The Digestive Process
A Complex Ecological Network
Digestion starts in the gut, and disease often starts in the gut. What does this mean? This means that investing in your gut microbiome and digestion for a easier process is crucial for longevity, and vitality. The process of digestion is a complex ecological network process that demands a lot out of our bodies. We need the proper PH levels to balance ourselves out and prevent our bodies from burning ourselves. The PH levels in the stomach for example are highly acidic. The smooth muscle tone is constantly contracting to move food around, called peristalsis.
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
We have what’re called pancreatic enzymes which get released into the small intestine packed with chemicals that break down our food. Bile is released by the gallbladder, which is concentrated from the liver and helps to emulsify fats. Our microbiome is a colony of parasites, viruses, fungus, yeast, and bacteria needing to all be in balanced. Our lifestyle plays a important role in the digestive process from where we eat, how we eat, when we eat, and more.
Components of Digestion
Digestion is the break down of food into progressively smaller units. Then we have the absorption component which is when food moves across membrane mostly the membrane of the small intestine. Following adsorption is assimilation, which is converting food into cells. Assimilation is the process of how we evolve from a baby into a adult via the process of assimilating the food into cells to form a adult. After assimilation we have elimination, which refers to the process of removing metabolic waste and byproducts - our colon is the key channel of elimination.
Why is this important to understand? May be it’ll open up a perspective of how we take in food and how it affects us and our growth. It starts with understanding why and how we operate as humans.
Digestive Regulation
How is the digestive process regulated?: There are about 24 or more different hormones that help to regulate the digestive tract. Digestion shuts off in SNS, this is why it’s important to be in PNS for digestion. What we are trying to do with digestion is a transmutation of energy taking Soil, Air, Water, Sun and converting it into us. It’s important to be mindful of where we get our food grown from since the food will eventually be taken in by us and transformed into us, too. This is why it’s not wise to eat white bread, for example, over a nutrient dense rice. There is not much vitality in the white bread…
The Cephalic Phase of Digestion
We use our senses to start the digestive process - sight, sound, smell, touch. Imagine biting into a orange or kiwi…you are probably already experiencing a turn on of the digestive tract. If we allow ourselves to get into the rest and digest mode we are further prepared for digestion. The cephalic phase is a importantp part of the digestive process, and sadly many people avoid this phase. More people are eating in their car, or at their desk under unconscious amounts of stress. Sitting away from your desk, instead, to eat your food to put you in the rest and digest mode allows you to decompress and thoroughly enjoy and digest your food.
Now that you are familiar with a brief overview of the digestive process I hope you consider taking the time to enjoy your meals, have some water with your food to wash it down, and consider being in the PNS state where you are most relaxed.
These are some of the components of ensuring you are digesting your food properly - one of the main take aways is to begin to chew and sit with your food without stressors.
Be well.
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