Dietary absorption is a growing problem for people of all ages. More and more people are suffering and don’t know how to improve this condition. In this podcast, Dr. Berne lays out biochemical tests to help people get diagnosed properly so they can improve their digestion.

Stool Analysis
These tests measure GI function, including analyses of digestion, absorption, bacterial balance, yeast and parasites. We recommend a stool analysis for patients with diffuse and non- specific GI-related symptoms, such as indigestion, dysbiosis, constipation, and diarrhea.

Urine Analysis
I use a urine analysis called a Cellular Energy Profile which evaluates fourteen organic acids that play a pivotal role in the generation of cell energy. The test can reveal metabolic distress associated with generalized pain and fatigue, which may arise in response to toxic exposure, nutrient imbalances, digestive dysfunction, and other causes. The profile also analyzes mitochondrial dysfunction and acquired errors of organic acid metals.

Blood Analysis
Conventional blood tests look at levels of HDL, LDL, lipid fractionation, total cholesterol ratios, triglycerides, lipoprotein(a), homocysteine, brinogen, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and include relative risk indices and metabolic syndrome alerts. Together, these markers provide a thorough assessment of cardiovascular health status.

Dark Field Microscopic Blood Analysis
Dark Field Microscopy evaluates the properties of individual blood cells, indicating nutritional conditions that can affect a person’s health. Compared to standard blood tests, this analysis is able to detect nutritional disorders earlier, when the problem is in its infancy. By monitoring the blood’s condition, a health professional can assist in “balancing” the blood by recommending life- enhancing dietary and lifestyle modifications. Although it is not FDA approved, I have found this test to be invaluable for diagnosing heavy metal toxicities, poor metabolism, candida, and endocrine imbalances.

Hair Analysis
Elemental Hair Analysis provides a reading of the mineral deposition in the hair over a 2-3 month period. This sensitive test gives a snapshot of what the body is doing at the cell level and can reveal imbalances long before they would show up in a regular blood test. While it only assesses the mineral content of the hair, the test results allow one to infer what is occurring in other areas of the body. The test is simple and non-invasive. Hair analysis is considered a screening test. A screening test by definition is not intended to be diagnostic of any disease or condition.

Compensations And Adaptations
This kind of biochemical diagnostic testing does a great job of revealing a person’s overall health picture. The next step is considering the wide range of factors that can play a role in creating the picture, and these can be as varied as a high-sugar diet, weak adrenal glands, and fearfulness dating from childhood trauma. In any case, my approach is always based on holistic principles and often starts with nutrition. Is the person’s diet conducive to health and healing? And often more important, are they able to absorb the nutrition in their food?

Whether I am looking at children with learning problems, adults with deteriorating vision, or people with other health concerns, we can almost always and ways to improve both their diets and their ability to absorb the nutrition in their food. Many other adaptations may be useful as well, depending on the individual’s situation.

When I look at lab results, I am learning about the ways a person has adapted to and compensated for the stresses they have faced. As I consider the most appropriate treatment, I look at multiple factors, including the person’s heredity, upbringing, lifestyle, diet, attitudes, body chemistry, and health and disease status.

I might use a hair test to ascertain the person’s mineral levels. When we have low levels of a certain mineral, our bodies adapt or compensate by increasing levels of another mineral to maintain homeostasis. This can become a continuous ‘balancing act’ as our bodies attempt to cope with internal and external stressors as well as possible. But each adaptation to stress reduces energy levels. The goal of nutritional balancing is to reduce the adaptations the body must make, freeing energy for healing.

Our Second Brain
In his book, The Second Brain, Dr. Michael Gershon, a professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, explains why he considers the entire gastrointestinal system to be the body’s second nervous system.

He says: “The brain is not the only place in the body that’s full of neurotransmitters. A hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number that are found in the brain. The brain in the bowel has got to work right or no one will have the luxury to think at all.”¹

Sleep and Digestion
We can see that the brain and the gut are very interrelated. For example, both have natural 90-minute sleep cycles. In the brain, slow-wave sleep is interrupted by periods of rapid eye movement sleep; this is when dreams occur. In the gut, the 90-minute cycle also involves a slow wave of muscle contractions, in this case punctuated by slow bursts of rapid muscle movement. Could it be that both brains influence each other? The answer is probably yes.
Researchers are now finding that sleep is one of the most important ingredients for digestive health and that getting enough sleep at the right time (usually before midnight) can help your digestive system.

Many patients with poor digestive absorption report poor sleep, complaining that they awaken in the morning tired and unrefreshed, even if they slept well through the night. And for a person with any kind of chronic symptoms, there is likely to be a vicious cycle: pain, fatigue, and emotional stress make it di cult to sleep, and lack of sleep exacerbates the other symptoms.

Abnormal REM sleep can alter activity of the autonomic nervous system, including altering colon function. Medical practitioners often prescribe a low dose of antidepressant drugs to treat abnormal REM sleep. Meanwhile, antidepressants can cause digestive problems such as nausea, diarrhea and constipation. While the antidepressants make more serotonin available to the brain, less is then available for use by the neurological cells in the gastrointestinal tract, which also require it. In fact, research has shown that people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and “sensitive stomachs” experience increased symptoms the morning after a poor night of sleep.

Why? In part it’s because digestion, absorption, and assimilation of our food is a process that requires a great deal of energy. Adequate sleep ensures that your digestive organs have time for rest and repair. Lack of sleep also makes us more susceptible to stress, which can significantly influence digestive symptoms. Daytime fatigue also tends to cause cravings for sugar and caffeine, which do provide a temporary energy boost but also irritate the digestive tract and lead to increased sleep disturbances.

Better sleep helps heal your digestion, and better digestion will allow you to have better sleep!

1 The Second Brain by Michael Gershon, p 47.

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