Digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and food intolerance are becoming increasingly prevalent today. Symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating, gas, diarrhoea and constipation are very common. Naturally these symptoms have a huge impact on our quality of life. Simply avoiding certain foods often is not enough to reduce discomfort or of having to regularly dash to the loo.

Symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, cramping, and abdominal pain are an indication that things are not moving through the digestive tract efficiently. The root cause of many digestive issues is often chronic stress, improper diet, poor sleep habits, and other lifestyle issues.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, most chronic digestive complaints stem from a depletion of Qi (energy) in the stomach and spleen. Traditionally these two organs in TCM receive the food and liquid we consume and convert it into Qi, which is then distributed throughout our body. If for some reason our stomach Qi has been weakened it will be unable to carry out this function properly. The dynamic activities of the gut such as churning, breaking down, absorbing and eliminating will become compromised. 

Acupuncture helps by balancing the gut-brain axis and the nervous system to reduce stress, which in turn improves digestive function. One of the side effects of an overactive sympathetic nervous system is decreased digestive function. Acupuncture also helps reduce pain and inflammation which helps regulate stomach acid and promote peristalsis.  In fact, The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture for digestive problems as an effective treatment for digestive imbalance.

Chinese herbs are often used for digestive issues, either alone or in conjunction with acupuncture treatments. They are taken internally and work to adjust digestion like food supplements or diet modification. Common herbs like ginger and liquorice can help improve digestion and have been used for thousands of years by many cultures around the world.

Together, acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help with the following digestive issues (and others):

• Bloating

• Constipation

• Diarrhea

• Nausea and vomiting

• Abdominal pain

• IBS

• Crohn’s disease

• Acid reflux

• Ulcerative colitis

I see many patients who diet madly to try and get digestive issues under control, but focusing on dieting to doesn’t address the underlying causes. When dieting doesn’t work, they blame the diet and try another one. This actually makes Qi stagnation worse because your organs don’t like radical dieting. Focusing on keeping Qi moving is a better approach. It is never just one thing behind a symptom or condition in TCM, we never look at isolated symptoms, all your organs are connected and the physical and psychological are integrated. Book a holistic lifestyle consultation to find out what specific factors are contributing to your digestive issues and what to do to get rid of it.