Digestive System
May 142007
How Digestion Really Works – Digestion 101
In this article we identify common nutritional and digestive problems and show how Simplexity’s products work together to address these concerns.
Chewing starts the digestive process by mechanically breaking down food and stimulating the production of saliva, an enzyme-rich fluid that pre-digests carbohydrates. Chewing also stimulates the other digestive organs to prepare for the food. Insufficient chewing compromises digestion.
This muscular tube massages the chewed food toward the stomach. A valve at the end of the esophagus opens to allow food into the stomach and, in a healthy body, closes to keep stomach acid from moving back up the esophagus and causing heartburn.
A healthy stomach produces a highly acidic juice rich in enzymes that begins protein digestion. Healthy stomach walls are protected from stomach acid by a layer of gastric mucosa. Antacids can affect proper stomach acidity, and many medications can damage stomach walls.
These organs play an important role in adding digestive fluids to the partially digested food as it enters the intestines. The many critical roles of the liver include normal detoxification and nutrient processing. The liver produces bile, which is stored in the gall bladder and aids in fat digestion. The pancreas produces a host of enzymes for protein, fat, and carbohydrate breakdown. In a stressed system, these organs may fail to function optimally.
Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine. Digestion and absorption are supported by the presence of huge numbers of friendly bacteria, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, which aid in the absorption of nutrients, produce important vitamins, and provide a surface layer to protect against viruses, yeasts, and bacteria.
Bifidobacterium bifidum help maintain a healthy environment in the large intestine. Intestinal problems, including gas and irregular elimination, can be the result of a depleted supply of friendly bacteria. Undigested food can lead to bad breath and gas or bloating, among other problems.
(Note: you will be re-directed to the Simplexity web site)
*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
When feeding enzymes to an infant it is adviseable to dissolve the enzyme(s) in a bit of pure, clean water and feeding to baby as liquid using an eyedropper.