In the previous six articles of this series, we’ve discussed the maintenance of normal physiological functions in the body, including a strong immune system. Previously, I have made it clear that there is no intention of making claims of treating patients affected with any immune dysfunction; that is the exclusive province of medicine. However, there is a difference between offering treatment for an infectious disorder and recognizing the health problems a patient has (e.g., comorbidities) that make them more vulnerable to pathogens. These visceral problems often coexist in patients being treated for structural or pain syndromes and may be perpetuating or preventing their correction. My purpose in writing these articles is to point out possible symptoms or early warning signs of visceral dysfunction that may be present in your patients.
In my previous article, I talked about how stomach acid provides limited immune protection against bacteria entering the body. I presented how the digestive system is stressed and produces symptoms of energy deficiencies caused by inadequate digestion of macronutrients, particularly the impact and overlooked consequences of inadequate and blocked gastric digestion. How many of your patients are taking PPIs or H2 blockers?
Next, I presented the role of the protective mucosal lining of not only the digestive tract but also the respiratory system, urinary tract, and uterus, which also have mucosal linings. Viruses must first penetrate those linings to enter the body. I reviewed a study conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University and published on August 5, 2020, in the Journal of Immunology that suggested COVID-19 should be treated as an acute inflammatory disease. Of course, the appearance of heat or fever, redness, swelling, and pain coexist with structural problems and the musculoskeletal system. Unfortunately, the shared peripheral nervous innervation that causes involuntary muscle contractions in those muscles that share innervation with a stressed visceral organ or tissue is often overlooked.
The scientists in that study performed a comprehensive analysis of worldwide COVID-19 data to identify key strategies for moving forward to develop effective therapeutics. They suggested that COVID-19 should be treated as an acute inflammatory disease, and that the severity of infection is associated with the dysregulation of inflammatory immune responses and the subsequent inability to develop protective immunity from the virus. In response to injury or infection, the immune system will normally react with an immediate inflammatory response to limit the infection and help develop a long-lasting, protective immunity against the virus within 7 to 10 days following infection. However, when inflammation is not modulated or resolved after serving its purpose, it becomes chronic and results in the inhibition of adaptive immune responses, tissue damage, or organ failure, as evidenced in many cases of the novel coronavirus.
Please recall that my only point here is recognizing the possibility that otherwise so-called “healthy patients” have a viral infection when the protective mucosal linings in the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, respiratory tract, and uterus are inflamed.
That brings us back to the mucosal linings and, in particular, the gastrointestinal tract. From there, pathogens can get past the macrophages in aggregated lymphatic follicles of the mucosal lining, enter the body, and gain entry to the liver, where they again are confronted by macrophages in the Kupffer cells. The symptoms of heat/fever, redness, swelling, pain, and associated involuntary muscle contractions are associated with the affected visceral tissues. These can cause, perpetuate, and prevent correction of structural misalignments, as well as cause loss of joint range of motion.
Autonomic Control of the Gastrointestinal Tract
While parasympathetic stimulation enhances digestive functions, the sympathetic system responds to stress with its “fight-or-flight” mechanisms. Sympathetic stimulation inhibits or decreases digestive processes and secretions in all organs in the GI tract. The sympathetic fibers to the gastrointestinal tract originate in the spinal cord between the segments T8 and L2.
• The preganglionic fibers enter the sympathetic chains and pass through principally to the outlying celiac and mesenteric ganglia. From there, the postganglionic fibers spread along with the blood vessels to all parts of the gut, terminating principally on neurons in the enteric nervous system.
The Enteric Nervous System
The gastrointestinal tract has an intrinsic nervous system of its own that begins in the esophagus and extends all the way to the anus. It is composed of an outer and inner layer of neurons and connecting fibers and controls most gastrointestinal functions, especially movements and secretions.
The anatomical arrangement of the enteric nervous system and its connections with the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems supports three different types of gastrointestinal reflexes that are essential to gastrointestinal control. Of course, these include reflexes from the gut to the spinal cord or brain stem and then back to the gastrointestinal tract.
It is important to recognize that there are reflexes that occur entirely within the enteric nervous system that control gastrointestinal secretion, peristalsis, mixing contractions, and local inhibitory effects. There are also reflexes from the gut to the prevertebral sympathetic ganglia and then back to the gastrointestinal tract. Those reflexes transmit signals for long distances in the gastrointestinal tract, such as:
• Gastrocolic reflex signals from the stomach to cause evacuation of the colon.
• Enterogastric reflexes from the colon and small intestine inhibit stomach motility and stomach secretion.
..."Once the pandemic passes, the world will still have to reckon with chronic diseases and other problems associated with poor gut health."
• Colonileal reflex from the colon to inhibit the ileum from emptying of contents into the colon.
Possible Health Problems Resulting from ENS Stress
Long-range synchronization within the enteric nervous system underlies propulsion along the large intestine - published in Communications Biology, Volume 4, August 10, 2021.
The part the ENS plays in neurological disorders has become increasingly evident. Because many neurotransmitters, signaling pathways, and anatomical properties are common to the ENS and CNS, pathophysiological processes that underlie CNS disease often have enteric manifestations. Neuronal connections and the immune system might provide conduits that allow diseases acquired in the gut to spread to the brain. There is evidence for ENS dysfunction in the etiopathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Animal models suggest that common pathophysiological mechanisms account for the frequency of gastrointestinal comorbidity in these conditions.
Moreover, the neurotropic pathogen, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), unexpectedly establishes latency in enteric and other autonomic neurons that do not innervate the skin. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox and herpes zoster (shingles).
VZV reactivation in these neurons produces no rash and is, therefore, a clandestine cause of gastrointestinal disease, meningitis, and strokes. The gut-brain alliance has raised consciousness as a contributor to health, but a gut-brain axis that contributes to disease merits equal attention.
In conclusion, I suggest that the problem with gut health goes beyond COVID-19. Once the pandemic passes, the world will still have to reckon with chronic diseases and other problems associated with poor gut health.
I believe the chiropractic profession can offer early recognition of problems with digestive health that are not presently well known. It’s all about maintaining health and preventing disease.
As always, I invite your comments and questions, and you can email me at [email protected].
Dr. Howard F. Loomis Jr. has an extensive background in food enzyme nutrition. He is the president of the Food Enzyme Institute. The Food Enzyme Institute offers inperson and online seminars to healthcare practitioners around the country. Dr. Loomis published Enzymes: The Key to Health in 1999, The Enzyme Advantage in 2015, and The Enzyme Advantage for Women in 2016. His latest book, What Is Your Nutritional Deficiency?: Find It, Fix It, and Feel Better! was published in 2019. Contact info: 478 Commerce Dr. Suite 201, Madison, Wl 53719, [email protected], 800-662-2630.
