The Digestive System

When learning about natural health, one extremely important concept that many people do not realize is the importance of the digestive and intestinal systems.  The digestive tract is the first line of immune defense!  The liver, which is also considered part of the digestive system, is the second line of defense.  Good health must address issues with the digestive system, and when trying to maintain that good health, one must take care of the digestive tract and the liver.  After all, without the ability to extract nutrients and other important substances--from either food or supplements--the body cannot get the nutrition that it needs to fight disease, parasites, germs, and other harmful invaders of the body.

Common concerns of the Digestive System  
Indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux, insufficient enzymes, stomach ulcers, and stomach cramps

Fact:  Did you know that 60-70 million Americans suffer from digestive diseases?  (National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse) Fact:  Americans spend billions on drugs and antacids to fight digestive ailments--$107 billion in 1992!

Functions of the Digestive System
In a nutshell, your body cannot directly use food in the form that it enters the mouth.  Even most small items, such as peas, for example, are too complex and too massive for the body to make immediate use of.  The purpose of the digestive system becomes to "step-by-step" break down the food that we eat, extract the nutrients from the food, and then absorb the nutrients for distribution throughout the body.

Carbohydrates (starches and sugars), proteins, and fats--all necessary for survival and proper body function--are made up of extremely complex molecules that must be broken down or digested in order to be useful to the body. The process of digestion changes starches and complex sugars into simple sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids and glycerin. In these forms the nutrients can finally be absorbed into the bloodstream.

How Does it Work?  (See Picture)
First, food enters the mouth, where chewing becomes the first step to breaking it down.  Large particles of food are crushed and divided into smaller pieces that can be better handled by the stomach.  During the chewing stage, some enzymes (more on enzymes below) are already starting to act on the food to further break it down.  There is a good bit of debate on the "number of times" to chew food, but it certainly is important to chew sufficiently, giving the rest of your digestive system the best chance of extracting the maximum amount of nutrition.

After food is chewed and swallowed, it passes through the esophagus--a tube which transports food/liquid to the stomach.  The stomach secretes two very important substances for further breaking down the food--enzymes and hydrochloric acid (HCl).  

Hydrochloric Acid is needed in particular to digest proteins, and is the only desirable inorganic acid in the body.  (Other acids, such as uric and lactic acid, are waste by-products and are eliminated from the body as soon as possible.)  The stomach itself is lined with a durable mucous coating, keeping the HCl and other digestive juices from trying to digest the stomach itself!  Sometimes, however, nutritional deficiencies, powerful drug antihistamines or other factors may cause the coating to wear thin.  When this happens, certain bacterial infections may occur, causing ulcers.  Gastro Health is a product that inhibits the dangerous Helicobacter pylori bacteria--the bacteria linked to ulcers. As we get older, our body's digestive system starts to wear out, producing less of the hydrochloric acid needed for digestion.  This usually begins somewhere between 35 and 45, and most people over 55 do not produce the HCl that they need.  Nature's Sunshine has a couple of different products to supplement HCl for these situations:  PDA Combination, and Food Enzymes, which contains enzymes and hydrochloric acid! Emotional over-stimulation tends to increase hydrochloric acid in the stomach, causing heartburn-acid indigestion-in some people. However, with time, this important acid may be depleted, especially in those taking antacids, and the whole body begins to suffer from malnutrition, even with a good diet! This acid not only digests proteins, but helps dissolve needed minerals like calcium. Fact:  Did you know that by age 50, many people will produce only 15% of the HCl that they produced at age 25?  About one third of all people over the age of 65 produce almost no hydrochloric acid!!

Enzymes act upon nutrients, and speed up chemical reactions in cells without destroying themselves. Chemists practically hold enzymes in awe because of the difficulty of duplicating such feats in the laboratory.  Without enzymes, body functions would be too slow to sustain life. Enzymes are essential, and as the body ages its ability to produce enzymes declines. Enzymes are specialized proteins that are part of all living things. They help perform thousands of chemical reactions, like making seeds sprout and leaves change colors in the fall. There are three types of enzymes important to man: metabolic enzymes that help regulate body functions; digestive enzymes to break down food molecules; and plant enzymes in raw food that assist human enzymes to digest each meal. There are many kinds of enzymes in the human body, each one designed to do only one particular job. In other words, taking lots of one type of enzyme doesn't make up for the lack of another type. These work together with body fluids to break down large chains of unusable molecules, changing them into manageable particles for intercellular use, or in the case of digestion, to prepare nutrients for absorption. Metabolic enzymes perform many necessary tasks in the body other than digestion. For example, the enzyme rennin helps to regulate blood pressure, and a different set of enzymes helps eliminate toxins from the body. Enzymes are also needed to form hormones. These metabolic enzymes exist throughout the body, performing functions vital to all other organs and tissues. When useful food enzymes produced by fresh plants are destroyed by cooking, additives or other processes, the body must draw on energy reserves to create new enzymes that will more efficiently digest a meal. Most naturally occurring chemicals in food have molecules or molecular chains that are too large and complex for absorption into the bloodstream. Enzymes rearrange or divide these chemicals within the food, helping to release minerals, vitamins, proteins and other vital nutrients. Protein-digesting enzymes are called proteases, carbohydrate-digesting enzymes are amylases, and fat-digesting enzymes are lipases. Each enzyme acts on a specific portion of the food only; they are not interchangeable. Enzymes are often named for the food they work on. For example, the enzyme sucrase breaks down a type of sugar called sucrose, and lactase breaks down lactose or milk sugar. In some cases people lack a normal enzyme because of their genetic makeup at birth. For example, many people lack the enzyme lactase. This causes them to be intolerant to milk sugar (lactose). This simply means that they can't break down this kind of sugar-complex into simple sugars. Drinking milk can therefore result in mild to severe indigestion or other side-effects like respiratory and sinus problems. Milk intolerance has been connected to recurring ear infections.  One of the best ways to maintain a healthy supply of enzymes is to eat raw foods as much as possible. High-calorie raw foods contain the most enzymes. Another excellent way is to ensure an adequate intake of certain minerals, especially zinc, iron, copper and chromium, which form part of the structure and function of enzymes. Along with production of too much stomach acid, emotional or mental strain can also adversely influence enzymatic production and action. Besides emotional peace, proper enzyme function also requires coenzymes such as vitamins, and also a well-balanced diet of minerals and proteins. With all of these factors to consider, many people supplement their diet with enzymes.  Two excellent choices with a wide variety of enzymes are Food Enzymes (contains HCl also) and Proactazyme Plus.  Almost everyone should use one of these two products!  More specialized products, such as Protease Plus, SOD with Gliadin, Lactase Plus, Hi Lipase, and High Potency Protease are also available. Fact:  Did you know that people of age 70 may produce as little as one half the enzymes that they produced at age 20?

