Digestive Health
Updated Jul. 19th, 2022
The digestive process takes food material, breaks it down into absorbable pieces and transports it into the body. It is a complex process, involving many organs. Digestion begins with the scent of food stimulating the secretion of saliva. When food enters the mouth enzymes in the saliva begin to break it down. Chewing physically breaks down food pieces and stimulates saliva production. The mucus membranes of the mouth can absorb some nutrients.
Swallowed food travels down the esophagus and into the stomach. The stomach uses muscular contractions to mix the food with digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid. High acid levels kill germs that may be in the food. Food stays in the stomach longer if it contains more fat and shorter if it contains more sugar.
The small intestine attaches to the stomach. Near it’s beginning, ducts from the liver and pancreas release digestive juices. Nutrients are absorbed through the thin intestinal wall and transported via the bloodstream, to where they are needed. The remainder of the food is pushed through into the large intestine where water is absorbed. The remaining food is compacted and prepared for excretion as stool.
The liver produces bile, which metabolizes fats and proteins. It also takes the toxic material from food substances, like medications, alcohol, and hormones, and processes them to make them harmless. The liver produces factors for blood clotting and the immune system. The gallbladder is a storage area for bile from the liver. The pancreas manufactures enzymes and hormones, like insulin. Insulin allows cells to take in sugar to burn as fuel.
Digestive disorders can be influenced by foods and other substances we ingest and our lifestyle. Water and fibre intake is important for healthy, regular bowel movements since we need them to add bulk to our stool. Foods that are highly processed, certain medications, tobacco and alcohol cause the body trouble as they are hard to break down and damage organs like our liver and pancreas. The digestive lining may also become damaged while the body works extra hard to digest these and especially processed foods. Since processed foods are deficient in nutrients, the body also becomes depleted in fuel in needs to work extra hard.
Stress, anxiety and other emotional concerns put our nervous system in an excited state. Our digestive processes are only fully functional when our nervous system is relaxed. Sedentary lifestyles decrease movement throughout the digestive tract. As our transit time slows there is more opportunity for the resorption of processed toxins from our food and greater chance of microbial overgrowth. Slow transit time also dries the stool and makes it more difficult to pass. Our body is designed so that each time we eat a meal we have a bowel movement. Many individuals can be considered constipated and have bowel movements less than once daily.
Some of the most important players in digestion are not part of our own body.
Friendly intestinal bacteria, often called probiotics, are an essential part of digestion. They break down food particles, manufacture vitamins and prevent the infection of the tract with other microbes.
Each bowel movement actually contains millions of these friendly bacteria; they are in a constant state of renewal. Many concerns like indigestion, gas, bloating and constipation can be due to an imbalance of the intestinal bacteria. It is easy to upset this balance by improper diet or taking medications like antibiotics.
The health of our teeth and gums is often overlooked as a factor in digestive concerns. Problems in the mouth can lead to malnutrition when foods are avoided due to pain or the inability to chew them correctly. To maintain dental health:
- Use proper dental hygiene including regular tooth brushing, flossing and dental visits
- Avoid all refined sugars, sticky foods, smoking, carbonated beverages and chewable vitamin C tablets
- Eat raw crunchy foods, like apples and carrots, and drink unsweetened cranberry juice because they have plaque-fighting properties
The stomach can be afflicted with several common digestive concerns. Indigestion is caused by an inability to breakdown and absorb food. It is usually directly related to the type of food eaten and poor eating habits. Chronic indigestion may be related to lack of bile, stomach acid and enzymes, or food sensitivities. Gastric and peptic ulcers are erosions of the mucus membrane that line the stomach and upper intestine. Excess digestive juices, deficient digestive juices, bacteria, poor diet, caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, anti-inflammatory medication, cortisone and stress can cause ulcers. Hiatal hernias are a bulge of stomach tissue that have gone through the diaphragm and sit around the esophagus. It is associated with poor eating habits, obesity and the use of estrogen medications. Optimize the health and functioning of your stomach by:
- Cooking all foods well and eating small frequent meals in a comfortable environment.
- Eat slowly to avoid swallowing excess air. Do not drink liquids while eating because it dilutes digestive juices.
- Eliminate all processed and refined foods from the diet. Other foods that irritate the stomach are alcohol, coffee, tea, colas, tobacco, aspirin, ibuprofen and spicy foods.
- For ulcers, eat soothing foods that produce a protective coating over the digestive tract for example, ground flax seed, yogurt, porridge and congee.
One can eat the most nutritious food but if the intestinal membrane is not in good working order the body will not be able to absorb the nutrients. Diverticulitis occurs when the intestinal muscle tissue weakens, forms pouches and becomes inflamed. Crohn’s Disease is an inflammation of the small intestine, but it can also affect the mouth and stomach. Ulcerative colitis occurs when small ulcers develop on the mucous lining of the large intestine. Irritable bowel syndrome mimics Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis but does not make visible lesions in the bowel. Support the intestine by:
- Undertake regular bowel detoxification with a juice fast and supplementation.
