General Health - The Six Systems
Digestive System
What goes in, must come out - and it's how fast or slow this happens as well as what goes on in between that tells us a great deal about how the digestive tract is functioning. So many diet and lifestyle factors affect how our gut works - from surgery, antibiotics, chemicals, plastics and medicines, to sugar, yeast, carbohydrates fats and protein. Parasites and other pathogens also affect gut function. Our gut processes nutrients which affect the functioning of all other body systems
Immune System
Our immune system is influenced by our gut and its microbiome (bacteria) among other things. Nutrients such as Zinc, Selenium and Vitamin C are key in immune health but are often lacking in the soil that grows much of our food. If our immune system is undernourished, it can't do its job to protect us from pathogens, rogue cells, toxins etc - all of which can lead to chronic disease if left untreated. Interestingly, pain negatively affects our immune health leaving us more susceptible to illness.
Muscular Skeletal System
The framework of the body that we take for granted until something in it breaks, gets bruised or connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments get injured. Our bones are not designed to rub against each other and when protective barriers break down through injury or inflammation, surgery is generally the only option to fix the problem. Vitamins D, K2 and Calcium are vital for keeping our bones strong. Collagen and Vitamin C are two important nutrients to keep our connective tissue strong and healthy.
Integumentary System (Skin)
Skin is our largest organ of detoxification so when I see skin issues, I know liver, gut and hormones will be involved. Diet also will be a factor however simply adding or removing foods or food groups probably won't entirely resolve the issue. Allergy based skin issues will be gut/immune driven as well as the brain chemical histamine which signals the immune system to set off a reaction from the gut. Acne is hormone and liver function driven and shingles is viral but also reflective of a burdened immune system. Being stressed can initiate a rash or other skin issues which indicates nervous system involvement.
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Reproductive System
Considering how much better off we are medically compared to 100 years ago why are more and more women having to get help in order to conceive? The reproductive system is linked to our nervous system which influences hormone production. Diet, stress, vascular integrity and other factors all play a part in the reproductive health of women and men.
Nervous System
Our nervous system is complex and very bossy. It can stop us eating or make us eat more. It can stop us sleeping or make it hard for us to wake up. It affects everything we do and is the network that links our brain to our gland producing hormones to our gut. It is constantly running and monitoring all our basic functions mostly without our knowledge
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