Building Blocks Pt 1: Signs & Symptoms of Healthy Digestion

Have you ever seen this posted in a physician’s office?  You may be healthy if you: get adequate sleep, engage in regular physical activity, eat a balanced diet, have a quality social life, have a spiritual practice, maintain a positive outlook.  Well, me neither, but if you have let me know! It was posted, however, in the employee restroom at the food cooperative where I used to work, by a savvy manager who knew what was what.  Being posted in the restroom, I would have included one more practice on this list: maintain regular bowel movements.

How has gut health changed just in the last 20 years? Since I have been in the natural health channel, the conversations about intestinal issues has only become more pronounced. Gut integrity and healthy microbiome is something we often hear about but what does it look like? What does it feel like?  If some of us have adapted to the modern ultra-processed diet, with no side effects and balanced digestion, well the “iron stomach” clad are blessed indeed.  Most of the population eating a modern diet of convenience, however, suffers to one degree or another - inconsistent or incomplete bowel movements (constipation), gas, bloating, diarrhea, or sometimes a combination of all the above.

Any food we eat is composed of all five elements...most having at least two predominant elements. Ideally, all six flavors should be included for good taste and digestion. Truly, you are what you eat.

Coinciding with the rise in anxiety and depression, there is no mystery that our diet and eating habits of the last 70 years or so directly contributes to our mental health and stability.  It’s the gut-brain connection.  In traditional medicine, the gut has always been known to impact mental and cognitive function. Furthermore, the gut-brain axis includes other vital organs: the heart and the lungs most importantly.  Being that the heart is the seat of the mind, and subtler qualities are attributed to the mind (mobile, light), controlling the mind by caring for the heart is also crucial for maintaining health.  But back to the gut…

Building blocks of robust health start with your digestive system.  It’s the foundation of a strong immune system.  Any pathogens that enter the system from the air we breathe, the water we drink, food we ingest (if our system functions well) are swept from finer channels into the intestines and, with efficient digestive power and dietary fiber,  eliminated from the body. Toxin exposure is also something that needs to be considered.  In this new epoch, it is important to look at all angles, but this is another topic for another time.  In order to keep this post short and you, dear reader, from nodding off - there is one important thing to think about.

Agni - Digestive power

Agni is the ancient Sanskrit word for fire or that which ignites, from which the Latin word ignis (ignite) has a common root.1  In traditional medicine, the element of fire governs all transformation.  This starts with the cookstove and also includes proper digestion, absorption and assimilation for tissue formation and waste production. In western terminology this is best known as enzymatic action or catalyst: in the GI tract, bodily tissues, right on down to cellular metabolism.1

Simply, these are the digestive varieties to be aware of:

1 Variable (constipation, incomplete elimination OR mixed with diarrhea as in the case irritable bowels, etc)

2 Sharp (hot, burning and/or liquid)

3 Slow (sluggish digestion, infrequent bowel movements)

Imbalances in the gut are often caused by activities like travel, eating out constantly or on-the-go, excess alcohol, lack of or too much exercise, inconsistent meal times, irregular sleep patterns, stress and worry, etc.

Finally we arrive at the good part!

Balanced digestion looks like this:

1. Complete bowel movements; once or twice per day, sometimes three

2. Banana shaped, light brown in color

3. Little to no gas, bloating, no indigestion or sourness, no burning sensation

4. No undigested food in stool

To quote a small part about the digestive process from an ancient text of Ayurveda:

As the fire, placed below, helps in the cooking of food…so does the Agni (enzyme) help in the digestion of food located in the (stomach) for the production of rasa (chyle) and mala (waste products). 2

As we are individuals, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to repairing gut and microbiome dysfunction.  This may sound like bad news, but it’s not, my friend!  Ayurvedic science is based on the elements that are present in us all and make-up our unique constitutions.  Whatever digestive troubles you are having issues with, a trained Ayurvedic practitioner can gently guide you through dietary and lifestyle changes, even in synergy with a medical professional's careful guidance. Counseling in the Ayurvedic tradition is a stress-free approach to healing.  Any one willing to put time and effort into healing their greatest bodily channel will notice benefits within due time.

The information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult with your physician when adding a supplement to your daily routine.

References

1 Textbook of Ayurveda vol. 1. 2002. pp 81-101. Vasant Lad, MASc

2 Caraka Samhita vol. IV, pp 3-4 [6-8]. Translation by Vaidya Bhagwan Dash