After spending 2-6 hours in the stomach, food is emptied into the small intestine.  The average adult's small intestine is about 10-13 feet long, and its interior is lined with tiny fingerlike projections called villi and microvilli.  Because of the villi and microvilli, the total surface area of the small intestine is about 180 square meters--just smaller than an tennis court.  That is a lot of projections!  It is important to keep this area clean and "scrubbed" from solid waste so that these projections can absorb the nutrients effectively.  Drinking plenty of water (not tea, coffee, soft drinks--but water!) is very important as well.  After the villi & microvilli absorb the nutrients, the nutrients are transported to the liver for filtering and processing, after which they are sent throughout the body.

In the small intestine, an additional 2-3 liters of digestive juices are secreted each day.  Some of these juices come from the pancreas.  The pancreas also controls the amount of sugar in the blood by secreting two hormones, glucagon and insulin.  Glucagon and insulin act as a "check-and-balance" system, regulating the body's blood sugar level.

In addition to HCl and Enzymes, one more important substance for digestion is bile.  Bile is produced by the liver and is used to break down, or emulsify, fats.  Bile drains from the liver back into the gall bladder, where it is stored until needed.  When it is needed, it secretes the bile into the small intestine for use in fat digestion.

It is thought by many nutritionists and herbalists that the liver is perhaps the most abused organ in the human body.  All told, the liver performs more than 500 functions, many of them of a processing and storage nature.  The liver processes potential poisons for removal--including alcohol, drugs (including OTC and other legal drugs), pesticides, food additives, and other chemical substances that were never meant to be ingested into the body.  It is also critical to digestion. The liver is located in the right side of the upper abdomen, under the diaphragm. This is the largest internal organ in the body, weighing about 3-4 pounds. The liver is composed of groups of cells called lobules. Anywhere from 50,000-100,000 lobules make up the liver, and each lobule has a central vein that drains blood into the hepatic veins, which eventually carry it to the heart. The liver performs its role as food inspector, detoxifier, and has the wherewithal to be its own metabolic chemical plant to make new compounds you must have to live. That includes a capacity to manufacture cholesterol! Without that, the glands couldn't make hormones.  After the absorbed nutrients have been processed by the liver (if the liver is not overburdened or diseased), they are allowed to flow into the body for general circulation. The liver also is a storage warehouse, collecting fats and storing glucose fuel in the form of glycogen. Between meals an intricate feedback system tells the liver to release more sugar to maintain the body's energy level. The liver does so by converting either glycogen or fat into glucose, a simple sugar the body burns for energy. All of these processes require plenty of good nutrition--vitamins, minerals, proteins and enzymes.  It also stores vitamins (including A, B-complex, B12, D, E & K) and other nutrients for release as the body needs them. As you can see, this organ of the body is so unbelievably important.  It is remarkably resilient, but it cannot last if we continue to intake toxins that the liver must process--sometimes damaging it in the process.  The best way to support the liver is to cleanse the digestive system.  Food that is not digested properly produces more toxins when the liver tries to process it.  Overloading the liver with toxins can lead to multiple health problems--allergies, skin disorders, hormone imbalances, emotional problems, and more.  Unfortunately, however, doctors typically do not address or worry about liver issues until a serious problem such as hepatitis or liver cancer occurs. So when you eat, remember your liver.  Eat moderate amounts, a good selection of wholesome foods--and eat in peace.  Avoid Tylenol--which burns up glutathion--another important substance needed by the liver.  Also, cleanse your liver from time to time for a few weeks with Liver Cleanse Formula or Milk Thistle Combination (also replaces glutathion). Fact:  Did you know that Silymarin, a mixture of bioflavonoids found in the plant milk thistle, helps protect the liver?  Clinical studies show that silymarin has antioxidant properties and is effective in preventing liver damage. Fact:  Did you know that simply squeezing a piece of fresh lemon into your water each day can provide liver support?

After leaving the stomach, the food next travels to another important body system--Intestinal.

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