Stomach woes written all over your body
Q: How can I tell if my stomach isn’t functioning properly?
Dr. Wright: There are numerous symptoms and signs on the body that can tell you if your stomach isn’t operating up to par. They include heartburn, indigestion, bloating and/or belching after meals, a feeling that “food just sits there” after eating, and constipation. Patent medicine advertising implies that heartburn and indigestion are caused by excess stomach acid. While this is possible, it’s rarely the case. Testing almost always shows that these symptoms are the result of too little acid, which may also be in the wrong place (the esophagus).
Other physical signs of poor stomach function are more numerous and common for women than for men. If a woman tells me her fingernails crack, split, peel, break easily, or “layer back,” I know that it’s very, very likely her stomach isn’t functioning properly. If she tells me her hair is thinning or falling out, it’s usually the same problem. (I’m not sure why, but these two symptoms hardly ever show up together in the same woman.) Men have fingernail problems much less often. Male baldness also doesn’t correlate with stomach function at all.
Body signs that occur in both sexes include bursitis, abnormal redness or ruddiness of the cheeks, dilated capillaries in the cheeks (even just a few sometimes), and the more obvious skin condition rosacea. Another not-as-common but not-quite-rare sign is chronic pain at the bases of the thumbs.
If any of these symptoms apply to you, you should consider having a thorough stomach function test done. To read more about what’s entailed in this sort of testing, refer back to the June 2005 issue of Nutrition & Healing, which subscribers can download and view for free by following the instructions listed at the end of the article above.
