Talking about gastrointestinal and colorectal health is not a comfortable conversational topic for many people, but if you are having problems, it’s time to have an honest discussion with your physician about your symptoms. From a simplistic point of view, our GI system is basically one big garden hose, and every portion of this hose has a different job to accomplish so that proper digestion, nutrient assimilation and elimination can occur. If there is a kink in our hose, so to speak, we can start to develop symptoms ranging from indigestion, GERD, and constipation to ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids and fissures.