The Digestive Process
With Sue Kira
During the process of giving a client colonic irrigation, we often see (through the waste outlet tube) undigested and often fermented food wastes (as well as the usual “old” compacted waste that breaks off the bowel wall), and I am asked how does this come about.
So I find myself discussing the digestive process.
Many find this quite an amazing concept and never really know the importance of proper chewing and the subsequent digestive processes that follow.
We are bit like a “chew-chew” train of tubes, with all processes connected together by the action of the previous process.
Let me explain; we often eat our meal in a bit of a hurry, without much chewing, under stress, or in the presence of a negative emotion.
We give no thought to what becomes of our food once it has been swallowed.
We assume that anything put in our mouths automatically gets digested flawlessly and is effectively absorbed into the body where it nourishes our cells, with the waste products being eliminated completely by the large intestine.
This vision of efficiency may exist in the best of cases, but for most there is many a slip between the table and the toilet.
Digestion starts with smell. Ever noticed how when food smells good that we start to salivate? This is the first important stage.
Appreciation of what we are about to eat is vital. As food enters our mouth and we begin to chew, our food gets mixed with saliva.
Our salivary glands secrete ptyalin and amalaze (starch digesting enzymes) only produced in the mouth, so if we don’t chew starches sufficiently in the mouth, then they won’t be further digested after swallowing.
If the type of starches we eat are in soft form such as cooked potatoes, white rice, pastas, breads etc, we often don’t feel the need to chew them so much due to their soft texture.
This is where “chewyer” foods such as whole grains are more beneficial to us, not only because of the extra vitamins and minerals that they contain, but also because they promote more chewing, that is if we do chew them.
This chewing process converts insoluble starches into simple sugars.
If the digestion of starchy foods is impaired, the body is less able to extract the energy contained in our foods, while far worse from the point of view of the genesis of diseases, undigested starches pass throughout the stomach and into the gut where they ferment and therefore create an additional toxic burden for the liver to process.
Fermenting starches also create the gas we call bloating.
The action of chewing also has another secret feature that many don’t know of, which is the 7th cranial nerve that joins at the jaw bone junction.
The stimulation of this nerve caused by the action of chewing, sends a signal to the brain, telling the stomach to secrete hydrochloric acid and pepsin, an enzyme for digesting proteins which are on their way down.
Together the hydrochloric acid and pepsin break proteins down into water soluble amino acids.
To accomplish this, the stomach muscles agitate the food continuously, in the same way as a washing machine would.
This extended churning forms a kind of ball in the stomach called a bolis.
The stomach’s very acid environment inactivates ptyalin, so any starch not converted to sugar in the mouth does not get properly processed thereafter.
Stress can inhibit the churning action in the stomach so that otherwise digestible foods may not be mixed efficiently with digestive enzymes, and undigested proteins may pass into the gut (intestines).
Undigested proteins putrefy in the gut (and are attacked by anaerobic bacteria).
Many of the waste products of anaerobic putrefaction are highly toxic and evil smelling. After the stomach is through churning, the partially digested food is moved into the small intestine where it is mixed with pancreatin, secreted by the pancreas, and with bile from the gall bladder.
Pancreatin further solublises proteins while bile aids in the digestion of fats in foods.
Only after the carbohydrates (starches and sugars), proteins and fats have been broken down into simpler water soluble food units such as simple sugars, amino acids and fatty acids, can the body pass these nutrients into the blood through the tiny projections in the small intestine called villi.
During a Live Blood Analysis session we can see these food molecules in the blood, white dots varying in size, jiggle and dance about with a great vibratory life force (that is if the food has life force) in the background (plasma) view of the other components of blood.
The leftover elements of food that cannot be solublised plus some remaining liquids, are passed into the large intestine.
There, water and the vital mineral salts dissolved in that water, are extracted and absorbed into the bloodstream through thin permeable membranes.
Mucous is also secreted in the large intestine to facilitate passage of the dryish remains.
The final residue, now called fecal matter, is squeezed (peristalsis) along the length of the large intestine and hopefully passes out the rectum.
If all the digestive processes have been efficient there are now an abundance of soluble nutrients for the bloodstream to distribute to hungry cells throughout the body.
It is important to understand the process, at least on the level of oversimplification just presented, in order to begin to understand better how health is lost or regained through eating, digestion and elimination.
It is also important to note that each process of digestion triggers each subsequent process, so if one part is not performing properly, then the next process will not be triggered.
Other factors that can slow a process of digestion are drinking fluids with or after meals which dilutes digestive juices.
Minerals trigger an enzyme release, so a deficiency will inhibit certain enzymes. Heavy metals in the system have a similar effect.
In my clinic we use several methods to determine if you are digesting your foods properly.
These are: checking your blood with Live Blood Analysis and doing a digestive analysis, colonic irrigation, and seeing undigested and fermenting foods, as well as abdominal massage to assess colon build up; allergy and body systems testing via hair analysis, iIridology and highly specialised urine and saliva analysis.
Originally published in Here & Now magazine, written by Sue Kira, from True Vitality
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