"The Health You Deserve" Email Newsletter Issue No. 15 - July 2001

THE HIGHWAY TO LIFE

Until you understand the importance of a healthy digestive tract, you will never permanently reverse any disease or illness. We have, in past newsletters, addressed many uncomfortable symptoms that you may be experiencing due to imbalances in your body. Today we're going to get a little more "graphic", with some descriptive diagrams of what is happening in your body in the lower abdominal area to create these unwanted signals.

Let's start with a description of what happens to your food, from the point where you ingest it to when it is excreted. Having a better understanding of the "process" will arm you with valuable information that will help you make wise choices for better health.

DIMENSIONS OF DIGESTION

Did you know?...your digestive tract is 25 to 30 feet long, and will process 60,000 to 100,000 pounds of food during your lifetime. That's a lot of work!! So keeping your digestive tract in top-notch shape is of the utmost importance. Do you also know?...that how effectively your digestive tract works, also affects other organs in your body. Refer to our April/00 newsletter for details.

Three primary functions of the Digestive Tract are:

1. Secretory: Producing digestive enzymes and preparing food for absorption.  

2. Motor: Transporting food through the digestive system until it is finally eliminated.

3. Absorptive: Assimilation of nutrients broken down through digestion.

Before explaining the digestive system, I would like to say that it is not important how much you eat, but the real importance, however, is what you eat. And more important than what you eat is what you digest. Most people have an ineffective, congested digestive tract filled with a thick muco-protein which is not capable of breaking down food stuffs. Such people digest only one fifth of their food. However, after cleansing and rebuilding, their food requirements are decreased by two thirds because of their improved digestive capabilities. Not only does a congested digestive tract aid in putrefaction material, but it is the main cause of advanced ageing and a lack of energy. The selection of raw, fresh, and whole food is the most important factor. The next factor is proper food combining.

WHERE DOES DIGESTION START? OR BETTER STILL, WHEN?    

Just the sight, smell, or thought of food can trigger the digestive process. Salivation is the first response. Saliva is produced in the mouth, which changes some of the starches in the food to sugar. There are six salivary glands, located in three pairs on each side of the face. Salivary secretions are normally a reflex of psychic and physical stimuli. The enzyme in saliva is called ptyalin and is an amylase which acts on starch. It also helps trigger gastric juices and makes the passage of food through the esophagus smoother.

Food taken in is broken up by the teeth. The more one chews the food, the smaller the particles, and the smaller the particles, the easier it is for the enzymes to work on the breaking down of trapped nutrients. Before swallowing, we must chew our food thoroughly or digestion becomes incomplete before we have even started. Remember, you do not have a second set of teeth in your stomach. A good rule to follow is to chew your liquids and drink your solids. Unlock your nutrition. To keep your teeth in good health, we recommend Ionic Coral Calcium and brushing with Microbrite, the only anti-oxidant tooth powder on the market. Stop infection at the front door.

The next process is swallowing our food. We call the food we are swallowing a bolus because of its ball-like shape. As the tongue pushes the bolus back into the throat, the epiglottis (trap door) automatically closes the larynx which prevents food from going into the windpipe as it moves into the pharynx, the esophagus, and then on to the stomach. The esophagus, like the rest of the digestive tract, has layers of circular and vertical muscles that produce a squeezing, rippling action, and which transport the food to the stomach in about 10 seconds.  

The stomach is a pear-shaped elastic bag that can hold up to 2.5 pints of food when moderately filled, but it can hold 5 pints when full. We must avoid overloading as this is a silent killer. The stomach has two main purposes:

1. storage, and 

2. preliminary digestion. 

Food remains in the stomach for two to four hours but very little nutrient absorption takes place in the stomach. The digestive juices in the stomach (hydrochloric acid, pepsin, and renin) are the chemical part of digestion. The bolus is then broken down by a chemical and physical action.

The physical action created by the stomach is created by muscles that contract and expand, churning the food and mixing it with the digestive juices, thereby breaking the bolus down into what we call chyme. The stomach has three layers of muscles contracting in different directions which also aid the breaking down of the bolus. The digestive juices help to break the food down into small components, which neutralize the salivary juices and kill most harmful bacteria and parasites. As we get older, we build a mucous layer within the stomach and digestive tract that needs the support of additional enzymes.

Note: Carbohydrates will leave the stomach in less time than proteins or fats, which are more difficult to digest.

As food leaves the stomach it reaches the pyloric sphincter muscle valve, which regulates the flow of chyme into the duodenum, allowing only small amounts of food in at a time. So what happens if a person eats more food in one sitting than the pyloric sphincter can efficiently release? You get gas, bloating, and advanced fermentation leading to putrefaction, resulting in acidosis. This is one reason why large meals leave you feeling unwell after eating them.

There are three parts to the small intestine; the duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. The length of the small intestine is twenty-three feet or seven metres in length. It begins at the pyloric sphincter and ends at the ileocecal valve, the beginning of the large intestine.

Food is mixed with an alkaline base when in the mouth. It becomes acid in the stomach, then alkaline in the small intestine, and slightly acid in the colon. The chyme entering the duodenum is full of hydrochloric acid which is neutralized by alkaline digestive juices. The hormone secretion is released by the duodenum and jejunum due to the stimulation of hydrochloric acid. This secretion helps to release the flow of bile and pancreatic juices which in turn further the breakdown of chyme, preparing it for absorption into the lymphatic system and portal vein. 

