The following information has been gathered and compiled through personal experience, while traveling, teaching classes that include T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, herbal information, martial arts and other health related subjects. The article also contains feedback from students and anecdotal information from readers of my columns. The following are my opinions and deductions from those sources.
The illeocecal (ill-e-o-see-cal) valve is located on the lower right side of the abdomen, between the small and large intestine. Pain in the area is often thought to be a problem with the appendix. My wife had her appendix removed when she was young and the doctor told her afterwards that there hadn’t been any infection, inflammation or swelling of the appendix.
The illeocecal valve performs two important functions. When working correctly, it prevents toxic contents in the large intestine from backing up into the small intestine. The valve also keeps food from entering the large intestine from the small intestine before it’s properly digested. The valve can either “stick” open or shut.
If food stays in the body to long, it becomes toxic. If the valve is stuck shut, food can’t move from the small intestine into the large intestine and be expelled from the body. Toxins buildup, bacteria and yeast overgrowth result and can backup into the stomach. Our digestive tract is full of bacteria and yeast but organisms that may be beneficial in the small intestine will cause health problems in the stomach.
The small intestines main job is to absorb. If toxins can’t be moved into the large intestine because of a stuck illeocecal valve, the small intestine continues absorbing, toxic wastes included. Constipation is one symptom of an illeocecal valve that’s stuck shut. Pain in the right side in a horizontal line with the navel can be another. Appendicitis is a serious problem but if test prove negative, the valve may be the problem. Check with your health care provider, don’t self-diagnose, you could be, fatally, incorrect.
If the valve sticks open, food and nutrients move through the small intestine too rapidly to be absorbed. An open valve also allows backup from the large intestine to be introduced into, and absorbed into the system by, the small intestine. Diarrhea is one symptom of a stuck open valve.
There are many reasons for the valve either sticking open or shut. Some people have problems with hot or spicy foods and these can cause irritation to the valve. Too much bulk in the diet without sufficient water. Emotional trauma or stress can also stick the valve open or shut. People who have had their appendix seem to have a higher percentage of problems with the valve than those who haven’t. The appendix appears to be an overflow bag designed to hold toxins and allow the toxins to be slowly worked out without disrupting the illeocecal valve.
You can’t do anything if your appendix has been removed but if you suspect hot or spicy foods being the culprit, remove them from the diet for two weeks and then, keeping track in a notebook so you don’t lose track of which are and which aren’t the culprits, reintroduce them back into your diet one at a time. Alcohol, chocolate, cocoa and all products that contain caffeine can cause illeocecal problems.
A malfunctioning valve can cause many, and varied, problems. Here’s a list of some of them:
shoulder pain, bursitis like pain in the shoulders and hips, chest pain, heart fluttering, tinnitus (ringing in the ears, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, low back pain for no reason, recurrent sinus infections, headaches, fever, the flu, recurrent colds and general malaise.
