by Dr. Rivkah Roth

There is no Health without a Healthy Duodenum and Intestines

How well our digestion works directly determines how well our body and brain function. The old adage "we are what we eat" appears to hold true.

Colon Klenz

At the center of it all is the duodenum. The duodenum is the initial section of the small intestines. It controls many aspects of food passage (stomach) and absorption (small intestines) and holds the keys to the most important control mechanisms of our living body biochemistry.

A duodenum that is healthy and functions properly governs multiple actions and functions of stomach, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Moreover, the duodenum directly affects much of our life-supporting nutrient absorption (including all-important calcium).

A duodenum that is inflamed no longer can fulfill these central control functions. Damage to the duodenum most often is induced by allergenic and inflammatory foods: sugars and alcohols, wheat (gliadin and other grain gluten proteins), and many other food allergens.

Inflammation throughout the intestines affects the intestinal mucous lining. This is the very tissue that hosts the majority of our body’s lymph and immune system cells. They affect the body’s nutrient and mineral absorption, auto-immune defense capability, toxin drainage ability, pH balance and anti-parasitic properties, defense from non-communicable and communicable diseases.

Increasingly, research identifies strong links to underlying non-celiac and/or celiac gluten sensitivity. Other signs of compromised duodenal activity are: chronic or acute inflammation, bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea, dysbiosis (leaky gut syndrome), as well as the diagnoses of mineral deficiencies or imbalances, such as anemia, hypocalcemia, and conditions such as lazy stomach, liver and gallbladder inflammation, pancreatitis, irritable bowel (IBS, IBD), Crohn’s, other gastrointestinal conditions, even elevated cholesterol levels, anxiety, neurological disorders, and more (see chart).

The Duodenum's Multi-Tasking

 

Following are a few of the many functional and biochemical tasks that a healthy and properly functioning duodenum is designed to complete.

Control of…

Role in the…

Absorption of…

Production of…

Attachment to the…

Latter has lead to recommendations to osteopaths, chiropractors, body workers and their patients to look for underlying celiac disease seen in an inflamed, bloated gut, overall puffiness and fluid retention whenever low back,[12] sacroiliitis,[13] and pelvic alignments "don’t hold" after repeat treatments.

Telling Intestinal Inflammation

A bloated tummy indicates intestinal inflammation. But, how do you tell?

Lie down flat on your back on a firm surface:

Inflammation is the source of most aging disorders. Inflammation anywhere in the body causes an acidic environment and triggers the calcium buffering mechanism: calcium is forced to leech from bones and teeth into the blood stream in order to balance the pH value and "dowse" the inflammation.

Leeched (free) calcium plays a major role in bone loss (osteoporosis), various forms of subsequent calcium build-up (arthritic changes[14]), heart disease (hardened arteries, high blood pressure / hypertension), GERD’s (gastric reflux symptoms[15]), brain fog, vision issues,[16] fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and many other conditions.

 

The "Proof is in the Pudding"

Need more "proof"? Gastric bypass surgery is offered to obese and diabetic patients. It "bypasses" part of the stomach, the duodenum, and part of the jejunum. 90 to 95% of the patients who undergo this procedure no longer show signs of diabetes  – hypothetically, because the inflamed duodenum no longer gives off "wrong" signals.

On the other hand, after bariatric surgery the same mineral deficiencies show up that a celiac individual with heavy duodenum involvement typically would expect – hypothetically, due to the lack of duodenal absorption.

In typical and radical mainstream medicine manner, the most prominent problems are "cured" by eliminating the control switch, such as by surgically removing the duodenum’s ability to (mis-)control body biochemical functions.

It is baffling though that many health professionals neglect to prominently stress to those patients:  

In short, our food choices and lifestyle directly determine health and function, or inflammation and dysfunction of the duodenum and its many control mechanisms.

In order to become proactive in disease prevention let’s start by acknowledging that most of us are bloated and show signs of gastro-intestinal inflammation.