The secret to great health is digestion.
There, the secret is out. Maintaining the health of your digestive tract can be the difference between you feeling sick or well, happy or sad.
In fact, it’s so important that it affects all other body systems. Let’s say you are breaking out with pimples – yes, stress could be the culprit, but you can also bet that your digestive tract is trying to tell you that it ain’t working up to standard. Something is probably out of sorts.
Your digestive system is made up of several different organs working together for the common good: your health. Think of it as a hippie commune, but in your body. Simply put, digestion, is the process in which your body breaks down food into smaller molecules that can be absorbed for nourishment; so if it’s out of whack, it throws you off completely. Like, if one hippie in the commune is not pulling his or her weight, it can throw the whole community off and cause complete chaos among the masses. For example, if Lavender’s job was to cook, and she fell ill and no one else knew how to cook...big problems ahead for our happy hippie friends.
Along those lines, so many of our health problems can be helped by aiding your digestive system. Ninety per cent of your serotonin is in your digestive tract as well as your immune system. This means that your mood and your overall health is directly affected if your digestion isn’t working properly.
To keep it happy, eat fermented foods and eat your veggies – the real ones that live in the produce section of your grocery store.
Now let’s take a brief look at how the whole process of digestion works.
Mouth
Digestion actually starts before food even hits your mouth. That mouth-watering feeling that you get when you are just looking at that delicious slice of pie is the production of saliva. Saliva contains enzymes that breakdown food once that pie is in your mouth, and your teeth help you chew your food, making food particles small enough for you to be able to swallow them and for the enzymes to do their thing. Then there’s your tongue, home to tastebuds and a muscle that works with saliva to form a ball that can be swallowed.
Esophagus
Through a series of naturally muscular contractions called peristalsis, food particles (basically, the food ball your tongue just created) are brought to your stomach via the esophagus expressway. Think of it as a rattly SkyTrain ride through a tunnel.
Stomach
A few jobs get done here. First it acts kind of like a holding sack for food. It also releases stomach acid to break down food even further. Then it churns food into an oatmeal like paste. Yum.
Small intestines
This region further breaks down food as it enters, and aids in the absorption of nutrients for the bloodstream and liver storage as it moves further down the intestinal tube.
Large intestines
This is the end of the line. Its main role is to absorb all the remaining water from the food and to compact the waste into a tight, poop-like bundle. I’m sure you can guess what happens next.
Liver, gallbladder and pancreas
The liver produces bile, which is needed for the body to absorb fats. The pancreas secretes enzymes used for digesting proteins, carbs and fats and the liver also processes the nutrients that are absorbed from the small intestine.
Now that you know how digestion works, here are some tips to keep it in working on point.
• Chew your food well
• Eat your bitter foods. They stimulate saliva, which has an enzyme that breaks down starches.
• Drink lemon water. Along with increasing digestive juices, lemons also encourage the production of bile and aid digestion.
• Eat fermented foods.
• Be mindful when eating. Stress and other outside disturbances actually slow down and disrupt the digestion process.
• Eat only until you are three-quarters full.
RECIPE: Digestive Smoothie*
*Adapted from Oh She Glowsby Angela Liddon.
Ingredients
1 heaping cup organic Papaya
1/2 large frozen banana
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut water
1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
2 tbsp avocado
1 tsp packed fresh grated ginger
Juice of one lemon
2 fresh mint leaves
Directions
• Add all ingredients into a blender and blend on the highest speed until smooth.
