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DIGESTIVE & LIVER HEALTH

Digestion is Complicated

Digestion is the orchestrated bodily process of utilizing food for nourishment, growth, reproduction and health.

Digestion is about energy and nutrition. We gain access to energy and nutrients by eating a healthy diet of plants and animal products in our environment and breaking them down into smaller components.

First and foremost, food is necessary for survival, and a basic activity for daily living. But food is also an intricate part of our social interactions and pleasure.

Digestion is a complicated process, each step dependent on another. When digestion isn’t working properly, our bodies let us know loud and clear!

The digestive system is where we digest food and absorb nutrients, but also has many other functions!

The well-working digestive system is central to our health and wellness; gut issues are a common root cause to other symptoms and diseases.

  • The GI tract is a key part of our immunological system — it provides a first line of immune defense against foreign pathogens.
  • The “gut-brain axis” is a communication system between the brain, gut microflora and neurological system in the gut.
  • The gut interfaces with our circulatory and lymphatic systems.
  • The digestive system, in particular the liver, is critical to detoxification.
  • The GI tract supports natural anti-inflammatory processes.

A healthy varied whole foods unprocessed diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, chicken, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy and limited amounts of meat is by far the best way to support a healthy digestive system. If additional support is needed, there are also dietary supplements that can help support the digestive and elimination process.

If your digestive process is “off” you can feel miserable and even ill. Noticeable symptoms might include, a belly ache, bloating, gas, pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, acid reflux, diarrhea or constipation. Conversely, if your digestive process is working well, it will have a positive effect on your vitality, energy level, mood and quality of life.

Simply Stated, What’s the Basic Process of Digestion?

Once we ingest food, our bodies use both mechanical and chemical processes to break it down.

The mouth begins the process, with teeth chewing and making the food particles smaller and easier for the soon-to-be released enzymes, stomach acids and bile to break food down into simpler structures. (Of course the thought or sight or smell (brain and nervous system) of a delicious meal may get our salivary juices going before we even take a bite!)

In the stomach, there’s a churning process — the food mixes with released acid and enzymes to further break it down. The muscles of the GI tract move the bolus of food along, absorbing nutrients, mostly in the small intestine. In the colon (large intestine), water gets resorbed and bacteria ferment undigested products and manufacture some nutrients. Finally undigested materials are eliminated from the body.

In their simple form (e.g. glucose, amino acids, triglycerides, minerals, vitamins, etc.) food components can be absorbed from the GI tract into the blood stream and lymphatic system.

The Liver — Essential Roles for Digestion, Nutrient Utilization, and Detoxification

Once absorption through the wall of the small intestine takes place, blood carries nutrients (and other things like toxins) to your liver before continuing on to other parts of your body.

The liver:

  • Produces bile which helps to digest fats through emulsification and helps with absorption of vitamin K.
  • Makes protein, stores glucose, vitamin B12 and iron.
  • Processes carbohydrates, protein and fat (triglycerides) into glucose, the chemical form of energy that can be used by the body.
  • Synthesizes essential compounds like cholesterol, blood clotting factors, hormones.
  • Produces glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant.
  • Breaks down or modifies the chemical structure of toxic substances through processes like methylation, which “neutralizes” them and mitigates their harm to the rest of the body.
  • Limits toxic substances from getting into the bloodstream by speeding up their excretion in bile or urine (through conjugation) — whether they are alcohol, certain microbes, chemicals or drugs.
  • Tries to protect the rest of your body by storing the toxins in the fatty part of liver cells, which can have negative effects if it builds up in excess.
  • Clears dead red blood cells and is an important part of the maintenance of red blood cells.
  • Converts ammonia to urea, which is then excreted mostly through urine and small amounts through sweat.

Other Organs Essential for Digestion

The gallbladder helps with fat digestion by storing and releasing bile into the GI tract when needed.

The pancreas is a glandular organ that is part of the digestive and endocrine systems.

As part of the digestive system, the pancreas produces pancreatic juices which include enzymes (that break down carbohydrates, proteins and fat) and secretes them into the small intestine.

In its endocrine role, the pancreas produces critical hormones including insulin. Insulin is necessary for cells to uptake glucose from the blood stream. If a person cannot produce insulin or enough of it, or if the body’s cells are resistant to taking in insulin, he or she will develop diabetes.

