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All of us tend to ignore what happens in our intestines. Maybe because it's "not nice", but it's important to your health to have some understanding of what happens there.
If you think about it at all, you'll realize that the intestine is something like the hole in a doughnut. It's "kind of" part of the doughnut, but it's a hole thru the middle, and you can put something into the hole which doesn't affect the doughnut. The intestine is similar in that it's also a hole that's "kind of" part of the body, but what is in the hole doesn't become part of the body until some very interesting things happen.
Starting with the mouth, enzymes in the saliva mix with the food and start to digest the carbohydrates immediately. Down to the stomach, where some pretty strong acid is mixed into the food, particularly the meat portions. This mixture roils around for a while, being partially broken down. For a more complete explanation of this action, including the reason why most people taking antacids for "heartburn" should be taking digestive aids containing even more acid instead see my book "The Health Revolution".
This mixture is then passed into a chamber where a whole lot of digestive enzymes are added to the mix. In addition, various body internal wastebaskets are emptied here as well. These "waste" products are important as if insufficient fiber is also present, some of these dangerous chemicals may be re-absorbed on the trip thru.
This "slurry" (watery mess) then moves into the small intestine, a journey of many many feet. Here, the nutrients our body needs are broken down further, and passed thru the wall of the intestine into the "portal vein", which is the entry to the bloodstream. Of course, the bloodstream takes all these nutrients all around the body and as each is needed, it's taken out of the stream by the individual cells.
The last step is the large intestine or colon. This is where the water that makes up a large part of the slurry is extracted, and recycled. That's why diarreah presents a danger of dehydration.
The above is a very brief and somewhat inaccurate picture of the steps taken in your body to digest your food, however it will serve to illustrate some of the problems we need to be aware of.
Bacteria
As we all know, the feces or waste that is excreted is loaded with bacteria. What not everybody is now aware of is that much of the bacteria is "friendly", and further, that friendly bacteria are necessary
for good health. It seems that there is supposed to be a balance between
fungus (yeast) and bacteria in the gut to break down food into basic
elements, protein into amino acids, carbohydrate into sugars, and fat into
fatty acids. However, in our modern world, this balance is all too often
upset.Why is this? Antibiotics. Antibiotics are designed to kill off ALL bacteria, bad (causing infection), and friendly (helping digestion). So, when the doctor gives you an antibiotic, one side effect is that our digestive system becomes less effective. When a friendly bacteria colony is wiped out, that site is taken over by yeast cells, and some digestion and bacterial action is lost. Yeast and bacteria are enemies, and cannot co-exist in the same site.
Just what do the friendly bacteria do that is so important?
- They assist the enzymes in breaking down the food into basic
elements.
- Even more important they are a part of the mysterious "intrinsic" system
that transports vitamin B12 into the portal vein . If too many of these
friendly colonies are missing, the person can suffer from pernicious anemia.
- Also very important - friendly bacteria actually manufacture about 80% of the needed vitamin K
directly in the gut. What's so important about vitamin K? Well, vitamin K
is a precursor (necessary part for manufacture) of both the blood hormones
that control bleeding vs clotting. Hormone systems typically have two
different hormones that control various body systems. One important body
system consist of a pair of hormones - one hormone controls bleeding, and
the other controls clotting. If you get a small cut, you want it to clot,
but you don't want it to clot inside a blood vessel or it may cause a stroke
or heart failure.
So, now you know that friendly bacteria are necessary in your gut - now what do you do about it? The answer was provided by Dr Von Hilsheimer many years ago. Acidophilus. He recommended that to reverse the "bad" side effects of antibiotics, a regimen of 10 Acidophilus capsules per day every other day for five times be done after finishing with the antibiotic. (Don't expect it to work with the instructions on the bottle - use 10 (or more) at a time.)
