Alternative Names
Gastrointestinal diseases

If we are what we eat, then what we are is only as good as our digestion. When it goes awry, it generally affects our total well-being. Whether it's mild nausea, a nasty virus, or a chronic disorder such as irritable bowel syndrome, a disorder of the digestive tract is usually impossible to ignore. If the condition persists, it can undermine our total health, eventually threatening our very lives.

How the Digestive System Works

Digestion begins in the mouth when food is chewed and starch is broken down by ptyalin, an enzyme secreted in saliva. Food then enters the stomach, where it is reduced to tiny particles and further transformed by gastric juices. The solid portion remains in the stomach for one to six hours until it liquefies completely; liquid passes into the duodenum (small intestine), where numerous enzymes produced by the pancreas, along with bile from the liver, break it down further for absorption. When it finally arrives in the large intestine, all nutritional value has been spent, and the only remaining process is the removal of water before final elimination.

There are many types of digestive disorders:

• Diverticular Disease
• Heartburn
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Crohn's Disease
• Ulcers
• Ulcers and H. pylori
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Dyspepsia
• Gallstones & Their Treatment
• E. Coli Infection
• Giardiasis
• Celiac Disease
• Meckel's Diverticulum
• Barrett's Esophagus
• Stomach Cancer