mind/body model. It is only in the west that man (via Descartes) semantically split the organism into a mind and a body. This philosophical construct held up for nearly 300 years before being discarded (at least in most neuroscientific circles) in the 1980s.”

There is also the principle of emotions correlating with what are called meridians in the body. This is a 1,500 to 4,000-year-old principle. It is an acupuncture theory, known as the Five Element Law that has been clinically validated for over 1,500 years, linking specific emotions to specific meridians. An example is the link between ‘Anger’ and the Liver meridian.

So, we know there’s a connection between emotions and different organs, but what causes dysfunction in these systems?

We know that stress in itself isn’t always BAD.  It is vital for us to have healthy levels of stress to survive. Humans are conditioned — sometimes by one event (this is termed a one-time trial). While conditioning is normal under most situations, so is the physiological counterpart of the fading away or elimination of a conditioned response (called ‘extinction’).
Simply, sometimes normal extinction does not take place, and chronic abnormal dysfunction starts to occur.You see, we talked about the mind/gut connection on our first topic.  We talked about how the GUT actually has the MOST serotonin production in our body.  So we know we have to heal our gut to heal our mind.  But emotional stress when chronic over time, can also shut down our digestion. 

For instance, chronic stress starts to alkalize our stomach acid, which means more bugs get through our stomach, and more digestion problems.  Also food won’t be properly broken down, so inflammation in the digestive tract can also occur.

In an unhealthy organism,  emotions can cause psychosomatic and somatopsychic problems. This is not a ‘mental’ condition, but rather a whole mind/body relational problem.

So emotional stress is REAL, and can cause REAL dysfunction.  Sometimes we don’t always know what we are stressed or blocked about, and other times we do.  

I like using NET (neuro emotional technique) in my office to narrow down what that stressor might be that might be affecting the body function. It uses neuro-mechanisms of manual muscle testing (the type of muscle testing used is akin to, but not the same as, Applied Kinesiology as developed by George Goodheart), emotions, acupuncture meridian system, reflex points, principles of traditional physiology (such as conditioning), case history taking and chiropractic adjustments to the spine.

From my experience, all the coping mechanisms for stress in the world don’t compare to the power that NET can help a patient overcome. 99% of our thoughts are subconscious, so knowing what those are through this technique is so helpful to narrow down. But, here are some other tips:

Other digestion Stressors.

Last month we talked about EMF’s or electromagnetic frequencies.
Here is a recap:

“EMF’s stand for Electromagnetic Frequencies.  EMF’s describe the energy that is coming out from an electromagnetic source. “Electromagnetic radiation can be beneficial, harmless or extremely dangerous to humans, depending on the source, level of radiation, and duration of exposure.There are both natural and man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation. The sun, for instance, is an intense source of natural radiation that can have both positive and negative effects on living things. The sun also produces both visible and invisible electromagnetic streams.Ultraviolet rays from the sun are invisible and cause sunburn and skin cancer if overexposure occurs.
A rainbow, however, is a visible and harmless part of the electromagnetic effect caused by the sun, as human eyes detect the visible wavelengths of light as different colors.”

Man-made sources of electromagnetic radiation include X-rays, Radio waves and microwaves.

“The power contained in electromagnetic radiation can be both helpful and destructive to humans. Overexposure to radiation, whether in an acute dose or a slow, continual intake, can quickly lead to illness and even a painful death. However, as electromagnetic radiation is also a natural part of the human environment, exposure to some radiation is unavoidable.

Every year there are more cell phone towers, Wi-Fi networks, “Smart” meters, and solar panel inverters. Soon California will mandate all new homes must have solar power, which means more EMF. Beyond this, there are millions of 5G antennas coming to your region, as part of the most powerful wireless network ever built.”

Mobile phone radiation.

Mobile phone radiation refers to radiation in the form of electromagnetic waves that is emitted from mobile phones. This type of radiation takes the form of radio waves that are near the microwave range. When we think of harmful radiation, things like X-rays or gamma rays usually come to mind, but these types of radiation are different from cell phone radiation. These are ionizing radiations and exposure to these are very harmful. Since cell phone radiation is non-ionizing, it is generally seen as being harmless in the short term.However long term exposure to this radiation also is proved to be very dangerous. Profound research has been made worldwide and it has been concluded by many that long term exposure to mobile phone radiation can lead to many chronic diseases like cancer.”

EMFs also have a big role in our digestion:
 Microbiome Disruption– Just as all cells—including those in our body, are electrical, the organisms in our microbiome are electrical, too. There is evidence to show that our microbiome is harmed by EMF.

These hidden dangers are becoming more and more of a problem more individuals.  Because we are getting sicker because of the frequencies allowing our systems to be dys-regulated and thus, infections enter.

Limit your exposure as much as possible!  More tips included here:

EMF’s, the hidden adrenal suppressors… and tips for exercise for adrenal fatigue.