Confusion and Bowel Diseases

My name is Karl Essen. 

I am a biologist who suffers from digestion problems.  I am sharing my research in these articles which helped me to cure myself.  I hope these and our websites can help you get better also.  

Because so many suffer confusion and bowel diseases. I make these websites and videos.

A person’s body is a fantastic and incredible thing.   Thousands of chemical reactions stimulated by nerves, using enzymes, go on constantly in order to keep us alive and well..  We take these for granted just like blinking when an object comes near our face.  They are involuntary meaning that no thought or action on our part is necessary for them to begin and finish the job required. 

Digestion has always been one of the most interesting to me because it utilizes so many different methods to get the nutrients into the blood system in a pure and sterile form.   At the same time it processes the food we ingest in order to capture all of the nutrients, it eliminates the wastes. 

If all of these processes weren’t enough, it uses a multitude of bacteria in order to carry these processes out.   Bacteria line our digestive organs and protect us.  Bacteria decompose many of the foods we eat.  Bacteria out compete bad organisms which can cause serious harm and even death if they get out of control.   

Each specific type of bacteria needs an exact environment to thrive.  They reproduce very fast, so a minor change of the digestive environment can lead to a changing bacterial population within a day or two.   This can even occur in hours! 

Everyone has had stomach upset or indigestion at some time.  We all over indulge and pay the consequence later or the next morning.  Many people travel to a distant paradise only to get diarrhea and throw up.     

Our diets and what we eat is the most important factor in maintaining a healthy digestive environment.  Unless we take antibiotics which change the playing field, not many things can effect digestion as much as what we eat. 

There are many aspects of foods that people in developed do not understand, yet all the terms and language is every day and known by all.  Things like soluble fiber and insoluble fiber, mono unsaturated fats, and food allergies.  Some say protein is difficult for humans to digest, while others contend that our ancestors ate loads of protein and it is the carbohydrates that are the big problem. 

Most people think the stomach flu is a type of influenza, where it really stems from a different group of viruses (Norovirus sp.)   People who suffer digestive problems that doctors cannot find a cure for are increasing by a huge amount each month.   The major reason people go seek medical help relates to symptoms of digestive distress. 

We all know when our “stomach” hurts.  Usually with something like appendicitis is such an acute pain and so different from indigestion, people just know to seek medical help immediately.  In case you do not know, the appendix is a pouch or tube extending off the large intestine, right after the small intestine.  If it breaks or become infected, a dull pain the belly will migrate to the lower right abdomen and become very sharp. 

What about all the nagging, intermittent, sometimes burning pains a lot of people experience?  What exactly are these caused by, and why do they continue to bother us week after week after week. 

Intestinal Bowel Syndrome is a confusing combination of symptoms that cannot be diagnosed as originating from a specific ailment.  This does not by any means indicate it is not a real ailment. 

Intestinal Bowel Disease can be traced to a specific ailment that can be diagnosed by medical testing procedures. 

Symptoms can be similar, and a person can have both at the same time.  Some of the problems are genetic, meaning you can inherit a tendency to get these problems from you parents. 

When people go to doctors they are given prescriptions and recommendations for over the counter medications that will help reduce the symptoms.  Many are extremely effective providing almost immediate relief.  This is good, right? 

This article started out talking about how amazing our bodies are at processing food, without a thought or action by us.   The stomach the food we swallow is exposed to very acid conditions.  The walls of the stomach produce the hydrochloric acid for this process.  In the small intestine, the food is exposed to very basic conditions.  

 Again the body produces the bicarbonate that causes this.  Bicarbonate produced in the Liver and stored in the Gall Bladder ends up in the 1^st part of the small intestine where the acidic material from the stomach is turned very basic.  Ever make a volcano for a science project out of vinegar and baking soda?  

 This is what happens when strong acids and strong bases come into contact.  That is not the reaction that takes place in your small intestine though.   The body is an amazing thing isn’t it?   Do you think that perhaps when we try to do what the body does naturally that it can cause confusion?  It can and does. 

Two things to consider before answering the confusion question:  How the brain sends digestive system learns bad habits very quickly.  Many systems in the body occur almost instantaneously.  Blinking is an example, so are changes in breathing to meet oxygen requirements.  Digestion is a slow process where the brain and digestive system can be days apart and out of sync. 

When you treat symptoms your brain can be fooled into thinking there is not a problem.  When you try to control the acidity, the body very quickly relies on the added inputs and does not do its job. 

If the brain which is on a delay does not tell the stomach lining to produce more or less acid, it doesn’t.   If the only problem was chewing on a mint that cost a couple bucks a pack many times a day and you feel fine, there isn’t a big deal, maybe.  

 What if you are chewing these mints, taking proton pump inhibitors, histamine –h2-receptor antagonist, which is two of the most common medications over the counter to deal with acid and heartburn?   These are 20 bucks a pack for 2 weeks.   

These are covered in more detail in another article but here is the simplified version:   

h2 receptor blockers tell special cells in the stomach lining not to produce chemicals that  eventually lead to block acid production.     

Proton pump inhibitors block and enzyme in the stomach lining cells that helps to make acid. 

Both are effective.  Both replace and control what the body is supposed to do naturally.  Both lead the body to believe that everything is fine.   

The information covered can be confusing.  That is why so many continue to suffer.  The information provided is broken down into smaller articles which will be published later (maybe by the time you read this). 

Now it is time to bring this all together and make one clear point. 

If you want to get better, you have to document what you eat.  You also need to keep a record of the problems and when they start, end, and how long they last.  In addition the place it hurts etc. 

In order to help you do this, I have created a simple spread sheet you can find at the following websites: 

boweldiseases.net        

Irritablebowelsystem.net 

You can print the spreadsheet out and use it directly, or develop a record keeping method of your own.  You will have the information in the spreadsheet provided. 

This information will be the best tool to begin you getting better permanently.  

Use it yourself, or take the filled in sheet to your medical professional. 

Please follow these articles to learn about how to get better.  

Karl Essen 

Digestion Biologist

Confusion and Bowel Diseases