I vividly remember the chapters of my 12th grade Biology textbook. There were individual chapters on the various systems of our human body - digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system, endocrine system etc. The chapters covered each system in detail and explained the various organs involved. But there weren't any mention of how each of these systems are interconnected and how they influence each other.
To elaborate on this interconnectedness, let's take the example of digestive system. School textbooks talk about the different organs involved in digestion - esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, large intestine and colon. They also talk about how carbohydrates, proteins and fats are broken down in various stages through the digestive enzymes present in saliva, stomach acids, role of bile etc.
From what I have observed and learned is that digestion is influenced by factors, apart from the organs of digestive system.
- Good dental structure is extremely important in breaking down the food through chewing (DENTAL HEALTH)
- Taste buds get activated through our eye sight, implying that our eyes play a vital role in signalling our brain to secrete the right digestive enzymes (OPTHALMOLOGY)
- Our mindset at the time of eating food plays a vital role. Eating while we are emotionally distressed impacts our digestion big time (PSYCHIATRY)
- Lack of movement or physical activity leads to poor blood circulation and less oxygen availability, which leads to poor availability of nutrients to our cells (CARDIOLOGY / PULMONOLOGY)
- Poor thyroid health slows down the metabolism, thereby impacting appetite levels (ENDOCRINOLOGY)
These are just a few factors that came to my mind right now. I'm sure there are much more.
With multiple doctor visits for Appa in the past 3 months, with each specialist "referring" to another specialist, how a particular medicine/treatment/diagnosis impacts another parameter/organ/system, I can't help but wonder why there isn't a holistic approach in addressing health issues. Why is it that a diagnosis in itself requires the consultation of 5-6 specialist doctors?
P.S. No offense to anyone in the medical fraternity. Just voicing out my frustrations with the system.