All you have to do is watch TV for an hour or two and you will
discover ad after ad for a variety of over the counter and prescribed
drugs for upset stomach, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and
nausea. Americans must be suffering from various maladies involving the
digestive system or these ads would not be aired. So, what is going on
with us Americans that causes so much digestive distress?
First
let's look at the digestive process and the digestive tract. Digestion
begins in the mouth and consists of various hollow organs that end at
the anus. There are additional organs that assist in the break down and
absorption of food.
Those additional organs consist of esophagus,
stomach, small and large intestine and the rectum. There is a lining in
these organs that consists of mucosa or small glands involved in
producing the juices that help with digestion. The smooth muscles found
in the digestive tract move the food along and help break it down as it
progresses.
There are also solid organs in the digestive system
which include the pancreas, the liver, and the gallbladder. The pancreas
and the liver make digestive juices that move into the intestine via
ducts, or tubes. For storage of these juices there is the gallbladder
where they are stored until needed. There are also parts of the
circulatory and nervous systems that also have a function in the
digestive system, but we will leave that for another time.
Obviously,
the foods we consume are not initially in a structure that can be used
by the body for nutrition without a great deal of modification. Foods
must be modified into many smaller molecules in order to be absorbed
into the bloodstream and moved all the way through the body and in this
very amazing system our bodies derive the nutrients that give us the
energy and nourishment we need to sustain life. The waste is then
eliminated through the bowel.
Now that we know the basics and the
simplified version of the process about how we receive nutrition from
the foods we consume, we need to know what we are doing that upsets and
disrupts this amazing process.
Life is busy and we get caught up
in fast food, too much sugar, too much fat, too much processed food, too
much sodium, too few vegetables, and too few fruits. It is just faster
and more convenient to order a pizza after a hard day at work when you
don't want to cook, or there is always KFC, McDonalds, or Taco Bell -
the list is endless and is an example of what has happened to our diets
in the United States. We have fallen into the easy way out and what ever
we can get fast. Our children are suffering from inadequate nutrition
and are racing toward obesity.
It is no wonder people are spending
billions on over the counter and prescribed drugs for all the
conditions associated with poor nutrition. We don't have to suffer with
gas, indigestion, heart burn, constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux.
The companies that get rich off of the production of these items could
be put out of business if we just take the time and effort to buy good
food, cook it in a healthy manner and take time to eat it and digest it
properly. Along with this fix, taking healthy digestive enzyme
supplements to return the digestive system to optimal conditions could
change countless lives.
By
James Edward Brown
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