Module 7 Intro

Module 7—The Digestive and Respiratory Systems

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Health and the Digestive System

There is a strong relationship between your overall health and the nutritional decisions you make in life. Proper and balanced nutrition is the only way to provide your body with the energy to perform activities such as muscle contraction, cell growth, and cell repair. Since the end result of digestion is the absorption of nutrients, salts, and water, most disorders of the digestive system affect either the nutritional state of the body or its salt and water content. A healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent some disorders with medical technology diagnosing and treating the more serious disorders.

Ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and gallstones are some disorders that directly affect the organs of the digestive system. Anorexia, bulimia, and obesity are digestion-related conditions arising from psychological, social, and cultural conditions. While medicine and technology can treat some of these diseases, they cannot alter how people choose to treat their bodies.

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Turn to pages 233 to 236 of your textbook to explore these disorders. Read these pages before completing the following activity.

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TR 1. Health and the Digestive System: Traditional vs. Western Practices

Read the following paragraphs:

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people share a definition of health similar to the World Health Organization, a division of the United Nations. The WHO’s definition says that health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. First Nations people traditionally believe that individual health depends not only on a person's individual resources, but can best be assured through the maintenance of healthy social, economic, and cultural systems. With this belief, intervention is necessary with an individual who becomes sick.

According to healers of the Dene Nation, the individual has to take responsibility for his or her own healing. Too often, they believe, people give others the responsibility to take care of their minds, their bodies, their emotions, and their spirituality in a disconnected way.

Many First Nations people believe in practising traditional medicine. Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and mineral-based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques, and exercises. These practices are used alone or in combination to diagnose, treat, and prevent illnesses, or maintain well-being.

Many Albertans support the Western medical system, where medical doctors and other health-care professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, medical treatments, or surgery.

Choose one of the digestive disorders mentioned in your textbook or one that you may be familiar with from your research or personal knowledge. How would a First Nations healer approach dealing with the disorder compared to a doctor practising Western medicine?

Go to your Lesson 4 Assignment to complete this activity and to see the marking guide.