Creating Wellness Center of Commack’s Dr. David Pollack sees many patients in his office that, despite sticking to a healthy diet, still have trouble achieving their health goals. “They are eating salads, paleo-diets, vegetarian diets or even raw vegan diets, but for some reason, they still feel symptoms such as bloating, fatigue or difficulty losing weight,” explains Pollack. “The food is relatively correct but something is missing. I find this to be evidence of a functional problem.”
A functional problem is different from a nutritional problem. It refers to the ability to actually digest and process food and absorb nutrients. “Eating health food and working out often lowers the frequency or intensity of symptoms, but does not repair a functional problem,” says Pollack. “I have patients that bloat after eating salads, onions or peppers. Bloating is often a process in the small intestines suggestive of dysbiosis (yeast or bacteria fermenting or eating your food). Their waste product, just like in bread or beer, is gas, so you feel bloated after eating them.”
Symptoms such as bloating may be more harmful than most people consider. Chronic inflammation is associated with bloating and avoiding inflammation is a good strategy to reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and stroke.
“One strategy I find useful in my practice is using enzymes to help the digestive tract more efficiently digest food and even help lower inflammation,” says Pollack. “It is not uncommon that by using enzymes to help the digestive tract, I find far-reaching effects in my patients such as weight loss, hormone balancing, improved mental state and lower blood sugar. Every individual’s body and health is different. We have hundreds of different enzyme formulas at the Center, and typically choose two or three for a particular person’s functional issues. I recommend seeing a holistic digestive specialist in order to see how your body is functioning.”
Source: Dr. David L Pollack. Location: Creating Wellness Center of Commack, 66 Commack Rd., Ste. 101, Commack.
