The 7 Systems
Everyone wants to know how their body works a little better. Like a machine, you can fine-tune it, making adjustments to diet, exercise, hydration, mental/emotional health, and rest, to allow it to “run” better. One way to do this is to gain an even deeper understanding of the systems of the body.
At Clean, we like to utilize facets of ancient Eastern Medicine, in the forms of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine to address the body holistically. Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses on balance, harmony, and energy in the body. Ayurvedic Medicine focuses that each individual is one-of-a-kind, with a unique blueprint for health. Blending these forces gives us a powerful toolkit.
Biotransformation
This is basically our body's method of detoxification. Our bodies are naturally going through the processes of detoxification, metabolization, and expelling of toxins all the time, it's ongoing. Toxins can be harmful substances found in polluted air, contaminated water, heavily-pesticided foods, heavy metals, and even things like makeup and cleaning products.
At some point, which is different for everyone, our bodies can get overloaded or congested. We want to free up our pathways of detoxification and elimination, allowing the body to continue its processes of metabolization and biotransformation.
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Energy
We all want to have more energy. Many people try to achieve this through stimulants, but Functional Medicine has taught us to look at why we have less energy. These can be environmental reasons, mental, emotional, chronic conditions, or even just life changes.
Having good energy means we have vitality in our bodies and, on a deeper level, that our cells have the building blocks they need to continue our metabolic cycles.
Communication
Without proper communication, things in our lives can go haywire very quickly. This is true of communication between our body systems as well. To have a harmonious body, we need to make sure the pathways of communication between our body systems are functioning. This can include hormones, neurotransmitters, and cell signalers called cytokines, which can help control inflammation and immune function.
We want these communicators working well to ensure hormone balance, clear minds, and proper inflammatory messages.
Defense
Our barrier against all infections, pathogens, and unhealthy microorganisms. This is the system that keeps us in good health, otherwise known as our immune system. It also controls our repairs for injuries and damage.
When this system isn't functioning well we can see it manifested in colds and flues, autoimmune disorders, food sensitivities, hormone imbalances, and chronic infections.
Transport
This is movement within the body. Our circulatory and lymphatic systems are an important part of moving nutrition and hormones around the body, oxygen through our bloodstream, and waste and toxins out of our systems. Our lymphatic system is like the sanitation department, collecting waste to get rid of it. Our vascular system moves within every other system in our body, delivering nutrients and oxygen to our digestive tract, kidneys, and lungs.
Assimilation
Our gut health affects our whole body - even our mental state. Your gut microbiome holds a balance of healthy bacteria and helps ward off bad bacteria. Because your gut houses more than 70 percent of your immune system, your digestion and absorption directly impact your wellbeing. How we are breaking down food and taking in the nutritional components is vital for health.
Structure
This is what's holding us together. From our skin, the largest organ of detoxification, to our subcellular membranes, we are made up of structures. Most of us don't think about it much, unless we are training for a race, taking up powerlifting, or have recently discovered we have leaky gut. The repair and maintenance of these inner and outer structures is going on all the time. This is an area we often see very affected by nutritional deficiencies.