Did you know you are only as strong as your digestion is strong? If you are not digesting properly, and especially if you are on stomach medications, you will continually struggle with your health. Your body needs essential nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals from food to function properly. Without proper nutrients no cell, organ, gland or system in the body can do its job properly. If these nutrients aren’t in your body, either because they are not in your diet or because you are not digesting them properly, it’s like asking a carpenter to build a house without wood or basic materials. It takes strong digestion to break down the essential fats, minerals, proteins and other substances critical for a healthy functioning body.
Every organ in the body is dependent upon nutrients to function. So if you aren’t getting iodine, for instance, your thyroid can’t operate efficiently and you will struggle to lose weight and feel good. If your adrenals don’t have the zinc they need to function properly, you will be fatigued. If your body is unable to digest fats, so it is unable to get the essential fats, you will struggle with weight, brain function, skin and muscle health, etc.
What is good digestion? If you have reflux, an “acid stomach”, constipation, heartburn, or gas (no amount of gas is “normal”) it’s an indication of poor digestion. Food left undigested will ferment and therefore release gas. If left long enough it will turn into organic acids (not your natural acid enzymes), which burn and eventually weaken the stomach valve and result in reflux. Gallbladder issues and intestinal issues (such as constipation) are the result of poor stomach function.
Poor digestion is from one primary cause and several secondary causes. Primarily it is a deficiency of hydrochloric acid (HCL), the main digestive enzyme in your stomach. What causes HCL deficiency is eating too fast. What touches your tongue tells your brain how much enzymes to release. If you’re swallowing too fast, your brain doesn’t get the message and doesn’t release enough enzymes. Drinking cold water during meals constricts the enzyme-secreting ducts, dilutes the already weak enzymes and makes the stomach work harder to digest (stomach has to reach a certain temperature to digest efficiently).
Don’t eat foods devoid of natural enzymes – this means anything boxed, canned & heated. If raw foods aren’t a regular part of your diet (fruit and salads), you’re asking your stomach to take on an increased enzymatic burden. Stress is interrupted by the body as a fight or flight instinct. Anything not essential to running or fighting gets shut down (digestion).
Everyone has stress. How you respond to it determines how your body responds to it. Learn to manage stress more effectively. Relax when eating. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Forget mealtime drinks. Include raw foods in each meal. Minimize processed foods. Take supplements such as enzymes which include hydrochloric acid to support digestion.
© 2009 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
