Gutsy moves: Natural ways to support digestion

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Gutsy moves: Natural ways to support digestion by Steve Meyerowitz

Digestion is one of the primal forces of life. Food is one of our most powerful

addictions. At $900 billion per year, we spend more on food than on our

homes! Food is our second greatest living expense surpassed only by the

medical care we sometimes need to correct our dietary indiscretions. So, with

all this food and overconsumption, is it such a wonder that the #1 best-selling

drugs in America are household names like Tums, Pepto-Bismol, Alka-

Seltzer, Rolaids, and Digel?

How much to eat

Rule #1: Eat less for better digestion.

Overeating is the #1 digestive offense we commit; eating less solves a lot of

problems. It does not matter if your diet is natural, organic, vegetarian,

fat-free,

or sugarless -- too much is too much. There is only a limited volume of

digestive juices available at any given meal. If you exceed your capacity,

even the finest organic food will decay rather than digest.

When to eat

Rule #2: Eat when you're hungry.

Gastronomical Mantra: " For many of us who eat too much, eating less is best. "

Hunger is a primal response. Most of us have never experienced true hunger

because our lunch has barely left our stomach when we sit down for dinner.

But resting your digestive organs in-between meals is one of the best ways to

ensure an adequate supply of digestive enzymes for the next meal.

Where to eat

Rule #3: Optimum digestion requires comfort, relaxation, and enjoyment.

During bedtime hours the stomach is closed for business. Food eaten then

mostly sits there sabotaging your enzyme bank account for tomorrow and

giving you bad breath in the morning. Eating late at night is like trying to

make

a deposit after the bank has closed.

Do you eat while walking? Or in an elevator? Do you eat and drive? Have you

ever eaten when you were upset? While having an argument? Everything

affects everything. The anger of an argument constricts the ducts that release

gastric juices. Compare a candlelight dinner with Mozart to a food fight or

noshing in an elevator.

Exercise: getting to the `heat' of digestion

Eastern medicine views the forces of digestion as the element of fire. So, if

you think of the stomach as your `furnace,' then to increase digestion, you

must make more heat. One of the best ways to intensify a fire is to feed it

oxygen. Aerobic exercise is, thus, a great prescription for improving digestion.

Jogging, swimming, walking, trampolining ... all do the job, although jogging,

swimming, and trampolining are best done well after we eat a full meal. When

you see the color come into your face, you're hot. Can't exercise? Do 5

minutes of deep breathing just before the meal. A sedentary lifestyle

handicaps digestion. Exercise builds appetite and the higher temperatures of

a well-oxygenated body achieve more efficient combustion.

Stop treating your stomach like a compost and start treating it like a garden.

Evaluate your gastronomy

Chronic `syndrome' complaints such as chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus,

fibromyalgia, and multiple allergies are increasingly being traced back to

digestive disorders such as candida overgrowth, parasites, leaky gut, and

irritable bowel. These insidious afflictions can live with you for decades,

wrecking your digestion and taking the edge off of your performance. Candida

albicans is a yeast microbe that lives in our intestinal tract in balance with

other more friendly `bacteria.' But when bad eating habits, infections,

antibiotics, alcohol, and aspirin change that balance, candida takes over,

resulting in gas, bloating, lethargy, yeast infections, and skin problems, to

name a few.

Over time, candida develops into a fungus that sends roots (rhizoids) into our

intestinal walls. Our intestinal lining is designed to absorb nutrients into our

bloodstream and filter out bacteria and undigested proteins. This 25-foot long

convoluted tube is made up of billions of protrusions called villi containing

the

cells and capillaries that send nutrients from our food into our bloodstream.

When this forest of mucosal filters becomes irritated and weakened by

candida and other parasites, the wall starts to break down and leaks bacteria

and larger proteins into the bloodstream. Digestive disorders are only the

beginning. Now you have a toxic dump inside you and an ongoing low level

infection. Long-term leaky gut toxicity has been implicated in everything from

arthritis to allergies, eczema, asthma ... and so forth.

Since candida and parasites thrive on sugar, you can test yourself by

eliminating all sugar for one to two weeks. If you improve, it is a sign you

should commence an anti-candida, anti-parasite program. Be sure to

eliminate sugar in all its forms: glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, any kind

of `ose,' and that includes good sweeteners such as barley malt and rice

syrup. Also look for them as ingredients in prepared foods like breads and

crackers. Try the white powder version of the sweet herb `Stevia' as an

alternative sweetener.

