Efficient Digestion

It is true: you are what you eat. Every cell of your body is built by and from the nutrients you ingest. Your hair, your fingers, your bones, are all made out of food. But, even the most perfect nutrient-dense diet, properly prepared of whole foods, can be harmful to the body if your digestion is not efficient. Proper digestive function is a north to south process, and it begins in the brain with the sight and smell of food. Ever notice that some stores in the mall put out artificial cinnamon roll smell, for example, so you breathe it in as you walk past? And you weren’t hungry until you smelled it! The brain activates stomach acid production at this smell, and sure enough, your stomach starts growling and is ready to begin the digestive process.

The big three organs from a nutritional standpoint are the stomach, pancreas, and gallbladder. These three organs must begin a complicated relay, with your food as the baton passed from one part of the digestive system to the next before it is ultimately eliminated. Efficiency is key. Food left too long in the stomach will rot and putrefy, causing bloating, heartburn, and nausea. Protein molecules not broken down fully will irritate the intestinal lining and eventually escape into the blood stream through the “leaky gut”, causing food allergies and autoimmune responses.

Insufficient water intake slows transit time of fecal matter in the colon, leading to constipation or even worse, diverticulitis. Low fat and bad fat diets do not stimulate the release of bile from the gallbladder, causing the bile to get old/viscous and eventually form gallstones.