Acidophilus is actually a milk bacteria. It's found in yogurt in relatively small quantities. It's an enemy of yeast (mostly Candida) that has taken up sites meant for bacteria. It will re-colonize these "bacterial" sites, and be gradually replaced by other friendly bacteria over time. Fairly soon, the friendly bacteria will be manufacturing vitamin K, providing transport to the "intrinsic factor" for B12, and digesting food better.
How can you tell if the Acidophilus is doing its job? Well, your stool will become much less smelly, and much lighter in color - almost a yellow brown. If you're a woman, your vaginitis may clear up. Athlete's foot as well, and other Candida problems may be alleviated. Some have reported allergy/sensitivity relief from this simple remedy. It seems that when the gut is working as nature intended, everything else works better as well
One bit of advice - after taking the first 10 capsules, you may experience a lot of bloating and gas pains. This is because the yeast is killed off in a large area, and this "dieoff" is resulting in methane gas. It shows that you really needed this!
Fiber
What is fiber? Actually it's a form of sugar that horses and cows can break down into glucose (blood sugar). We humans can't break it down, but we do definitely need it to help carry water and toxic material thru the gut.Fiber is used to build "skins and skeletons" that protect and give shape to fruits and vegetables. Because we humans can't digest this form of sugar, scientists and doctors decided that fiber wasn't necessary to our diets - forgetting that Nature uses everything that is there, even if we don't know how.
Now, the word is out - WE DEFINITELY DO NEED FIBER!! It even helps to prevent cancer, and heart disease! Why do we need fiber?
- Fiber is part of that slurry, and holds the water in suspension for
the trip thru the gut.
- Fiber also acts like a sponge, absorbing some of the wastes that the body is excreting, and helps prevent their re-uptake into the body. This is critical, as the body is continually trying to get rid of various poisons such as mercury (remember that swordfish steak), nicotine (been around a smoker lately), fungicides and pesticides (eating fruits and veggies), excess cholesterol and fat (who doesn't have this).
Most fiber is composed of a mizture of two types - categorized as soluble and unsoluble.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water into a gelatinous form that helps lower cholesterol and sugar levels in the blood. The fiber in peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, oats, barley and psyllium is largly soluble.
Insoluble fiber such as bran, nuts, and leafy vegetables does not dissolve in water, but it absorbs some water as it passes through the gut. These fibers provide bulk to the stool, and help prevent both constipation and diarrea.
Unlike other food components such as fats, proteins or carbohydrates -- which your body breaks down and absorbs --neither type of fiber is digested by your body. Therefore, it passes through your stomach and small intestine and into your colon. Dietary fiber increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it. A bulky stool is easier to pass, decreasing your chance of constipation. If you have loose, watery stools, fiber may also help to solidify the stool because it absorbs water and adds bulk to stool.
A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of specific disorders, such as hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and the development of small pouches in your colon (diverticular disease). Fiber -- particularly soluble fiber -- can also lower blood cholesterol levels and slow the absorption of sugar, which for people with diabetes, can help improve blood sugar levels. A high-fiber diet may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Years ago, a company got ahead of the "fiber fad", and made a lot of money by advertising a "fiber rich" bread. It got a lot of sales very quickly, and was very popular - until someone blew the whistle! The "added fiber" was actually SAWDUST! It was probably just as good, but the idea of eating sawdust just won't sell easily!
Now, all the ads for oatmeal and other "whole grain foods" are better understood. Getting "bad" stuff out of your body makes your whole body work better. How do you know if you have enough fiber in your body? Easy, and again I'm indebted to Dr Von for this. Look at your stool in the toilet! If it floats - you need more fiber in your diet. If it sinks, you probably have enough.
I personally don't eat any white bread, and try to avoid everything made from white "enriched" (what a scam) flour. My personal way to find healthy breads is to look on the label, and if enriched flour is the first item, avoid it. I also avoid labels with really lots of chemicals and so long it takes 15 minutes to read. These can't be good.
I hope I've made a stool watcher out of you. You'll benefit from it as I have. At 81(in 2008), I'm in better health than most with no worries about heart, digestion, or stroke.
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