Homeostasis: Why Chiropractic and Nutrition are Inseparable
NUTRITION
Howard Loomis
Chiropractic is the science that blends anatomy, physiology, and neurology into a therapeutic system. Nutrition is the science of food and how the body converts it into energy. Understanding the concept of homeostasis unites the two sciences into a healing system that has no equal.
When I first entered private practice, I was quite content to regai d homeostasis as a state of constancy that the body maintained at all times. It was something I could depend on and take for granted. Certainly, as a chiropractor, I would not be called upon to adjust patients who were in the process of losing control of their homeostatic functions. I know now that I missed one of the most important concepts in healing. Unfortunately, it was not until about 15 years later that I gave any serious thought to the price the body pays to maintain homeostasis and how it does it.
When I began collecting clinical data on digestive complaints and correlating them to laboratory results, I came face-to-face with the processes the body uses to maintain homeostasis. For example, how does the body maintain the pH of the blood within very narrow limits when it provides both the acidity for stomach acid production and the alkalinity for pancreatic enzymes to work in the duodenum? That question sent me scurrying to my medical library for an exact definition, and even back to Claude Bernard’s original concept of the “internal milieu” in 1858.
The environment in which each cell lives is called the internal environment. On average, about 24% of extracellular fluid is found hi the blood, and the remainder in the interstitial fluid between the blood and the cells. Cells receive oxygen and nutrients from this fluid and excrete wasted into it. Yet, it must constantly be maintained within the very narrow limits of body temperature, pH, volume or water content, and concentration of dissolved substances, such as sugar, cholesterol, and many more.
Guyton’s Medical Physiology (seventh edition) states, “The term homeostasis is used by physiologists to mean maintenance of static or constant conditions in the internal environment.” It is a tendency toward uniformity or stability in the internal environment or fluid matrix of the organism. This is the material that I skimmed over in school, taking for granted that the body would do this regardless of what I did.
I did not completely appreciate that the body will do whatever it must to maintain homeostasis! Therefore, I should be able to at least recognize, even if I cannot accurately measure, the early warning signs of exhaustion as the body struggles to maintain normal function.
“There are many other examples of the body’s willingness to stress specific organs in order to meet the requirements of the extracellular fluid.JJ
Blood chemistry tests do not provide early answers since, by definition, the body is already losing the struggle to maintain homeostasis by the time a test result is beyond normal limits. As an example, recall that blood calcium and phosphorus levels remain normal as osteoporosis develops. This is accomplished by removing the minerals from storage in order to maintain homeostasis—at all cost.
There are many other examples of the body’s willingness to stress specific organs in order to meet the requirements of the extracellular fluid. Obviously, the stressed tissues have increased nutritional requirements during these periods. I believe that chiropractors are in the best position to recognize these increased nutritional demands by virtue of their knowledge of the autonomic nervous system and its relationships to the organs through spinal innervation and hi voluntary muscle contractions.
At first glance, it would seem that a discussion of how the body maintains homeostasis goes beyond the possibilities of this column. If I did delve into it, I’d probably lose readers, but I implore you to stick it out. I offer no lengthy physiological and biochemical dissertations. Rather, a simple explanation of why the sciences of chiropractic and nutrition are inseparable, and,
regardless of your scope of practice, why you should be interested in the maintenance of homeostasis and recognizing specifically the increased nutritional demands of stressed organs required to assist in the healing of your patient, regardless of chief complaint.
Homeostasis is maintained primarily by the efforts of the hypothalamus gland. It is interesting to note that the hypothalamus is the only paid of the brain that is not protected by the bloodbrain barrier. That barrier exists to protect the delicate tissues of the brain h orn changes in the extracellular fluids. It remains largely a mystery as medicine continues to attempt to unravel its complexities. Most drags cannot penetrate this barrier. But, the hypothalamus receives sensory information concerning the extracellular fluid or internal environment.
The hypothalamus is paid of the limbic system, which contains centers for monitoring and regulating the pH, temperature, volume of fluids, and concentration of solutes of the extracellular fluids. Further, nerve circuits link it to ahnost all parts of the brain. Utilizing input horn other parts of the brain and information received horn the tissues exposed to the extracellular fluid, it continuously regulates ahnost the entire endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system in an effort to maintain homeostasis.
Additionally, the hypothalamus controls both appetite and satiety. It is linked directly to your sense of smell and taste. It motivates you to eat what the extracellular fluid requires and to reject what it does not need by making certain foods and drinks
taste or smell good. In short, it is responsible for your cravings. As an aside, we generally crave what we cannot adequately digest and deliver to the hypothalamus via the blood stream, but we will deal with that another time.
Let me close by saying that a few questions concerning dietary habits, digestion, and elimination coupled with case history and chiropractic examination can reveal valuable information regarding the homeostatic challenge that is exhausting your patient all day, every day.
The concept of the internal environment and the necessity of keeping its components relatively constant is the single most important idea to be kept in mind while attempting to understand die complexity of a patient’s symptoms and how you can restore normal function to bring about healing.
Dr. Loomis has an extensive background in enzymes and enzyme supplements. He is the founder and president of the Food Enzyme Institute. His extensive knowledge of physiology, biochemistry, and enzymology has made him a sought-after speaker and a prolife writer. The Food Enzyme Institute offers seminars to healthcare practitioners around the country. Dr.
Loomis published ENZYMES: The Key to Health in 1999. He also co-authored andpublished The Enzyme Ach’antage: For Healthcare Providers and People Who Care About Their Health in 2015, and The Enzyme Advantage for Women in 2016, with respected medicaljournalist Arnold Mann. Contact info: 6421 Enterprise Lane, Madison, WI 53719 customer serviceTifoodenzymeinstitule.com, 800-662-2630.
