Digestive problems present themselves in a variety of different ways, including Crohn's Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Ulcerative colitis, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and chronic constipation or diarrhea. However, the core issues are generally all the same. The colon carries three main items in it: food (in the process of digestion), bacteria, and waste products. The colon needs healthy bacteria to function properly and to maintain a healthy lining. It is also important that it does not have food products going through it that will create inflammation.

If we fix any bacterial imbalances, avoid food sensitivities, and/or provide nutritional support to the intestines, then a majority of the gastrointestinal problems will be amazingly reduced and in many cases eliminated.

Struggling with "GERD"?

(a.k.a. "heartburn) - As with all digestive disorders, there is usually a food sensitivity at the root of the problem. In addition to that, your body may also be producing too LITTLE hydrochloric acid. Most people are surprised when Dr. Berglund says that because they are taking a medication that reduces their stomach acid. The condition called gastroesophageal reflux disorder is characterized as the inability for the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus (food pipe) to close adequately, thereby allowing acid to come up into (and burning) the esophagus, and possibly even the throat/mouth. One of the stimuli that causes the sphincter to close is stomach acidity. There's no reason to keep the gastric juices in the stomach if the body doesn't think any gastric juices were secreted. By giving additional stomach acid, the LES (lower esophageal sphincter) is stimulated to squeeze shut completely, rectifying one of the causes of your reflux.

Why do I have so many digestive issues?

Let's use a hypothetical situation to illustrate this:

Let's say that for SOME reason, you find a piece of sandpaper and start sandpapering your left arm until it starts to burn, or even bleed a little. Let's also say that you happen to have a 5-gallon bucket of lemon juice sitting next to you.

Upon seeing the lemon juice, you stick your right (not bleeding, not red) arm into it. Nothing happens. Now let's say you take a tiny bit of that lemon juice and "flick" it at your left, well-sandpapered arm. That burns!

Now, in order to avoid that less-than-pleasant burn on your left arm, you have a few options. You could have your left arm removed. That would, of course, take care of any discomfort on your left arm. The only thing is that your arm isn't the problem. This would be a ridiculous solution.

You could also stay away from lemon juice. You wouldn't have to have your arm removed, at least! But then again, is this the best solution to keeping your sandpapered arm from feeling that acidic burn? After all, when you stick your right, un-sandpapered arm in the lemon juice, there's no reaction. The lemon juice is obviously not the problem, either.

There is one more solution left -- stop sandpapering your arm! If you wouldn't have sandpapered it in the first place, neither arm would react to the lemon juice bath.

The last of those three options is similar to Dr. Berglund's approach to digestive disorders. Rather than removing your "arm" (part of your digestive system) or removing the "lemon juice" (hydrochloric acid), he simply identifies your "sandpaper" (usually a food sensitivity), which causes the digestive problems. Once you are no longer "sandpapering" (irritating) your digestive system, the symptoms go away.

The solution to your digestive problems lies in finding out what your "sandpaper" is.

Digestive disorders

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Digestive disorders

Natural Solutions for Heartburn/Reflux (Common Sense Medicine)

You have an ongoing struggle with heartburn (or ulcers, reflux, GERD, or gastritis). You live on TUMS. You can't imagine life without your Prevacid, Prilosec, Tagamet, or Nexium. But you know that chronic use of these acid inhibitors can cause osteoporosis, iron deficiency, and gastrointestinal polyps (which are precancerous). Dr. Berglund has spent over twenty years at his clinic in southeast Wisconsin helping people figure out why they are having stomach issues how to solve the problem without drugs. His blog post about GERD can be read here: http://berglundcenter.com/blog/?p=5. For more information about his clinic and for other health problems, see his website at www.berglundcenter.com. If you are interested in seeing Dr. Berglund as a patient, but live too far from Wisconsin, go to http://berglundcenter.com/distance.html.

Natural Solutions for Constipation (Common Sense Medicine)

Dr. Berglund talks about what it takes to get a healthy bowel movement. He discusses the anatomy and physiology of the colon and what happens when we get "bound up" or constipated. The large intestine has needs: water, fiber, and probiotics in order to function properly. Food allergies/sensitivities can cause diarrhea or constipation. Dr. Berglund has spent over twenty years at his clinic in southeast Wisconsin helping people improve their health without drugs or surgery. For more information about his clinic and for other health problems, see his website at http://berglundcenter.com. If you are interested in seeing Dr. Berglund as a patient, but live too far from Wisconsin, go to http://berglundcenter.com/distance.html.