Five Key Things You Need for Digestive Wellness

  1. Proper and adequate GI secretions
    such as digestive enzymes (like amylase, lipase, protease, lactase, sucrase, maltase) and hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) to break down food and protect against pathogens.
  2. Healthy lining of the GI tract
    semi-permeable gastric mucosa to defend against unwanted microbes and undesirable foreign substances, and absorb the nutrients.
  3. Microbial balance and diversity in the gut
    to support the gut mucosa, the immune response and maintain a healthy intestinal pH.
  4. Healthy motility in the gut
    to enable the body to move food along in the digestive tract and support healthy elimination of unneeded food byproducts and toxins.
  5. Healthy liver function
    to detoxify harmful environmental substances, clear dead or diseased cell matter, support fat digestion and produce of key compounds like hormones.

Aging — How It Can Alter Digestion and GI Health

Aging doesn’t just affect our outward appearance, it also affects how well our body functions. Here’s how aging can affect digestion, nutrient absorption and overall GI health:

Reduced GI secretions – less production of digestive enzymes and gastric acid.

Less robust GI tract lining – reduction in absorptive area of the intestinal mucosa, decreased nutrient absorption and increased sensitivity of the mucosa to environmental and dietary stresses.

Impaired microbial balance – compromised balance of the microbiome in small and large intestine.

Slower gut motility – slower digestion and increased constipation.

Diminished liver function – decreased ability to metabolize many substances (including some prescription medications), less ability to resist stressors, slower liver repair, reduced production and flow of bile, and increased chance of gallstone formation.

Daily Stressors on Digestion and Detoxification

Besides aging, there are many stressors that can affect GI wellness, healthy digestion and normal detoxification.

Environmental Toxins and Pesticides from the Food Supply – There are more and more environmental toxins accumulating in our environment that our bodies have to deal with: household chemicals, car exhaust, building materials, plastics, manufacturing byproducts, pharmaceutical products and fertilizers that end up in our water supply, food additives in processed foods, pesticides used on fruits and vegetables. And did you know that smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, give our livers more work to do?

Food Intolerances and Food Allergies – When we eat foods we are intolerant to (sensitive), or foods we are allergic to, the lining of the gut mucosa can get inflamed and its integrity compromised. This may allow increased absorption of unwanted foreign molecules or microbes and decrease the ability to absorb the nutrients we need. To manage food sensitivities people often those avoid foods which trigger GI distress, and never address the root cause. If a lot of foods are unnecessarily eliminated long-term, this can lead to more restrictive diets  and suboptimal nutrient intake. Anxiety over food reactions can create stressful social situations and may limit feeling comfortable going out to eat.

Highly Processed, “White and Brown” Diet — The typical Western diet, with few fruits and vegetables, little fiber, lots of sugar or high fructose corn syrup, dominant in animal products (fed on corn) and few whole unprocessed foods can place a stress on the digestive and elimination systems, which gets compounded over time. Nutrients and components like antioxidants from these foods may be inadequate and lack of dietary fiber may factor into constipation and decreased gut bacterial diversity and overgrowth of gut pathogens. In fact, a highly processed, high sugar and high carbohydrate diet feeds unwanted microbes such as the fungus Candida.

Emotional and Other Stressors — So many things can stress the GI system. Having a “bad” day or experiencing emotional stress, a change in routine, traveling and eating unfamiliar foods are normal stressors that can get our digestion out of whack. The body can usually handle these stressors when they are short-term, but becomes overwhelmed when they are the rule rather than the exception.

Digestive Health and Nutrition Supplements

SHOP DIGESTIVE HEALTH

I use supplements to help to restore the gut microbiome, support digestion, address gastric reflux (GERD), support healthy bowel movements, address IBS and inflammatory bowel diseases, and support the gallbladder, liver and detoxification.

– Total Gut Restoration – supplements include Prebiotics, Probiotics, Postbiotics, and Gut Mucosa building blocks. These help restore the balance of healthy intestinal microflora, reduce inflammation, and support the maintenance of a healthy gut lining.

Probiotics, are “good” microorganisms that are naturally found in the human GI tract but are often there in unbalanced or inadequate numbers. By taking probiotics (and supporting them with prebiotics), a healthier ecosystem of microbes in the gut can be restored. Microbes in the gut can confer benefits such as maintaining a healthy gut lining, decreasing inflammation, defending against pathological bacteria and producing helpful metabolites like butyrate, a postbiotic.  

– Botanicals and Herbs – each have different properties. Some have been shown to reduce gut inflammation or help repair the gut mucosa/restore its integrity, others can stimulate the liver’s production and release of bile.

– Digestive Enzymes – can support digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Other digestive enzymes can help digest common components that trigger food sensitivities such as gluten, dairy, lactose, casein and phenols.

– Glutathione and Liver Health  – naturally produced by the liver, glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant. Glutathione helps protect against free radicals and heavy metals and supports the liver in its role of eliminating toxins, drugs, and pollutants from the body. 

SHOP DETOX + LIVER HEALTH