Pancreatic juices coming from the pancreas are protease for proteins, lipase for fats, and amylase for starches. Bile is produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and dumped into the small intestine for the breakdown of fats. Bile prepares the fats so that the enzyme lipase can complete its digestion. What happens if someone consistently ingests too much fat? - serious bowel disorders, gallstones, and an overworked liver are the result. This is why digestive enzymes are necessary for the complete digestion of animal fats. Trypsin completes the digestion of protein, and amylopsin completes the digestion of starches in the small intestine.

The small intestine has hair-like tentacles (villi) which stick out of the intestinal wall. These hair-like tentacles are responsible for the movement and absorption of the smaller food particles and nutrients. For every square inch of intestinal wall there are 3,500 villi. Improper diet can destroy these hair-like structures which therefore destroys the potential for nutrient absorption, and this can only lead to premature death. Chemicals, additives, hot drinks, fatty foods, fried foods, starches, sugar and processed food, can destroy villi, and can ultimately lead to major intestinal complications. These villi, which are microscopic hairs, move along and help with the absorption of micro-nutrients. Without them, assimilation is incomplete. This is why enzymes are so essential as we get older. They help support and protect the essential lining and the villi against a harsh environment.

The alternate contraction and relaxation of the intestinal muscles breaks up and transports food. These contractions occur every two to three seconds in the small intestine but slow down as we get closer to the ileocecal valve which is the one way door to the large intestine.

The villi take the nutrients - separating, categorizing, and distributing them. The lymphatics carry fat away from the digestive system, and the blood vessels transport digested protein and carbohydrates to the liver. What happens if a person ingests too much protein and/or carbohydrates? As we age, our digestive abilities diminish, causing incomplete digestion of proteins and carbohydrates. This leads to trapped protein in the blood and lymph which can cause health complications due to decreased circulation and ultimately ill health. Circulation is the key. 

The prevention of putrefactive bacteria is aided by the leftover acid residue spilling over into the large intestine. After digestion is completed in the small intestine, the digested food moves through a one-way valve called the ileocecal valve. This valve helps to prevent back-up of bacteria, parasites, and putrefactive material from entering the small intestine again.

The cecum is very tenacious. It is the toughest part of the colon, and a major breeding ground for parasites. 

ABSORPTION AND STORAGE FUNCTIONS OF THE LARGE INTESTINE

Ileocecal valve (cecum region changes bacteria to non-carcinogenic kind). Fluid (provides some nutrition through the colonic wall). Semi-mush (binds toxic chemicals preventing their absorption). Much (binds bile acids lowering serum cholesterol levels). Semi-solid (increases bulk and softness of feces, reducing pressure on colon walls). Solid (increases transit time).   Hard solid (expels feces).

Fermentation of food residue by bacteria and absorption of water from food waste. Fifteen percent (15%) of nutrient absorption is done in the ascending and first half of the transverse colon. Transverse colon transports waste. Left descending colon acts to store and expel solid waste, absorbs remainder of water. Sigmoid colon stores solid waste, bacteria and intestinal gas prior to expulsion. The rectum is the passageway for poisons and waste excretion from the body. It also signals the need for a bowel movement

HOW THE COLON WORKS

The main function of the large intestine is the formation and excretion of feces from the body. There are two parts to the large intestine - the right and left half. The right half - includes the cecum, ascending and half way across the transverse part - is concerned with the completion of digestion and absorption of food. The left half - includes the left side of the transverse, descending, sigmoid and rectum - is responsible for storage and excretion of the intestinal debris. The undigested food that may escape through the ileocecal valve is broken down in the ascending and right side of the transverse colon. Water is readily absorbed by the colon which is excreted twenty minutes later by the kidneys. As the debris reaches the mid-way point of the transverse, it loses its fluid-like consistency and turns into a semi mush-like substance.

The ascending colon preceeds the cecum. It passes in front of the right kidney and below the liver and gallbladder, where it becomes the hepatic flexure which turns into the transverse colon running across the abdomen under the stomach. The transverse colon runs to the splenic flexure. When the debris reaches the splenic flexure it is a semi solid. At the splenic flexure the colon makes a right angle going downwards. When food reaches the half way point of the descending colon it is in a solid state in front of the left kidney. From the descending colon, the debris enters the sigmoid. The sigmoid is horseshoe in shape, making a right turn into the groin region. From the sigmoid the debris enters the rectum.  

The colon (large intestine) is the mother of all organs. If you desire to have vibrant health, then cleansing the colon and keeping it that way is the foundation of any program. Using Bioxy for six weeks every six months is a normal process for health and longevity. Always keep a bottle of Bioxy in the cupboard. Never let your colon become sluggish. Are you not tired of feeling sick and tired?

The feces is made up of waste from the blood, mucus, epithelium tissue, bacteria, and undigested residue of food.  

COLON FUNCTION AND DIGESTION

The colon is an endocrine organ. It directly influences the activity of the pancreas and the other organs of digestion.

The major absorptive function of the colon is found to be conservation of water. However, recent animal and human studies indicate that short chain fatty acids, ammonia, and other bacteria metabolites are also absorbed. The amount absorbed is linked to the salt and water absorption, bowel habits, excretion of toxic substances, and metabolism. On the average, twenty ounces of digested food pass into the colon each day. About sixteen ounces of this is water and minerals which are absorbed into the blood stream.

FUNCTIONS OF THE LARGE INTESTINE

1. Fermentation of food residues by bacteria.

2. Excretion of poisons and waste products from the body

3. Reabsorption of water, minerals and some nutrients from the stool.

4. Storage of waste products, along with bacteria, and intestinal gas, until the time of elimination.

5. Some absorption (approximately 15%) of nutrients is done in the large intestine, up to about the middle of the transverse colon. These vitamins are A, D, E, and K.
   
   

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