Let's now look at the Complementary and Alternative Medicine digestion approach.

The GI or Gastrointestinal tract, is a tube of about twenty five to thirty feet long. It consists of the mouth or oral cavity, pharynx / throat, esophagus / food pipe, in the upper body from the mouth to thorax. Then, the stomach, small and large intestine, rectum and anus in our lower body.

Other various organs that help the system work are our pancreas, liver, gallbladder and appendix, with their digestive juices like enzymes and acids that they produce and excrete.

The GI tract digests and absorbs fluids and nutrients. It eliminates and detoxifies wastes products. It is also an integral unit of the body's immune system for fighting disease. The immune function our digestive tract is helped by the lymph vessels and tissues lining our gut and by various types of essential good bacteria called probiotics native to the gut.

An optimal digestive system is therefore essential for our overall good health.

Problems related to a malfunctioning GI tract may include: Hemorrhoids, diarrhea, diverticulitis, diverticulosis, constipation, stomach / intestinal ulcers. IBS / irritable bowel syndrome, chron's disease, leaky guts syndrome, colitis, and gastritis.

Every problem obviously has its own underlying causes, but common to them all are often a bad diet and nutrition plus inflammation.

As far as nutrition and diet are concerned, a major problem is our modern Western diet, heavy in unhealthy additives, chemicals, preservatives, processed foods, starch and meat.

Diets need to change in order to include more complex carbs, essential fatty acids and oils, enzymes, digestive enzymes, and of course dietary fiber. Minimize or exclude totally the intake of things that can interfere with health including additives, preservatives, and sugar etc.

Microbial infections may underlie certain GI problems and disorders, whether they are from parasites, viruses, or bacteria.

Other such causes may include a compromised energy flow in the system, organ or accessory organ dysfunction, overuse, congestion, physical damage to the tissues, poor nutrient levels, and toxins such as heavy metal toxicity in the nervous system or blood, or food toxins.

Inflammation and irritation can result from any one or a combination of these, resulting in increasing problems in the body causing degeneration and dysfunction.

Other factors in GI problems may include lack of good intestinal bacteria, stress, excess or lack of acids and enzymes involved in digestion, and problems with the accessory digestive organs such as the pancreas, liver, and gall bladder.

GI tract dysfunction and incompetence can affect the immunity and leave the digestive system and the rest of the body unprotected against toxins, parasites, and a large amount of offensive antigens that get in from the outside environment. Incompetence of the immune system is seen as involved with Colitis and Chron's which are inflammatory diseases.

Correcting or removing the underlying factors is necessary in order to treat all GI tract disorders, repair the tissue damage, and eliminate the inflammation, while at the same time giving healthy nutrients and bacteria to the involved tissues.

In order to reduce damage and irritation to the lining of the GI tract, additive and food allergies and sensitivities must also be taken care of and removed.

Very common are dairy, gluten, and wheat allergies, and they can be eliminated or at least reduced through various diets and techniques which also involve avoiding the foods that are problematic.

GI disorders besides for affecting the digestive system with illness, can also bring about disease and malfunction in the whole body as mentioned.

Thus, it is absolutely necessary to normalize the GI tract and digestive function at the outset, with the treatment approach being different for each specific illness or malfunction.

Natural / Alternative medicine's focus is on the best possible intake of nutrients, in order to improve digestion, replenish good bacteria while killing bad microbes, flush and clean the intestines, gall bladder, and liver, bring about repair of the intestines and stomach that are damaged, reduce sensitivities, eliminate allergies, all while bringing about the normalization of the gut's autonomic nervous system function.

And let's not forget, and probably the most important sometimes, that at the same time it is also absolutely necessary to become aware of, and learn how to manage stress and suppressed emotions which can very often cause or exacerbate GI disorders.