Juicing For Health - Top Tips For Pefect Digestion
Overview Of Digestion
One of the more common ailments these days are digestive complaints and disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, crohns disease and so on. Alot of these can be prevented by eating less junk and taking care of you digestive system. Here are some top tips to get your digestion up to gear.
Most common symptoms such as heart burn are actually the result of low stomach acid rather than high. With doctors over-prescribing ant-acids, proton-pump inhibitors and so on which promote alkalinity of the digestive tract. As stomach acid declines this leads to fermentation of undigested food which can be a contributing cause to yeast overgrowth.
Candida And Alkalinity
Promoting alkalinity of the digestive tract isnt a wise idea, protein digestion is dependant on sufficient stomach acid(pepsin the protein digesting enzyme is dependant on stomach acid), as is certain minerals and some of the vitamin b group absorbtion. Alkalinity of the digestive tract will also help turn on the candida growth gene turning it from its natural harmless yeast form to the overgrowth fungal form. Some symptoms of low stomach acid are heartburn, bloating, IBS type symptoms, undigested food in stool, gas and nausea.
A common myth that seems to keep getting spread around is that candida is a result of an over-acidic body when actually its rather the opposite. Your beneficial bacteria produce certain acids which keep candida in its normal yeast form.
As we age stomach acid naturally declines which would explain certain nutritional deficiences and other health ailments. One mineral in particular silica which is dependant on stomach acid and is the number one nutrient needed for bone formation could be why osteoporosis is so common in the elderly. Silica has many functions from skin, hair, nails, bones, connective tissue formation and much more.
Digestive Bitters
Digestive bitters are one of the best things if not the best thing you can do to help ailing digestion and health. Bitter tasting herbs and foods stimulate the bitter receptors at the back of the tongue which inturn stimulates the vagus nerve which then helps release stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, bile secretion and also cleanses the liver/gallbladder in the process.
Bitters come in a variety of different types from grape, chinese, swedish, ginger and so on. I prefer the use of grape or chinese although the latter are more hard to find. Any bitter tasting herb will work such as gentain, all you have to do is suck on it for 30 seconds before meals. As bitters cleanse the liver its important to increase your water intake during the day. Here is a link to Dr Theiss Swedish Bitters Elixir 200ml
Good Bacteria
A large part of your immune system is actually dependant on sufficient good bacteria/flora. Some of their main functions are to generate serotonin which regulates intestinal peristalsis and for other body functions. The good flora aid in breaking down food for certain nutrients absorbtion, producing acids to keep candida in its harmless yeast form, and along with sufficient stomach acid being one of your first lines against food bourne pathogens. Digestive problems are all to common these days with over-prescibing of anti-biotics, steroids and so on which deplete your good flora.
Im not very fond of expensive capsuled probiotics most are pretty worthless and the jurys still out if most actually help replace. The best way ive found to replace the good flora directly is through the use of fermented foods/drinks such as kefir, sauerkraut or any other fermented vegetables. Their are multiple different kinds of kefir so if your intolerant to milk then theirs water, coconut kefir etc. The above helps directly boost your good bacteria populations but you must still feed them with fibres such as rice bran, oat bran, FOS and seaweeds all help feed the intestinal flora whilst also having a whole host of other benefits such as providing the vitamin b groups.
Other Tips
Chewing your food well is the best place to start, without adequate chewing of food you will be putting a massive strain on your digestive system. You want to chew your food until its of soup/mush type consistency.
Drink water/liquids during the times when your not eating, drinking during eating dilutes stomach acid which will cause poor digestion especially of proteins which will lead to fermentation of food.
Their are a few nutrients which are needed for formation of stomach acid, most of which are acid dependant also for absorbtion. Zinc is a cataylst for formation of stomach acid, certain B vitamins also i prefer to get these from the foods above such as rice bran, oat bran rather than supplementation but if needed a B-50 complex will suffice.
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