Digestion Article

Digestion: You are what you eat?

Or you are what you can digest properly?

            I have heard that saying since I was a kid. You are what you eat. We are not sure where this saying actually originated, but the meaning is clear. If you eat good foods, the you can be healthy and vital. If you eat junk, then you will feel sick. Is this true? For the most part , yes. However, I have found by practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine, lots of people do not think about the implications of what they eat. And/or they are uneducated about the food that they eat. Some of my patients don't know what the difference between Fats, Carbohydrates, and Proteins. Or for that matter, which foods provide these types of nutrients. As a practitioner that sees many patients for enhancing Fertility potential, I have to educate my patients of the toxins that come from pesticides and the poor nutrient quality of foods that are processed. In fact, I recommend that my patients eat organic fruits and vegetables that have thin skins and use more pesticides in the agriculture practices growing many of these foods. Furthermore, the soils of these farms have been so depleted from mass farming practices that I have to recommend that my patients take a liquid colloidal mineral just to get the 70 or so minerals that our body's need in very small quantities to perform many physiological functions. For example, our body's need a small amount of the mineral Cobalt in order to create a cofactor necessary to utilize Vitamin B12. If we do not get this small amount of Cobalt, it can lead to a condition called pernicious anemia. I do not want to digress too far from the point though. We need to simply digest our food properly in order to get the nutrients from our food into our bloodstream to nourish all our trillion or so cells. So, we are not quite what we eat. Rather, we are what we can digest properly.

            Li Dongyuan and Sun SiMiao were two famous physicians in the 7^th century AD. These two physicians put a lot of emphasis on digestion. They said that if you are going to address any chronic disease, always make sure the digestion function is optimal. If the digestion is functioning well then the body can be properly nourished to have enough energy to handle the chronic disease better or actually cure it. This advice is part of what is missing with our current Western Medicine practices. Not enough emphasis is put on proper nutrition and digestion. What is proper digestion and how do we achieve this goal? I will go over some of the basic concepts so that you can understand how to optimize your digestion.

            First and foremost, we have to start thinking of body as an energetic organism. We have to think about how energy is created in the body and how it is used. As far as Western Medicine theory goes, the mitochondria (a special organelle inside each of our cells) performs a process called oxidative   phosphorylation of Adenosine TriPhosphate(ATP).  This special molecule is the main energy source of most of our cellular functions. The metabolic reactions that require this type of energy are the synthesis of macromolecules, proteins, RNA, DNA, etc. ATP also plays a major role in the transport of macromolecules across cell membranes. This is the process of getting the actual nutrients into the individual cells. So how do we extract these nutrients from our food and get them to this point.

At this point I will describe the process of digestion from mouth to this point.

            When we eat an apple, first we have to chew it. The better it is chewed, the easier it will be digested in the stomach and the least amount of energy is required to digest it. Another thing to consider is the temperature of the apple. Our Stomach is like a 100 degree pot of soup. The closer the apple is to 100 degrees,then less energy is required to warm to that environment that it is entering for further digestion. One more consideration is the saliva in the mouth that is created upon chewing it.

There is a special enzyme in the mouth called (Amylase) that assists with digestion of carbohydrates.

Upon entering the stomach, the apple gets saturated with Hydrochloric acid and is broken down into smaller parts. Without going into to too much detail, this begins the chemical aspect of digestion

in which secretions from the mucosa layers, liver, gallbladder , etc. are provided to break down the food into smaller molecules. Once this is done, the molecules have to be absorbed into the bloodstream. This primarily happens in the small intestine. This is the place where digested foods, water, salts, and vitamins pass through the intestinal mucosa layers into the blood or lymph. Some of these nutrients pass through the lumen of the small intestine by simple diffusion, others require more complex mechanisms such as secondary active transport, sodium cotransport. Fats are transported with the aid of lecithin and bile salts to pass through a phopholipid bilayer by diffusion. We still have not figured out how some substances are absorbed by the small intestine. Complicated and amazing!

            Next, the large intestine receives the waste products from the chemical digestion and the fiber from the apple. The large intestine reabsorbs any water leftover from the digestion and makes the feces that gets pushed along with muscles until it reaches the sigmoid colon and then out. This is called the elimination process. All of these processes require energy from the body in order to be performed. This is why we should consider making our digestion as optimal as possible so that we may have plenty of energy for other things like our other major systems of the body.

