printDigestion
Medical science acknowledges that up to 85 percent or more of all adult Americans suffer from intestinal problems due to the stress of modern living, pollution, poor diet, dehydration, and lack of exercise. When not functioning properly the gastro-intestinal tract will distress the whole body, every living cell and organ.
When food is not fully digested, it begins putrefying in the colon and creates an over acidic condition. The friendly intestinal flora begins to die off, creating an anaerobic environment for disease producing bacteria, virus, fungi and parasites. The accumulation of toxins or poisons from this environment can build up in the lymph and bloodstream. This condition is called autointoxication or self-poisoning.
When the toxins are re-absorbed through the blood capillaries lining the intestines, the blood will putrefy and further acidification of the blood will take place. Subsequently, the dirty blood will pollute every human cell. The cycle of life reverts to a cycle of death. Death begins and life ends in the intestines.
What better investment can a person make than an investment in his own health??
Acupuncture and Digestive disorders
Epigastric pain is a common symptom in diseases of the stomach, including peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastric spasm. Acupuncture provides satisfactory relief of epigastric pain-significantly better than injections of anisodamine or morphine plus atropine, as shown in randomized controlled trials. For gastrointestinal spasm, acupuncture is also superior to injections of atropine, and for gastrokinetic disturbances, the effectiveness of acupuncture is comparable with that of conventional medicine (domperidone).
Another common symptom of digestive disorders is nausea and vomiting. This can be due to a disordered function of the stomach, but it is more often a symptom or sign of generalized disorders. Morning sickness, postoperative vomiting, and nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy are frequently encountered clinically. In all these conditions, acupuncture at point nčiguan (PC6) seems to have a specific antiemetic effect. A recent systematic review of trials using acupuncture for antiemesis showed that 11 of 12 randomized placebo-controlled trials, involving nearly 2000 patients, supported this effect. The reviewed papers showed consistent results across different investigators, different groups of patients, and different forms of acupuncture stimulation.
Irritable colon syndrome and chronic ulcerative colitis are often difficult to treat with conventional medication. For these diseases, acupuncture may
serve as a complementary or alternative therapeutic measure.
Because of its analgesic effect, acupuncture can be used in endoscopic examinations, e.g. in colonoscopy. It has been reported that the effect of acupuncture to relieve pain and discomfort during the examination is comparable with that of scopolamine or pethidine with fewer side-effects.
There has been extensive research on the effect of acupuncture on the digestive system, with extensive data showing its influence on the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, including acid secretion, motility, neurohormonal changes and changes in sensory thresholds. Many of the neuroanatomic pathways of these effects have been identified in animal models.
Acupuncture shows good analgesic and antispasmodic effects on the biliary tract and, as indicated previously, can be recommended for treatment of biliary colic. It also has a cholagogic action, which has been demonstrated in experimental studies. In the treatment of biliary colic due to gallstones, acupuncture is not only effective for relieving the colicky pain, but is also useful for expelling the stones. Satisfactory results were reported when electric acupuncture was used in combination with oral administration of magnesium sulfate. Acupuncture treatment is also worth trying for chronic cholecystitis, even if there is acute exacerbation.
