Inflammation is a common factor in chronic pain. Your gut is one source of inflammation that is often overlooked.

Amazingly, your digestive tract is about 30 feet long including the stomach and intestines. Inside the gut is still considered outside the body. Food is absorbed through the intestinal lining and directed to the liver before the important nutrients are distributed throughout the rest of the body.

If your digestive tract springs a leak, the undigested contents can enter your blood before being detoxified through the liver. This invasion of undigested food is toxic and triggers an immune response that can results in all sorts of aches and pain.

Chronically, over time such an issue can lead to more serious health issues like auto-immune diseases which can be challenging to treat.

This gut leaking condition is called Increase Intestinal Permeability or Leaky Gut Syndrome. You’ll need to be tested to first identify which foods have leaked into your system.

The body creates sensitivities with immune-like responses when these foods are eaten, and you’ll need to eliminate them from your diet for a while to lose the sensitivity. How long to eliminate these foods can vary. It could be weeks, months or years. Sometimes you may never be able to eat them again. Sensitivities are like allergies.

What’s different is that sensitivities are slow-acting whereas allergies are fast-acting. Being slow-acting makes it hard to identify which foods are giving you trouble.

In addition to eliminating foods it will be important to stop the leaking and heal your gut. Acupuncture, whole food supplements, specialized herbal formulas, including digestive aids, can be very helpful and effective.

A special test can be done to identify the exact foods that you are sensitive to and that are causing inflammation in your body. The test is called FIT – Food Inflammation Testing.

We offer the test at our clinic – Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine.

If you have chronic health issues, consider doing a FIT test to better understand the health of your gut and if you have any important food sensitivities.

Digestive health and chronic painful conditions are specialties that are treated at the clinic of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine in Coventry, RI.

If you’d like to learn more or take the FIT test, contact the clinic and schedule an evaluation.