Improving The Digestive Process
Healing and the Digestive Process In order to understand how foods are effective in healing the human body it is essential first to understand how the digestive system works. In order for carbohydrates to be properly digested the entire process starts in the mouth where the food is first broken down by the chewing action of the teeth and also due to the chemical side of digestion, which is to say by way of the salivary enzyme amylase. Once food reaches the stomach, gastric juices begin to digest the proteins that are in the food and the food that is only partially digested at this point becomes very paste-like in substance and is now given the name chyme. To backtrack a bit, the gastric juices in the stomach are made up of pepsin and hydrochloric acid. The chyme is then released into another organ which is the small intestine and the digestive bile that comes from the gallbladder, liver and pancreatic enzymes as well as the enzymes that derive from the exocrine cells that make up the mucosa in the small intestine then round out the complete digestive process in regards to carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The food that has now been digested is absorbed by the villi (or the intestinal wall lining) and then it goes directly into the blood stream. The "nutrient void food" then makes its way as carefully as possible into the large intestine and once it reaches the large intestine it absorbs electrolytes and water and from here there is the completes process of feces or waste from the body which includes the formation, storage and finally elimination of wastes the body does not require. In order to have excellent gastrointestinal and intestinal health you have to be careful what you put into your body when it comes to the foods you eat and the drinks you consume.
The better care you take of your body the more likely it will be to reward you with good health, stamina and vitality. In order to allow your stomach lining to be as healthy as possible and to improve how well your liver and intestines detoxify themselves, learn to chew and eat your food as slowly as possible and schedule your meal at regular intervals. Work to balance out your macro-nutritional needs as well as possible.
For example aim for 30 percent of proteins, 50 percent high fiber, 20 percent essential fatty acid fats and low glycemic carbohydrates. Doing all of these things can help to develop and maintain the excellent condition of your colon and it can also help to prevent harmful toxins from getting into your bloodstream. All of your meals should also sufficiently address the important of micro-nutrients which is to say vitamins, minerals, enzymes as well as essential phy6tochemicals that come from, vegetable, whole grains and fruits with a plant base.
Phytochemicals were never researched very much in the past but now the focus has shifted and researchers and scientists are coming to recognize the extreme importance of them, despite the fact that they are classified as "nonessentials." Scientific research has shifted its focus from seeing foods as simply a means to an end when it comes to preventing deficiencies in the body to a means of healing the body when it comes to ailments and diseases and encouraging long life. New Food Cures
09/06/2008
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