Digest your way to better health
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| By Julie Smith |
If so, you may want to consider focusing on your digestion. Improve it and see what happens!
Your digestive system is approximately 25 to 31 feet long and consists of your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gall bladder, bile duct, pancreas, and rectum. By looking at our bodies it doesn’t seem possible that this area covers approximately 25 feet!
Amazing, but true! Since your digestive system is so large, you shouldn’t discount its importance in many health issues.
Without getting too scientific on you, I will briefly explain part of the digestive process to help you get an understanding of the role it plays in your body and your overall health.
Digestion starts in our mouths when we chew our food (so, when your mom told you to quit taking such large bites of food and to slow down while eating, she knew what she was talking about!).
Saliva contains enzymes which help break down the food you eat. Your food then goes to the stomach where it meets with hydrochloric acid and begins to be broken down further. From the stomach it goes to the duodenum (the first ten inches of the small intestine) where bile that is stored in the gall bladder drops onto the acid. The combination of the hydrochloric acid and bile are intended to create a “sizzle” effect much like when you pour vinegar on baking soda.
This “sizzle” breaks down your food further so that the nutrients from the food can be utilized by the body. If your digestion isn’t functioning properly your body can’t use the nutrients from your food.
If you don’t get the “sizzle” from the hydrochloric acid and the bile, your cells aren’t able to utilize the nutrients. This “sizzle” exchange takes place in your duodenum. This is the same site where many nutrients from your food are absorbed by the body.
Are you starting to get the big picture?
The duodenum is where the “sizzle” is supposed to happen so that nutrients from your food get absorbed by the body. Without the “sizzle” your cells don’t get needed nutrition.
If there isn’t enough stomach acid you won’t get the “sizzle” and, on the other hand, if there isn’t enough bile from the gall bladder you won’t get the “sizzle” either.
If you are missing your gall bladder, your bile doesn’t flow properly and the “sizzle” doesn’t happen. If you were told your gall bladder really isn’t necessary for a normal functioning body you might want to rethink what you were told.
There is a quiz on my website at www.entirely-natural.com (click on Services on the Home Page) from a book written by TC Hale called Kick Your Fat in the Nuts that you can take to score your digestive process. Please take the time to answer the questions…it’s an easy quiz and will give you some insight on your digestion.
If you know your digestive function is not where it should be schedule an appointment with me or read the above mentioned book. It is available on Amazon as a Kindle download or paperback version. I have copies of the book in my office as well.
So, to get back to basics, it all starts with digestion.
Improving your digestion is a step in improving your health. Nearly all health problems result from improper digestion because the cells can’t uptake the nutrients in your food.
To learn more about your health stay tuned for the next Health Jewels as we discuss more about digestion!
References:
Hale, T. (2012). Kick Your Fat in the Nuts. Words to Spare, LLC.
Sareen S. Gropper. (2009). Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Belmont: Wadsworth.