Symptoms. We have to get to the bottom of them. What’s the cause for those symptoms? When I was having 24/7 migraines, I was like a two year old. Always asking “Why?” Why am I suddenly having these migraines all the time? Sadly, too often, we’ll just treat the symptoms without determining what’s really going on.

Having said that, what do the following symptoms have in common?

• Bloating
• Allergies
• Eczema
• Depression
• Resistant weight loss

Do you know what’s at the root of all those symptoms?

It’s your gut. That’s right, the health of that long twisting tube deep-seated in your abdomen is a key factor in a host of health situations. And those situations might not be a “condition” in and of themselves, but instead a manifestation that something’s gone awry in your primary organ of digestion.

You can consider these symptoms in that same category: gas ~ constipation ~ diarrhea ~ food sensitivities ~ headaches ~ asthma ~ decreased immunity ~ brain fog ~ anxiety ~ and the list goes on and on. . .

When your digestive system is suffering, you are too.

You might not think your splotchy skin has anything to do with your innards. But your gut’s impairment is the reason that all those fancy creams only work for a short time, if that. You can pull the weeds out of your garden, but you have to pull them out by the root to keep them from coming back.

That’s why I believe in digging down to the root of symptoms. And the very first root to grab my attention is the gut. The small intestine, when in good repair, is your ultimate “gatekeeper.’ It decides what will travel into the circulatory system and what will not.

But let’s back up a bit.

Your food is broken down into smaller nutrients higher up in the digestive system ~ in the mouth, in the esophagus, in the stomach. Auxiliary organs of digestion ~ the pancreas and gallbladder ~ produce enzymes to help the food decompose a little further. Those enzymes are pumped into the “gates” of the small intestine.

Yet what comes out of those gates is dependent on the health of the small intestine. There are intricate chemical processes that selectively sort and choose what will be introduced into circulation. If nutrients that aren’t properly digested leak into the bloodstream then the suffering begins.

That grief can take the form of that gas, bloating and indigestion I mentioned, but also create more systemic problems from disrupting your mental health to increasing your internal toxic load.

In my practice, I’m always looking to find the root cause of symptoms. That usually means starting with the gut. Since most digestion and absorption happens right in that organ, it needs to be in good repair. The good news is that with your caring attention it can indeed be repaired!

In the upcoming Core Values Detox, we’ll be focusing on restoring your optimal digestive function. And this is why I love this detox program so much ~ it gets right to the core of the matter, giving you the tools to clean and restore your ultimate gatekeeper.