Improve your `tract' record

Digestion and elimination are the top and bottom of the same tract. One of the

most overlooked secrets to improving digestion is to improve elimination.

Here are some ways to do it.

Fiber. Psyllium, flax, and chia are all gelatinous seeds that swell up with

water

forming a mucilage that sweeps through our digestive tract like a broom.

These seeds are the primary ingredients in many `colon cleanser' products

with herbal co-factors sold in health stores.

Bran from wheat, rice, or oats make an excellent alternative to the gel or

mucilage type of fiber. In fact, bran is a proven aid in the prevention of colon

cancer. Add it generously to your diet in smoothies, cereals (hot or cold),

muffins, or breads.

Probiotics. Unlike antibiotics, which kill both good and bad bacteria,

probiotics

are friendly bacteria that compete against bad bacteria (see " It's A Bug's Life "

sidebar, p. 50). kike armies in a war, as long as the good army well

outnumbers the bad, there will be peace. These little soldiers also

manufacture B-vitamins, including the elusive vegetarian vitamin B-12 and

natural antibiotic compounds called bacteriocins. You can buy them as dairy-

based or dairy-free. FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides) and whey are two co-

factors that enhance their performance and replication.

The most popular probiotic is acidophilus, but there are many others known

collectively as " lactic acid bacteria. " You can find them in foods like yogurt,

sour milk, kefir, and sauerkraut or buy them as liquid, powder, or capsules.

Green it up. Chlorophyll is very healing to tissues and, thus, perfect for

irritated or inflamed bowel conditions (irritable bowel and diverticulitis,

colitis,

Crohn's disease). The best sources are grasses, algae, and alfalfa. These are

available as powders or as fresh or frozen wheatgrass juice.

Water. Water increases your food's transit time. One treatment for flushing the

bowel begins the day with 32 ounces of water downed within 25 minutes. Like

a waterfall, this manner of drinking flushes the digestive tract and the

bladder.

Use room temperature pure water and take on an empty stomach.

If you suffer from leaky gut, candida, parasites, colitis, or any other

digestive

disorder, herbs and supplements are required along with a restricted diet. But

they are not magic bullets and must be incorporated along with other

principles we've already discussed.

Good digestion starts in the mouth. Our saliva supplies our first enzyme called

ptyalin. It predigests starch. So, chew our bread and thoroughly ensalivate all

grain products. The old folklore about chewing every mouthful 100 times is

based on good sense. Properly chewed food does not lead to excess gas and

putrefaction and all the problems that follow.

Once food drops into the stomach, it is acted on by hydrochloric acid (HCL).

Because HCL output reduces with age, insufficiency of it is often the first

assumed cause of digestive problems. But HCL works only in the stomach

and, along with pepsin, mostly on the breakdown of protein and fiber. You can

test your HCL level with your healthcare professional by swallowing a special

pill with a light string attached.

After a few minutes, the pill is retrieved and its color indicates your stomach

acid level. After passing through the stomach, food moves into the small

intestine where the pancreas secretes other enzymes known as pancreatin to

further digest protein and starches. The gallbladder then secretes bile for the

breakdown of fats. Test your need for these enzymes by trying some of the

different digestive enzyme formulas available at your health store and

monitoring your results.

Stimulation vs. supplementation

A more permanent solution is to stimulate your natural secretions rather than

become dependent on external supplementation. HCL can be stimulated by

drinking raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar just prior to your meal; 1-3 Tbsp in

an 8-oz. glass is very invigorating. Bitter herbs also stimulate the flow of

pancreatic juices and bile. Several fine formulas exist, or you can chew on or

make teas from the ones listed on p. 46. In addition to stimulation, some of

these herbs cut gas, reduce cramps, and detoxify the by-products of

fermentation. Test yourself with hot vs. cold teas. Certain body types seem to

benefit more from one or the other. To that end, a hot-water bottle over the

abdomen can stimulate the digestive organs into action and reduce gas,

cramps, and other symptoms. A weekly massage of the abdomen also does

wonders for renewing digestive strength by increasing blood and lymph flow

to the digestive organs.