Digestive and Immune Health
Digestion offers us a huge opportunity. Our health rests on the nutrients we eat, how much our gut absorbs, and the fuel we give the good bacteria who serve our best interests.
Chinese medicine has declared the primacy of the gut from its inception around 220 AD. The famed physician Li-Dong-yuan (1180-1251 CE) developed theories connecting digestion as a key determinant in treating many chronic problems. He also highlighted the important relationship between stress and digestive dysfunction. (In this way, ancient physicians knew about the gut-brain axis long before the scientific era).
Medical science has made a huge push to understand the connections between our gut and our body systems over the past 20 years. The Human Microbiome Project, started in 2007, has yielded mountains of data on the organisms that modulate our health. ‘New’ terms have emerged to describe how our body systems interconnect. For example:
Gut-brain axis describes the connection between our microbes and nervous system and brain function
Gut-lung axis describes the communication between gut microbes, our lungs and respiratory conditions or immune function
Immune system--Research indicates that about 70% of our immune system resides in the tissues of our gut, playing a pivotal role in our immune regulation
If you suffer from digestive problems like IBS, bloating, or acid reflux there are so many tools to improve your health. Let’s use this influx of science alongside the steadfast observation of Chinese medicine to best optimize digestive and immune balance.
Schedule now with Jeannie for either telehealth or in-person visit on the San Francisco Acupuncture Group Website.