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Digestion (according to Taber's
Medical Dictionary) is the process by which food is broken down
mechanically and chemically in the gastrointestinal tract and
converted into absorbable forms.1
Digestion: The #1 Priority
The body considers digestion a
top priority. Other processes, including the immune
system, energy production and even brain function all wait while
the body digest food. When digestion is functioning
properly, food is broken down and nutrients are made available
by the body itself for repair, metabolism, and healing
without undue stress. Unfortunately, the way our foods are
grown and processed, toxins in the environment, and even stress,
anger and many other factors wreak havoc on digestion. The
result is that up to 70 million Americans experience a whole
range of digestive problems from ongoing symptoms of bloating,
gas, and stomach cramps. These symptoms also include
the more severe digestive disorders which cause 191,000 deaths
and 13 percent of hospitalizations each year,2 more
than any other type of disease.3
- Indigestion can be
distressful, annoying--even dangerous--when ignored or
treated incorrectly.
- Also known as upset stomach
or dyspepsia, indigestion is discomfort or a burning feeling
in the upper abdomen, often accompanied by nausea, abdominal
bloating, belching, and sometimes vomiting.
- If food is not digested
properly, it ferments in the stomach (Prescription for
Nutritional Healing, 3rd Edition), creating acids and gases,
which are factors in bloating, heartburn, and more.4
- Antacids and acid blockers
stop digestion, which only adds to the problem!
- Cooked and processed foods
rob the body of enzymes and other nutrients needed for
complete digestion and absorption.
- Fatigue, weight gain,
digestive problems, premature aging, lactose intolerance and
food allergies have been linked to incomplete digestion and
may indicate a need for enzymes, flora and specific
minerals.
The Greatest Vitamin in the World gives new meaning
to relief from indigestion!
There are three stages of
Digestion
Most often, digestive problems
are linked to the first stage of digestion where enzymes are
first utilized. Enzymes are not only crucial to digestion; they
are the catalysts, which allow the body to breathe, reproduce,
and generate energy. Nothing in the body works without
enzymes. Life itself depends on enzymes.5
Yet, virtually every individual is deficient in these vital
protein molecules. Stress, caffeine, alcohol and even
extreme weather conditions all destroy enzymes. The most
serious threat to our enzyme supply is cooked and processed
foods.6 Raw foods contain enzymes, which help
break them down in the digestive system. However, the
cooked foods that make up the bulk of the modern diet are
lacking enzymes so the body must constantly draw from its
limited supply of digestive enzymes. As this supply is depleted,
in order to accomplish digestion, the body must rely on
metabolic enzymes. When this occurs, other bodily
processes are compromised, disease is more common and aging is
more pronounced.
Dr. Edward Howell, who spent
over forty years studying the effects of enzymes on health said,
"Humans eating an
enzymeless diet use up a tremendous amount of their enzyme
potential in lavish secretions of the pancreas and other
digestive organs. The result is shortened life span (65
years or less as compared with 100 years or more), illness and
lowered resistance to stress of all types, psychological and
environmental." 7
When we eat cooked and processed
foods that are void of enzymes, we no longer break the foods
down for the next step of digestion and we put stress on our
systems that age and degenerate our bodies.
The next stage of digestion
deals with helping the food be assimilated out of the gut into
the blood stream. This occurs with the help of friendly
bacteria (probiotics). Probiotics line the intestines and
not only help with the assimilation of foods but they also help
create enzymes and vitamins that further break down foods.8
The third and final stage of
digestion happens when the food substrate is finally utilized in
the cell. This happens in part by specific minerals.
Proper digestion, the absorption
and assimilation of nutrients which results in health and
vitality, begins by supplying the enzymes, minerals and
probiotics necessary to ensure that foods are completely broken
down and that your body gets the nourishment it needs.
(See the topics of Enzymes, Minerals and Good Bacteria for more
information on how this product supports proper digestion.)
The Greatest Vitamin in the
World supplies pure plant enzymes, specific chelated
minerals and special probiotic strains, proven to provide
nutritional support for indigestion symptoms as well as protect
the body from premature aging, fatigue and countless other
concerns associated with improper digestion (see Anti-Aging and
Energy).
Proper digestion of your foods
can be one of the most health promoting things you can do for
your body. The Greatest Vitamin in the World
contains all of the needed nutrients to help with this important
system within your body.
This article courtesy of John Trout - www.vitamin4body.com
1. Taber's
Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, Edition 16. F.A. Davis Company:
Philadelphia,1989, p. 276.
2. Baylor College of Medicine. "Medical Schools Establish
Southwest's first digestion disorder center, May 18, 2001.
3. http://www.fdhn.org/
(American Gastrointestinal Association).
4. Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing, 3rd Edition. p. 460.
5. Howell, Dr. Edward. Enzyme Nutrition. New Jersey: Avery
Publishing Group, 1985, p. 3.
6. Howell, p.4.
7. Howell, p.29.
8. Shahani, Khem. Fact and fallacies about probiotics:
Particularly concerning the Beneficial Aspect of Lactobacillus
acidophilus DDS-1. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. |
