Episode 5: Beat the Bloat–Chinese Medicine digestion secrets! - a podcast by Dr. Maz Roginski (BHSc. Chinese Medicine)

Given that this episode is coming out the day after Christmas (and considering all of the feasting that often comes with this time of year!), I thought it was a timely opportunity to talk about digestion from a Chinese Medicine perspective, and to share some pearls of wisdom that have stood the test of time over millennia. Chinese Medicine has long understood, and almost revered, the role that the gut and digestion play as a foundation for all-round health of mind and body. As a result of this, in Chinese Medicine we have a whole pillar of practice that focuses on nutrition or dietary therapy, and which offers guidelines not only on what to eat, but how to eat it. Listen in to hear some simple, natural tips to boost digestion!Show Notes
TranscriptHi everyone and Merry Christmas, happy holidays. Given that this episode is coming out on Boxing Day (and considering all of the feasting that often comes with this time of year!), I thought it was a timely opportunity to talk about digestion from a Chinese Medicine perspective - and to share some pearls of wisdom that have stood the test of time over millennia. Chinese Medicine has long understood - and almost revered - the role that the gut and digestion play, as a foundation for all-round health of the mind and body and emotions. In many of the traditional diagrams that outline the interconnectedness of the various organs and systems in the body, the digestion (which we also refer to as the Spleen and Stomach, or the Earth, because it forms the foundation for everything) is often placed at the center of these schematics, which highlights its central and fundamental role.
And because of this in Chinese Medicine, we have a whole pillar of practice that is Chinese Medicine Nutrition or dietary therapy, which offers guidelines not only on what to eat, but also how to eat it. Also, many of our acupuncture points, and therapies like moxa (which is heat application) or infrared lamp and the herbs that we use - all of these modalities have been shown to have an impact on gut health as well, whether by raising certain bacterial populations in the gut, or by improving the efficacy of digestion.This perspective regarding the importance of gut health is something that biomedicine has recently come around to as well, with an ever-growing body of research into the role of the microbiome and gut bacteria. The microbiome is the sum total of all of the bacteria and microbes that live in and on our bodies, so when we consider the number of cells that make up our body or what we think of as our human body, the number of bacterial cells of vastly outnumbers the human cells by a factor of roughly 10 to 1 - which might prompt some musing on what it means to be human, and what our perception of ourselves is based on, if 90% of the cells that make up our whole being are actually bacterial cells! It's quite mind boggling, isn't it?!
A healthy and balanced microbiome is fundamental to thriving, good health because the bacteria that live in and on us aren't just freeloading - they actually have many important roles in the function of our body. This includes important processes, like the metabolism and assimilation of nutrients... they're involved in immune regulation, And mood and brain regulation. Many of you might have heard the fact that 90% of serotonin, which is our happy feel good neurotransmitter, is made in the gut, so having a healthy, happy, balanced gut bacteria is truly essential to good health.
Meanwhile, an imbalanced microbiome has been linked to a whole range of symptoms and conditions from diabetes to depression, anxiety, autism, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and a whole host of inflammatory bowel conditions. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! In an attempt to rebalance the microbiome, we're seeing all manner of interventions, from the relatively benign or simple probiotics (and probiotic foods), also prebiotic foods (which give us the substrate or the material...

Further episodes of Balanced Natural Health with Dr. Maz

Further podcasts by Dr. Maz Roginski (BHSc. Chinese Medicine)

Website of Dr. Maz Roginski (BHSc. Chinese Medicine)