There are very few things in life we have 100% control over and the food we put in our mouths is one of them. Second only to the quality of the food the eat is our body’s ability to digest and assimilate what we are consuming. Let’s have a look at that process…
Autonomic Nervous System:The first thing I want to discuss is our autonomic nervous system and in particular the differences between the sympathetic and parasympathetic states in the body and how they relate to the digestive processes.
Sympathetic State
The sympathetic state is referred to variously as the ‘fight or flight mode’ or ‘fight, flight or freeze’, in this state our body is prepared for danger, to run from the ‘proverbial’ saber tooth tiger. In this state, and in response to stimulus, the body immediately races into action and releases hormones such as noradrenaline and adrenaline.
Once released, noradrenaline and adrenaline cause the effect seen during the fight-or-flight response. These hormones activate the target muscles and glands, causing the body to speed up and become tense, as well as more alert. Functions that are not immediately essential like our immune system and digestion are shut down to some degree and responses occur such as:
- Your heart rate increases
- The bronchial tubes in your lungs dilate
- Your pupils dilate
- Your muscles contract
- Your saliva production is reduced
- Your stomach stops many of the functions of digestion
- More glycogen is converted to glucose
As you can see, all of these changes are designed to make you more ready to fight or run. Non-essential systems like digestion and immunity are given much lower priority, while more energy is made available to your muscles and your heart rate increases.
Interestingly, much of this state is because the brain cannot differentiate between the stress of an actual event and thinking about an event, so our emotional stress can be just as detrimental to our state of being as the physical danger stress response. Anxious thought patterns and depressed thinking are sympathetic nervous system triggers.
Parasympathetic State
The parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” system is a much slower system that moves along longer pathways to action. The parasympathetic response is responsible for controlling homeostasis, or the balance and maintenance of the body’s systems. It restores the body to a state of calm and counterbalance, and allows it to relax and repair.
The body undergoes several specific responses when the parasympathetic system is activated:
- Your saliva is increased
- Digestive enzymes are released
- Your heart rate drops
- The bronchial tubes in your lungs constrict
- Your muscles relax
- The pupils in your eyes constrict
- Your urinary output increases
All of these changes are designed to maintain long-term health, improve digestion, conserve energy, and maintain a healthy balance in your body’s systems.
What you may be thinking, does this all have to do with what you eat and how you digest it???
Digestion is a parasympathetic process, meaning your body needs to be in a relaxed state for it to work properly. If we are chronically stressed, we are not able to effectively move into the parasympathetic state and cannot digest the food we consume.
While in the sympathetic state, the sympathetic nervous system directs blood away from your digestive tract, which slows down digestion. The body may react to this with constipation, diarrhea, or bloating. The reason that non-essential bodily functions are slowed or shut down is so that your body can reserve energy needed by vital organs like the heart and lungs. In this state, your body can concentrate on taking action that will alleviate the danger.
Another function of the parasympathetic nervous system is to increase peristalsis, which is the constriction and relaxation of the intestine (sphincter) muscle. This motion pushes the contents through the intestines. As, such peristalsis is essential to food and nutrient absorption. Without it, natural waste elimination is not possible.
Your body’s entire immune system is be compromised without a well-functioning parasympathetic system, with 70% of the immune system being found in the digestive tract its health is imperative to ours. The parasympathetic nervous system also regulates the functioning of production of gastric acid in the stomach, which impacts overall digestive health.
Rather than using glucose for fuel (as with the sympathetic nervous system), your body fat is utilised via the parasympathetic system. Without a properly functioning parasympathetic nervous system, it can be more than difficult to store, and to burn, body fat.
The Digestion Process
Every cell that makes up every tissue, that makes up every organ, depends on the body’s Digestive System to provide the nutrients it needs to keep on functioning.
Digestion is a north to south process that begins before we actually start eating, in our brains. The sight and smell of food triggers the production of saliva in the mouth. Saliva contains enzymes such as salivary amylase which is required to commence the breakdown of carbohydrates. It also moistens our food to assist in swallowing.
The chewing process is an often hurried yet absolutely critical part of the digestive process. When we do not chew our food thoroughly, salivary amylase does not have time to start the carbohydrate breakdown process and swallowing large chunks of food puts a strain on our stomach as the food moves to the next phase of digestion.
In the stomach, gastric juice is secreted from glands located in the mucosal lining of the stomach, this includes mucous, pepsinogen/pepsin and HCl.
HCl and pepsinogen are responsible for breaking down proteins into peptides (smaller strings of amino acids). HCl also triggers gastrin to be released into the blood stream.
The stomach uses peristalsis (a churning motion much like a front loading washing machine) to further breakdown the food into a substance called chyme.
HCl is a critical factor in digestion, and should sit at a pH of 1.5 – 3. This level of acidity means it can bathe and disinfect the stomach, killing bacteria and parasites, activate pepsin so we can digest proteins and stimulate gastrin.
Small Intestine
Our food’s next stop is the small intestine via the pyloric sphincter. The SI has a dual role as a digestive organ and a gland.
