Treat Digestive Problems Naturally

August 28, 2008

With age, your body’s ability to digest foods declines. You have less stomach acid, and less intrinsic factor, a stomach secretion that helps you absorb vitamin B12. Often you also have less of the pancreatic and liver enzymes that digest protein and fat. Your gastric motility—the speed at which things move through your GI tract– slows down. The result: uncomfortable feelings of fullness even when you haven’t eaten that much, belching, heartburn, gas, bloating, and constipation. Along with this can come nutritional deficiencies, as absorption of nutrients declines.

Lots of older people with these symptoms are simply told they have gastritis or dyspepsia (basically, indigestion.) They are given drugs to reduce stomach acid, and sometimes, to speed up movement. While these drugs can relieve some symptoms, they do nothing to improve nutrient absorption. In fact, they can make nutrient absorption worse.

If you have these symptoms, your doctor or a GI specialist can check you out. A comprehensive stool analysis can be a very helpful starting point to check for malabsorption. Other nutrients, like vitamin B12 and vitamin D, can be checked with blood tests.

Supplemental digestive enzymes can be an important part of your treatment, but one that doctors often overlook. Digestive enzyme supplements are biochemicals that break down the components of food, such as starch, protein and fat. They simply replace the enzymes that your body can no longer produce itself. You take them with meals. They relieve symptoms because they address the cause of the problem. You don’t need a doctor’s prescription to get a good, comprehensive digestive enzyme supplement.

The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: As you age, your stomach can use a little help to keep digestion working smoothly and properly. Don’t work against it with drugs. Try digestive enzymes which help the cause of the problem, rather than treating symptoms with drugs that can make the problems worse in the long run.

QUICK TIP: There are plenty of things you can do to keep your digestive system healthy, naturally. Learn More

Written exclusively for Stop Aging Now, the authority on anti-aging research, anti-aging nutrition, and anti-aging supplements.