The digestive system is a critical system in maintain health. One of the first organs of digestion is the stomach.
Those little tummy aches as a child were the first signs of what might result in a chronic malfunction of the entire digestion system. The malfunctioning digestive system may result in almost every disease known to mankind.
Watch a baby: if there is something that doesn't agree with its stomach, the stomach quickly contracts, squeezing the irritant out one end or the other. Vomiting and diarrhea are two of the body's acute reactions to get rid of unwanted substances, to maintain homeostasis.
If the stomach which is continually exposed to irritation were to keep vomiting and having diarrhea, the health of the whole body would be put into jeopardy, so the stomach becomes "hardened'. It still reacts to abuse by going into a state of shock, but no longer follows through with complete contraction to the point of actual vomiting and diarrhea. When that is the case we have established one-way communication with the stomach. We eat something and tell the stomach to take it and shut up, so the stomach stops telling us what it feels. This is the way we have gone through life. Thus is the soil readied for many a disease to germinate in.
The stomach is a pretty conscientious character. If we push it past its "hardened" state it will react. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heart burn, indigestion, belching, gas, bloating, appetite disorders, and ulcers are some of the signals that the stomach is having trouble. Rather than stop irritating the stomach so that it will go back to working properly, we often shut the stomach up even more. The biggest-selling drug in the world is Tagamet (cimetadine), which block histamine production by the stomach. Histamine is a chemical produced by tissue to aid inflammation, which is the body's natural reaction to irritation. Thus Tagamet effectively blocks the stomach's natural reaction to irritation. But does it stop the irritation?
The quantities of antacids, digestive aids and laxatives sold by pharmacies, health food stores and pyramid systems staggers the imagination. Everything from powerful drugs to foul-tasting herbal concoctions is sold. You would think that there wasn't a stomach left that worked properly. And you would be closer to the truth than you might suspect.
Some people get very severe and dramatic digestive symptoms when they eat, and it's not hard to convince them that abuse of the stomach is the cause of their problems. There are other patients, who eat with abandon and believe that their digestive systems are like garbage cans. " I can eat anything and everything," they say. If they have arthritis, heart attacks, skin problems, allergies, menstrual problems, impotency or cancer, they don't correlate those problems with their diet or digestion, because they don't have the obvious digestive symptoms. They do have shocked stomachs however. Stomach malfunction is the cause of the other symptoms as well, even though they may appear to be unrelated.
Here are 4 easy strategies to ensure better stomach functioning:
1. Relax while eating. If you are always in a hurry, at least make the effort to stop or at least slow down at meal time. The digestive system works optimally when in parasympathetic( relaxation) mode.
Put your attention on the process of eating. Don't read, drive, talk on the phone, work or make love while eating if you can avoid it. Take time to enjoy and digest a meal, rather than catch your food on the run. When your attention is on the eating process, digestion isn't a distraction, it's the main event. Try eating in silence and you'll be amazed at how different your food tastes.
2. Slow down at least at meal time. This allows time for the signals from the senses to get to the brain and stimulate the production of digestive enzymes, muscular contractions and other processes necessary for digestion, before the food arrives. Pavlov's dogs salivated before the food arrived when their senses told them by association that the food was coming. Take time to look at, smell and savor your meals. Eating slowly will also ensure that your body will signal you back when it's full and should stop eating, therefore controlling your weight naturally; most of overweight problems in this society are due to over-eating.
3. Maximize your mechanical part of the digestion process. Chew your food until it is baby-food consistency before swallowing. Chewing is the first part of the digestive process: the mechanical part which is responsible for preparation of food for the chemical( enzymatic) part foolowing. Chewing shreds fibers, mashes and macerates food and mixes it with saliva. If the food is not chewed properly, carbohydrate digestion is impeded and digestion may take much longer because the food does not have sufficient surface area exposed to the digestive juices for digestion to occur efficiently. Carnivores who often bolt their meet whole, without chewing, have much stronger digestive juices than human beings do, but for people, chewing is very important.
4. Don't drink with your foods. Any liquid with your meals dilutes the digestive juices you need. Try to drink liquids between the meals so you won't feel thirsty during the meal. You should stop drinking 20min. Before a meal, and resume, if necessary, 2.5 hrs. after a meal, depending on its composition.; fruits and veggies take about half an hour to digest, carbohydrates-1.5hrs., proteins-2-2.5hrs.,, mixed foods-3hrs.
Follow these easy-to-do-at home strategies and you'll soon be on the healthy road of natural digestion on your way to optimal health.
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