- Increasing dietary fibre intake. Eat lots of vegetables, fruits and legumes. Use inulin, apple pectin and oat bran as daily fibre sources.
- Drinking lots of filtered water to regulate bowel movements.
- Eliminating all processed and refined foods from the diet. Also avoid any food that you are sensitive to.
- Reducing stress and increasing exercise, which promotes proper bowel functioning.
Toxins, microbes or other medical conditions can compromise pancreatic and liver function. Diabetes occurs when a person’s pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to metabolize the amount of sugar that they are ingesting. A diet high in refined carbohydrates and nutrient deficiency are large contributing factors to “age onset diabetes”, as it is often called; excess body weight, lack of exercise, and heredity also often play significant roles when a person develops diabetes. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis virus, medications or toxins. Gallstones are precipitates, made mostly of cholesterol, that form as a result of a lack of fibre, excess cholesterol, decreased liver function, lack of bile and lack of bile movement. Functioning of the digestive glands can be optimized using natural treatments such as:
- Undertaking regular liver and gallbladder detoxification. Drink warm water and lemon juice daily as a gentle flush of the system.
- Eating bitter foods like artichoke, rhubarb and salad greens in order to stimulate the flow of digestive juices.
- Regulating blood sugar by limiting the intake of sugars and eating more protein, healthy fats and fibre.
Digestive health is key to a healthy body and this article highlights the importance of eating correctly for proper gut health. The article is interesting as it talks about conditions that develop when the bacteria is out of balance. New Roots digestive enzymes have assisted me in establishing good gut health.
Hello Rebecca,
Thank you for your lovely comment, we're glad you've enjoyed this article and it's been able to help you. Gut health is crucial to overall well being and health. If our digestive systems are out of whack, a lot of other health concerns can arise. Once our guts are healthy, our bodies can then free up to support other bodily functions and systems as well. We're glad New Roots digestive enzymes are helping you.
Stay healthy & well!
Excellent article, I really enjoyed it, always thankful for the information. I have always been prone to poor digestive health and have tried many things to help. This article from National Nutrition is great and has suggestions that are really good. I take digestive bitters on a regular basis but have also done the therapeutic route with HCL. It is so essential to avoid junk foods and sugar to keep your digestive tract in good shape.
Hello Alk,
Thank you for stopping by, we're glad this article was helpful for you. Digestive health is a very integral part to our body and if it's out of whack, can lead to many other symptoms and issues. Digestive bitters are great for preparing the body for food and the digestion process. There are too many processed and ready made foods, that our bodies aren't always given the appropriate time to prepare before we start eating. Enzymes and probiotics are also very beneficial to gut health as is glutamine.
Stay healthy & well & don't forget to check out our article on bitters too:
https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/supplements/bitters/
Over the years, I have neglected my digestive health until my stomach and whole system gave me feedback (in the form of various symptoms, some described in the article). Sometimes high quality supplements can be the biggest ally, and in the case of digestion, betaine hcl is a great starting point because it assists the stomach in producing all important acid to digest everything. It takes time and diligence with the supplements with every meal to repair and restore the whole system. Well worth the investment, now everything is running more smoothly.
Hello Katerina,
Thank you for sharing, it's great to hear your digestive health is repaired and in a healthier state now. Gut health is such an important process, it takes a lot of our bodies energy, so if it's not running smoothly or isn't healthy, it takes away energy from other bodily processes and therefore our bodies aren't running as they should. Glutamine, Betaine HCL and a good probiotic are great starting points in repairing the intestinal lining and offering overall support.
Stay healthy & well.
This article is really great! It covers everything to do with digestive health, from A to Z. I thought I knew a lot about the topic, but I learned so much more reading this! I'm starting keto and intermittent fasting and there is so much detail in all of that, I'm learning as much as I can to do it in a healthy way. This article was a huge contribution to that process. Thank you so much!
Hello A Liera,
We're thrilled you could find new information about digestive health in our article. There's a lot of information to learn on this health concern and it's one topic that appeals to many. You may find our articles on keto interesting if you're starting that diet, you can find them here:
https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/supplements/keto-a-beginners-guide/
Have a healthy day!
Oh wow - this is such a fantastic resources. I will be sending this link to everyone in my family. I thought I knew a lot but really learned even more. Thanks so much for this!!
Hello Staying Healthy,
We are so happy to hear you enjoy learning with our articles. We worked hard to provide these resources for our visitors to learn even more about natural health from industry-leading experts. Since you enjoyed these, we think you'll like our Youtube channel as well:
https://www.youtube.com/user/NTLnutrition
Have a healthy day!