Here is a list of some things that can make digestion more efficient:

1.      Chew sufficiently- from 20-25 times per mouthful is usually optimal. This allows the teeth to break down the food into smaller parts and the saliva to moisten and begin to enzymatically breakdown your food.

2.      Only Take Small Sips of a Warm Beverage if necessary- This allows you to concentrate on chewing properly and letting your saliva do the moistening. In addition, when you drink while you eat, you dilute the stomach acid and prevent it from chemically breaking down the food in the stomach. Plus, if the drink is cold, your body has to warm the stomach in order to digest.

3.      Avoid Foods that are harder to digest and cause sludge build up(Dampness)- like sugary, creamy, heavy, fried, greasy, etc. These foods cause mucous build-up in the digestive tract and elsewhere. They also tax the immune and respiratory systems.

4.      Eat in Moderation- the body is only able to digest and assimilate about two fist size quantities of food at one time. If you eat more than this in a sitting, then you will be wasting food and your energy. Also, it hinders the digestive system in general.

5.      Eat 5 small meals per day- as mentioned above, this makes more sense to be able to digest your food better and with less complications.

6.      Base your diet on Fruits, Veggies, and Whole Grains- this is the peasant diet. Most people could not afford much sugar, meat, dairy, etc., so they eat what they grew. This kind of diet allows us to avoid the “privileged” diseases and conditions that come along with a richer diet like gout, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc.

7.      Moderate use of Warm Spices- pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace, cloves, coriander, thyme, marjoram, etc. are all spices that when used moderately can act as digestive enzymes and assist with digestion.

8.      Eat a good amount of insoluble and soluble fiber- soluble fiber acts like little brooms in our small and large intestines to carry out the impure waste products that are produced with digestion. The insoluble fiber helps lower arterial cholesterol levels, decreases the risk of colorectal cancer and constipation, and helps to make us feel more satiated.

9.      Limit Meat Consumption, especially red meat- we can get by without meat consumption altogether with proper planning to get all of our 8 essential amino acids. However, if you are a practicing omnivore, then limit your intake to no more than the size of a deck of cards for any serving. Eating more than this just wastes energy and money unless you are a bodybuilder or a very active athlete. For most of the general public, we don't need massive quantities of protein and especially meat.

10.  PCF Ratio- Protein- 25-30%, Carbohydrates 50-60%, Fats 10-15%   This kind of ratio is not an absolute, but a decent guideline to digesting well and staying healthy. It is important to factor in getting enough fiber. 25-30 grams is a decent amount daily.

11.  Include Prebiotic foods, especially if you have bowel troubles- there is a list below of prebiotic foods that feed the friendly bacteria in our guts. More and more evidence is showing that cultures with these kinds of foods in their diet have less digestive complaints and improved health. Fermentable fruits and vegetables have been used for their probiotic(these are foods that already have beneficial bacteria present when eaten) benefits for thousands of years. There is a list of some common ones below. Supplements are also now available in the refrigerated sections of most health food stores. Take advantage of these. There is recent evidence that our bodies house as many as 10-11 trillion microbes on and in our bodies. Most of these microbes have a symbiotic relationship with our bodies. There is still much to discover in this field. It seems humans have had a dependence on bacteria and other microbes since we have been on this planet.

Prebiotics-

• artichokes
• bananas
• leeks
• onions
• whole wheat

Probiotics-

• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Miso
• Sauerkraut
• Yogurt

Strains of bacteria for :

Traveler's Diarrhea- Sacchromyces boulardi or a combo of

                                 Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum

Antibiotic induced Diarrhea-  Sacchromyces boulardi, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus

                                 bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus

IBS, bloating and gas- Bifidobacterium infantis 35624

12. Take a Digestive Enzyme if necessary- as we age, we tend to produce less digestive enzymes as we did when we were younger. Also, if you are having issues like Acid Reflux, heartburn, or G.E.R.D.s, taking a digestive enzyme with every meal can be a huge help. There are many on the market these days, so look at the ingredients. Most will have  Protease(for proteins), Lipase(for fats), there are several for Carbohydrates (Amylase, Invertase, Maltase,etc.), Lactase(for lactose in dairy), Bromelain, Papain, and Bile Salts. Taking this kind of supplement helps us digest our food more completely without expending as much energy.

Following these 12 tips can optimize your digestion and assist with preventing disease, as well as

helping you to manage any chronic diseases or conditions you may already have. With a bit of mindfulness, you too can have good digestion and absorbtion.  You are what you eat after all, right?

Well, sort of.