InnerMovement

A Five-Star Wellness Center

Call Today: (818) 549-1300
Your Path To Wellness Begins Here
Greetings!

How good is your gut health? We are dedicating this months newsletter to helping our patients identify and heal issues in their digestive tract. Our practitioners at InnerMovement are teaching patients daily that, along good spinal health, in order to be optimally healthy we need good gut health. This starts with consuming healthy nutrition, but doesn't end there. We need strong digestion to be able to be break down the whole, organic food we eat into the proteins, fats, glucose, vitamins & minerals our bodies need to sustain energy, build muscle, keep our heart strong, maintain a healthy immune function and more.

And just as important, we need daily, clean bowel movements to keep our internal environment clean. If we are not eliminating regularly we are carrying toxic by-products in our bodies that will burden our liver and detox organs - zapping our energy and making us feel bloated and unwell.
So, in summary good digestive health means:
  1. You are Eating whole, organic foods (and chewing foods well)
  2. You have strong, healthy digestion
  3. You have at least 1 daily bowel movement (but not more than 3)

If you want to be optimally healthy, you MUST have healthy digestive function. Read on to learn ways to identify and heal common digestive issues.
Until your next visit,
Dr Heidi Fennell DC, FICPA (clinic director at InnerMovement)
Identify Stomach related issues
The stomach secretes HCL and enzymes to further digest and break down your food. If digestion is weak, symptoms such as Acid reflux, upper abdominal pain, heartburn, diarrhea and ulcers will result. If you suffer from any of these "Stomach related issues" here are some tips .

  1. Diarrhea, flatulence, feeling full & bloated immediately after eating are all signals that you are not effectively digesting your food. Chewing foods 20-30 times before swallowing & Slowing down at meal times, can help. This allows saliva to begin digesting your food before it moves to the stomach and eating in a relaxed fashion allows the stomach to relax and work optimally. If this simple change of habit doesn't help, take a good digestive enzyme before meals. Many patients digestive upset is helped tremendously by the digestive enzyme supplements we carry.
  2. Acid reflux and heartburn are often a result of an imbalanced Ph in the stomach acid. Taking 2 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar as well as drinking 1 fresh or cold pressed green juice daily is a remedy that works like magic for these conditions. Try it for a week and throw away the Prilosec! Tell your loved ones.
  3. Ulcers are a result of a prolonged imbalance in the stomach Ph causing an open wound in the stomach lining. Nausea on an empty stomach and/or experiencing stomach pain often, may indicate a stomach ulcer. We can easily test if we have an ulcer by drinking 2 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice upon waking on an empty stomach. If burning stomach pain arises within 10 minutes, you likely have a stomach ulcer. Drink water diluted with baking soda to soothe the pain and call your doctor to treat the ulcer. It is very important to treat ulcers, bleeding ulcers can lead to serious health issues.
Identify Small Intestine related issues
Maintaining Small intestine health is all about controlling bacteria levels and mucous buildup. Food allergies wreak havoc on the small intestines ability to further breakdown and absorb nutrients we depend on for health. If you suffer from bloating, loose stools, and regularly fall asleep soon after eating, you may have a "Small Intestine related issue", here are some tips.

  1. Food allergies cause an immune reaction in the gut resulting in mucous formation along the small intestine lining. This mucous creates a barrier to proper food digestion and assimilation. To heal the small intestine you must identify food allergies and avoid eating allergens. Food Allergy Test: 1. Upon waking, before eating or drinking, take your pulse, holding and counting for a full minute. Write down your beats per minute (bpm). 2. Chew the food that you want to test (ie. dairy, gluten, soy...) for at least 30 seconds. Hold food in your mouth and recount your pulse again, record your bpm. 3. A rise of 6 bpm or more indicates a stress reaction in your body, so avoid that food, you are allergic!
  2. Take tumeric, ginger and Omega 3 fish oil to decrease inflammation and begin healing the small intestine. We have an excellent supplement (DeFlame) with all 3 ingredients that patients benefit greatly from.
  3. Take Probiotic supplements from a good quality source. Also, eat foods that contain prebiotic foods to feed your existing probiotic flora such as sauerkraut or kimchi.

Local Highlight: Best kimchi in Glendale - Kim's Kitchen on Colorado!!!
Identify Large Intestine related issues
The Large Intestines job is to pull all the remaining water and nutrients out of food and turn what's left into compact feces or stool. If you experience lower abdominal cramps or constipation, you may have a "Large Intestine related issue", here are some tips.

  1. Drink 1/2 your body weight in Ounces of Water per day. The large intestine depends on good hydration to work properly.
  2. Become aware of your bowel movements. This is such an important window into your overall health. I can't stress this enough!

Healthy Poop Tip : There should be no straining. Stools should come out easily, smoothly and in one piece. If not, decrease consumption of meat & dairy and eat a large, fresh salad w/protein every day as your lunch or dinner plus Drink more water!

Healthy Poop Tip: Stool should come out in one piece. If you have pebbles, this indicates inflammation in your gut. Food allergies should be identified (see above) and avoided. Acupuncture helps too! (Call for an appt today)

Healthy Poop Tip: Stool should sink. If your stool floats, this indicates too much fat or sugar in your diet. It can also be a sign of poor digestion. Clean up your diet and add a digestive enzyme. A detox can help too!

Healthy Poop Tip: Stool should have slight odor. If your stool is very smelly, this indicates it has been sitting in your intestines too long & has bacterial overgrowth. Most often the cause is from eating too much processed foods. Get back to fresh, whole foods and take a good Probiotic to restore the bacteria balance.
Digestive help from our Acupuncturist
with a thorough Acupuncture Evaluation & treatment
15 Day Cleanse Program
clean up your system and jumpstart weight loss
Acupuncturists specialize in 'preventative, integrative care', therefore during their 8 years of schooling they are trained to effectively treat many types of digestive distress with Acupuncture needling & herbs. Acupuncture is painless and proven effective in treating constipation, irritable bowel and nausea as well as downregulating emotional stress that aggrevates digestive complaints.
Our Detox pulls toxins from the body, reduces inflammation, increases energy and resets habits.
This simple Detox program is used by the best nutritionists & functional medicine doctors because it works! Using a specific diet, meal replacement shakes and detoxifying herbs along with an easy to follow clean diet, anyone can do it.
Expect to drop weight & feel great!
Only $159.98 call to have it delivered
We LOVE Referrals!
Simply forward this email to friends and family.
After 3 referrals you get a FREE 90min MASSAGE
With gratitude,
The InnerMovement Wellness Team