What Really Happens To The Food You Eat

After we have eaten a meal -- and often we do this in a hurry, without much chewing, under a lot of stress, or in the presence of negative emotions -- we give no thought to what becomes of our food once it has been swallowed.

We have been led to assume that anything put in the mouth automatically gets digested flawlessly, is efficiently 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 cases but for most there is many a slip between the table and the toilet. Most bodies are not optimally efficient at performing all the required functions, especially after years of poor living habits, stress, fatigue, and aging.

To the natural hygienist, most disease begins and ends with our FOOD; most of our healing efforts are focused on improving the digestion process. Digestion means chemically changing the foods we eat into substances that can pass into the blood stream and circulate through the body where nutrition is used for bodily functions.

Our bodies use nutritional substances for fuel, for repair and rebuilding, and to conduct an incredibly complex biochemistry. Scientists are still busily engaged in trying to understand the chemical mysteries of our bodies.

But as bewildering as the chemistry of life is, the chemistry of digestion itself is actually a relatively simple process, and one doctors have had a fairly good understanding of for many decades.

Though relatively straightforward, a lot can and does go wrong resulting in digestion problems.

The body breaks down foods with a series of different enzymes that are mixed with food at various points as it passes from mouth to stomach to small intestine.

An enzyme is a large, complex molecule that has the ability to chemically change other large, complex molecules without being changed itself. Digestive enzymes perform relatively simple functions--breaking large molecules into smaller parts that can dissolve in water.

Digestion starts in the mouth when food is mixed with ptyalin, an enzyme secreted by the salivary glands. Ptyalin 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 through the stomach and into the gut where they ferment and thereby create an additional toxic burden for the liver to process. And fermenting starches also create gas.

As we chew our food it gets mixed with saliva; as we continue to chew the starches in the food are converted into sugar. There is a very simple experiment you can conduct to prove to yourself how this works. Get a plain piece of bread, no jam, no butter, plain, and without swallowing it or allowing much of it to pass down the throat, begin to chew it until it seems to literally dissolve.

Ptyalin works fast in our mouths so you may be surprised at how sweet the taste gets. As important as chewing is, I have only run into about one client in a hundred that actually makes an effort to consciously chew their food...

Read more at: http://www.XTherapist.com

---

A Background to Dietary Fiber

Fiber is the part of the plant that is resistant... Read More

Healthy Eating Myths Destroyed

Some of the things you think you know that just... Read More

The Dangers of Honey

Before we get to honey we have a question from... Read More

Buying Organic Produce: 6 Tips on How to Shop Wisely and Save Money

Some say they don't or can't buy organic foods due... Read More

MonaVie Acai Berry Juice - The Tree of Life from Amazonian Rainforest...

What ancient tribes and people of the Amazon have known... Read More

Bye Bye Holidays and Holiday Eating

Bye Bye HolidaysHoping everyone had a fun, fantastic, exciting and... Read More

Finding Your Reason Why to be Healthy

The most incredible thing you can do for yourself is... Read More

Green Tea and Cholesterol Facts

A green and lush oasis in the middle of a... Read More

Herbs that Heal Naturally

The word herb is used to refer to any part... Read More

Vitamins and Minerals for a Healthy Reproductive System

Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are essential to the development... Read More

Lawsuits on Foods and Diets

The dangers of processed foods and diets Why is that... Read More

Cranberry Juice To The Rescue

Cranberry juice was first made by American settlers in 1683.... Read More

The coq10 Benefit

Coq10 is also known as Coenzyme Q10.This co q10 is... Read More

Busting the Dairy Myth ? The Truth About our Health and Dairy

Millions of people around the UK consume dairy products on... Read More

Eat and Lose Weight - Its All in those MCTs

Can You Lose Weight Through Eating?You get fat when you... Read More

Eating Healthy in a Time-Starved World

Americans are literally running out of time. Achieving a work-life... Read More

Food Sources That Boost Glutathione Naturally

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah Glutathione, the body's... Read More

Calorie Deficit

I am sure you have heard you have to build... Read More

The Joys of Being Healthy

It is amazing to be able to say I am... Read More

Carbohydrates ? Good or Bad?

Carbohydrates have gotten a lot of bad press in the... Read More

That Cookie Might Kill You!

Chances are you may have had a food product that... Read More

Alkalize Your Way to Better Health

Today we're shifting our focus from wealth to health. First... Read More

Using Calcium and Magnesium for Constipation

Calcium helps reduce constipationUsing calcium and magnesium in the right... Read More

The Cost Of Being Sick And One Possible Alternative: Glyconutrition

A lot of people I've talked with about health supplements... Read More

Health Update: Have Your Chocolate and Eat It, Too!

According to the Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis... Read More

Fruits for Summer: Summer Skin Care

Summer is the time when we sweat highly and beating... Read More

The Importance of Nutrition and Lifestyle

Eating healthy and taking care of yourself is essential to... Read More

TsuNoni - Green Tea Meets Noni

East Meets WestAsian cultures have realized the medical benefits of... Read More

Odd Fact or Oxymoron: Learning How To Cook Will Help You Drop a Few Pounds and Gain a Few Friends

Finding simple ways to reduce my waistline is always a... Read More

Autism and ADHD Linked to Child Vaccines

In a study review conducted by David A. Geier, B.A.... Read More

Bumble Bee Fish Oil - Do You Need It?

The makers of Bumble Bee Tuna generated some buzz today... Read More

The Myths Associated with Human Growth Hormone

I would like to dispel some of the myths and... Read More

Whats Missing Could Be Making You Sick

Here's something you probably don't know. The fruit and vegetables... Read More