Eating. We've all
been doing it for years. Some of us
faster, some slower. Some messy, some
clean, but- internally-we all do it the same.
Most of us don't even think about what happens after we swallow that
cookie or bite of steak. Once it is
chewed, it is out of sight and out of mind.
Digestive issues are very common in our office and many people are
amazed when they learn that their ailments are actually digestion
related-eczema, for example. In this
series of posts, we are going to breakdown digestion to show how everything is
connected and why our diet is so important.
Digestion actually starts in the BRAIN! We have all been there. Walking along a sidewalk and you get that
whiff of a warm, freshly-made pizza. That smell sends a signal to your brain to
start producing enzymes and before you know it, your mouth is watering. Salivary glands prepare to produce saliva
when you begin to salivate after smelling that pizza, that is your body already
starting the process of digestion! Carb
digestion actually begins in the mouth.
Amylase is an enzyme created specifically to breakdown carbs and it is
secreted about this time. Without proper
amounts of amylase, that bowl of pasta you had for lunch would be sitting like
a brick in your stomach.
FUN FACT
Humans do not produce adequate amounts of amylase until about 18 months
old.
This is why many doctors
suggest not giving babies grain cereals as parents once did.
Once your food has mixed properly with your saliva, it
travels down the esophagus and into the stomach through the esophageal
sphincter. Many things can go wrong at
this point. Often patients come to us
after being on acid blockers for years and are still suffering from acid
reflux, indigestion, and other common digestive ailments. The problem with acid blockers is that unless
a doctor does an actual PH test on your stomach and verifies you have an overly
acidic stomach, most patients do not have an issue with too much stomach acid, but actually it is an
issue of too little. That is why taking that Prilosec can give you
some temporary relief, but in the long run you still suffer.
Without proper stomach acidity, certain actions are not
triggered in the digestive tract. It is
that acidity that triggers the esophageal sphincter to close and prevent reflux
after the food enters. The acidity
breaks down fats and amino acids so our bodies can produce appropriate amounts
of hormones and absorb nutrients properly.
It is also that acidity that acts as a first line of defense for our
immune system. Many patients are shocked
to hear that 75-80% of our immune system lies within our gut/digestive system.
Just as Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine and
medicine be thy food”. Look for the next
part in our discussion on digestion!
To Be Continued...
~Becca