The acidic nature of the chyme triggers the SI to secrete mucous and at the same time, two hormones are released into our bloodstream, cholecystokinin and secretin.
Secretin stimulates the pancreas to release bicarbonate and pancreatic juice. Sodium Bicarbonate from the pancreas neutralises the pH of the Chyme and then the enzyme portion of pancreatic juice is released to complete the chemical digestion of carbs, proteins and fats.
- Carbs are broken down into glucose molecules.
- Proteins are broken down into amino acids and polypeptides.
- Fats are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol molecules.
Further along the SI, the nutrient molecules continue their journey via the bloodstream where they are carried to the entire body:
- Glucose, amino acids and short chain fatty acids are moved to the liver.
- Long-chain fatty acids require bile for proper absorption and end up in the lymphatic system.
Undigested proteins (as well as other undigested foods) impact our SI by damaging the villi (think of the villi like little fingers poking out of the lining) and the lining becomes damaged or flattened, allowing the large chunks of food to pass into the bloodstream. The body then sees these chunks as an invader and mounts an immune response which causes inflammation and food sensitivities.
Large Intestine
The leftovers (indigestible fibres, bile, water and sloughed off cells) pass to the LI via the ileocecal valve.
The large intestine:
- Recycles the water
- Recycles the waste material which also nourishes the colon cell
- Captures any lost nutrients with the help of bowel flora and converts the nutrients to Vitamin K, B1, B2, B12 and butyric acid
- Forms and expels feces.
Dysfunction:
Maldigested foods that make their way to the LI are full of parasites, microorganisms and undigested fats.
The Ileocecal valve can get clogged or jammed open.
Dysbiosis disrupts the healthy flora and butyric acid is not produced weakening colon cells, the colon is then subject to conditions as such inflammation, IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis and Celiac disease,
As you can see there are many places the digestive process can go wrong so lets discuss a few easy things we can do to ensure that they don’t!
Top Tips:
Change your state!
Spend five minutes prior to eating doing some breath work to relax.
Make time to eat and give it your full attention. By this I mean, don’t eat on the run! Set half an hour aside for each meal, without distraction such as your phone, the TV etc.
Sit down on the floor – picnics are a great way to relax and there is a beautiful reason behind this, the simple process of sitting down on the floor takes us into the parasympathetic state. You might want to skip this one at a restaurant!
Chew your food thoroughly for at least 30 seconds
Not only is the food then broken down into smaller particles but this allows time for the brain to trigger the proper digestive processes for the food you are eating, including the super important saliva we discussed earlier.
Put the fork down between bites!
I grew up in a family where if you wanted seconds at dinner you had to eat fast! So, I have a terrible habit of shovelling food in before I finish the first bite (seconds were a first finished kinda deal growing up!)… one of the things I have started to do to slow down my eating, is to put my fork down between bites.
HCl
90% of Americans are HCl deficient and that figure is similar in Australia. Stress, excess carbs, nutrient deficiencies, allergies, alcohol consumption all have an adverse effect on HCl levels.
You can assist HCl production by:
- Drinking water with ACV or Lemon ½ hour prior to eating.
- Adding fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi or pickles with your meals (these also promote healthy gut and bowel flora).
- Ensuring you have enough Zinc in your diet as HCl production requires adequate Zinc.
Liver / Gallbladder Support
Low fat diets do not trigger the release of bile, which causes bile to get old / viscous (or thick) in the GB. Bad fat diets also cause bile to become viscous. The thickened state of the bile makes the gallbladder unable to release it and the net result is:
No bile = no absorption of fats and we need quality healthy fats to absorb the essential fatty acids – Vitamins A, D, E and K. Essential means we cannot produce them in our body, they have to come from our diet.
Beet kvass or raw beets are very GB supportive and eating bitters stimulates the flow of bile in the gall bladder, helping us digest fats. Try adding them in salads, or even eating a few leaves while preparing a meal so that the bile is ready to emulsify whatever fat you consume. Try things like dandelion leaves, rocket and other dark leafy greens.
Large Intestine
Lemon / apple cider vinegar in a glass of room temperature water half an hour before a meal.
Fluids while Eating
Don’t drink excessive amounts while eating, too much liquid dilutes the gastric juices and disrupts digestion.
Don’t drink chilled or iced water or drinks with a meal as they solidify any fats in the food making them harder for your body to break down.
Add a pinch of good quality salt to your water to ensure electrolyte balance.
Sip water consistently throughout the day rather than drinking large amounts at a time, it is easier for the body to assimilate in small amounts (under about 200ml) otherwise you are just processing it out of the body and losing electrolytes as you do so.
Water is essential to every process in the body and the most common macro nutrient deficiency! A simple calculation to ensure you are getting enough is to take your weight in pounds, divide it by two and then drink 1 oz of water for each pound.
Note: There are lots of pound to kilograms converters available online and 1 oz is approximately 30ml of water.
Pranayama: Samavritti
Counting breath: 4x4x4
In for four, hold for four, out for four.
This simple technique takes us from the sympathetic state to the parasympathetic state.
Namaste
Kerryelle x
