| Can You Stomach It?
| 09 July 2009 |
Are you suffering from bloating, constipation, diarrhoea or stomach cramps? If so you’re not alone. Gastrointestinal complaints are among the leading reasons for seeking out health care and the most common reason for hospitalization. Problems with digestion can cause untold misery and may be implicated in a number of seemingly unrelated conditions such as fatigue, headaches, arthritis and skin problems
Adequate chewing is essential for optimal digestion
So what can go wrong? Well the process of digestion begins in the mouth and adequate chewing is necessary to stimulate the production of digestive juices and to break the food down sufficiently so that the stomach can deal with it. Often this part of digestion is rushed due to time pressures or because we simply can’t wait for that next mouthful!.
High levels of stress can ‘shut down’ digestion
Once food has left the mouth it moves down into the stomach. Here muscular contractions mix up the food and break it up into smaller pieces. At the same time acid in the stomach kills off unwanted bacteria and helps to activate the enzymes which break down proteins. In order for this process to work well it is important that we are relaxed. High levels of stress can effectively ‘shut down’ digestion by reducing levels of stomach acid and by interfering with the churning actions of the stomach. As we age our stomach acid levels decline naturally so that it becomes more difficult for us to digest protein rich meals particularly late at night when our energy levels are low.
The majority of our digestion takes place in the small intestine where enzymes work on the proteins, carbohydrates and fats that we have eaten. These enzymes are activated by the acidic food which comes down from the stomach, thus it is easy to see that if we are producing inadequate levels of stomach acid that this stage of digestion will not work well. Deficiencies of nutrients can also mean that enzymes are in short supply and some enzymes such as lactase (needed to break down milk) may not be produced in certain genetic groups. Bile from the gallbladder is needed to emulsify fats and if the liver and gallbladder are compromised then fats may not be digested properly
Friendly bacteria and fibre have an important role to play in regulating transit of food throughout the gastrointestinal tract
Large numbers of the so called ‘friendly’ bacteria are resident in the small and large intestines of a healthy gut and these have a crucial role to play in regulating the speed with which food moves through our digestive system. Antibiotic usage, refined diets and high stress levels can reduce levels of these bacteria and thus food either moves too slowly (causing constipation) or too fast (causing diarrhoea.
Please call Paula Werrett BA Hons DIP ION, MBANT 01727 764832/ 07974 138 334 E-mail: paula@thenutritionlink.co.uk or www.thenutritionlink.co.uk
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