Quit your Belly-Aching
Simple Solutions that make Sense

Welcome back to Biology 101. For some of us it has been a long time. But in order to begin to rebuild our health naturally we need to get to know ourselves  inside and out.  So, please, bearwith me as we go back to some basics.

Many of us have spent years taking our hard working body for granted.  Never giving a second thought what happens to that hotdog and fries once they slide down.
Or who ends up doing all the internal labour.

Your entire digestive system (sometimes referred to as gastrointestinal tract, GI tract or gutt) is about 25-30 feet long, and has two main functions: to absorb nutrients and eliminate wastes.
From beginning to end it includes the mouth, throat, stomach, small, large intestine and rectum.

Taken from statistics in 2001, Estimated 40 million people in North America are afflicted with ailments of the gastrointestinal tract. These include ulcers, hepatitis, hernias, heartburn, colitis, irritable bowel disease, diveticulitis and cancers.
Gastrointestinal disease is responsible for 30% of cancer deaths, 25% of operations, 10% of the total sick days that adults are ill from work and $17 billion in direct health care costs.

The bowel is the part of the digestive tract consisting of small and large intestine.
It is this hard working, unsung hero that will get our attention.
According to some estimates, about 70 million Americans suffer from bowel problems. But of course, (because of the privacy of this area) these statistics cover only those people whose problems are severe enough to cause them to consult a medical doctor.

80% of nutrient absorption takes place in small intestine, not the stomach as typically thought. Your intestinal walls contain over four million little hair-like microvillus. It is their job to absorb nutrients. Due to vast number of microvilla, the total effective area for absorption is more than 2,200 square feet.

This means if something is not quite right with your small intestine (or colon as it is also referred to), all that nice health giving natural food you have started eating is not getting used to your best advantage.

The colon is also the sewer of the body.  It is through this system that all the waste and pollutants are eliminated. What happens in your basement when your sewer gets clogged?  Imagining that, can you guess what happens to the rest of the body when the colon cannot work properly?

In North America, we have witnessed a frightening escalation in the rise of colon illness.
North America now represents the highest per capita rate of digestive tract deaths in the world. Over 40% of the Americans diagnosed with the colon and rectal cancer die each year. (That’s 165 deaths a day). There are now over 100,000 colostomies preformed each year (275 a day) and the sale of adult diapers to those under the senior age has gone thru the roof.

Antacid and digestive medicines are currently the largest selling prescription drugs of all time, stealing the number one slot from antidepressant drugs.

North Americans spend $400 million annually on laxatives alone.
 
Not only that but poor colon health has been related directly or indirectly to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, varicose veins, diabetes, gall stones, kidney stones, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, allergies and obesity for starters.

According to the Royal Society of Medicine in Great Britian, “more than 65 different health problems are caused by a toxic colon”

All that taken in, is it possible that if we just care for our colon a little better these statistics may go down? Does it not make sense that if there are some practical, nutritional ways to improve digestive health we should do them?

Next time we start a look at some simple solutions that make sense for your best digestive health.

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The War Within

We are beginning to get to the bottom of things. 

Specifically, our own bottoms. We live in a society where gastrointestinal illness and disease is soaring to new limits. From ulcers, to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, to Indigestion and Gas our joy of life and vitality have gone down the toilet.

But all is not lost. Your beautiful brilliant body has some simple solutions that may turn this around.

If we could take a microscopic look inside your large intestine would find a teeny war with gigantic consequence. Your body has its own little army fighting valiantly for your well-being. An army of bacteria.

Yes! BACTERIA! Truly, they are a force to be reckoned with. Just the word can send shudders up your spine. Small, but able in the past to bring a population to its knees, how often we live in fear of the dreaded “bacteria”.  We scrub, disinfect and sanitize.  But to no avail, we are simply outnumbered. The human body is made up of an estimated 100 trillion bacterial cells fromat least 500 species, not including viruses and fungi. The bacteria in your gutt out number all the rest of the cells in your body, 10 to one, or about 3 pounds worth.

There are more bacteria in your body than people on this planet. 

However, not all gutt bacteria are created equal.  There is a “good” bacteria naturally occurring in the large intestine. These have been called “friendly flora”, or probiotic.  “Pro” meaning “for”; “bio” meaning “life”. And pro-life they are!  These little fellas contribute greatly to the proper digestion of your meal. They make B vitamins, lactic acid, and Vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting. They make chemicals, which are healing to the large intestine. After they die the bulk up much of the stool, (almost one third) making elimination easier. This gutt floa also has incredible power over your body’s natural defense system against invaders.

The friendly flora wage war against any bad bacteria, pathogens or outside offenders wanting to take over the intestine. 

Expects suggest that we should have a balance of about 85 percent good to 15 percent harmful organisms in the intestinal tract. But today most have the opposite ratio. This is where the problem begins creating a chronically unhealthy condition. The bad bacteria colonize, fight for guttspace and oust the good bacteria for a dictatorship, polluting and poisoning the GI tract directly, and the rest of the body indirectly.

Our western lifestyle has led to the shrinking number of naturally occurring friendly bacteria. Antibiotics, (“anti” meaning against), have killed both good and bad bacteria in our body. Estrogen type pharmaceuticals such as birth control pills, chlorinated water, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, Motrin, Midol, all kill off good bacteria. Lifestyles high in meat and fat, alcohol, caffeine, stress, radiation and chemotherapy also destroy healthy bacteria colonies.

Getting to the bottom of this intestinal warfare isn’t just identifying a problem but finding a solution.    What can we do to arm ourselves, aid our freedom fighters, the good bacteria, and undermine the bad-guys? We continue to look at the war within and find some simple solutions that make sense next time we walk the Natural Path.

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The Nitty and Gritty on Fiber

So much has been said about fibre the past few years I find myself wavering; wondering if it is really nessessary to say more. But in hopes of the one belly-acher out there who may find relief, we look at the fiber.

Definition: The indigestible structural component of plants or roughage. 
There are 2 types of fiber, soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fiber absorbs water and is found fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, and legumes.

Insoluble fiber does not absorb or dissolve in water as its name suggests.

This is the "crunchy" kind of fiber. You can get this from whole wheat, brans, nuts, seeds, and some vegetables such as celery and green beans. They pass from one end of the digestive tract to the other end virtually unchanged. This type of fiber does "a clean sweep" of your gi tract.

So what exactly is the role of fibre in the diet and why do we need it?
First and foremost, as mentioned it gives that “clean sweep”.

Processed food, including white sugar, white flour, larger than life portions of meat, and food chemicals, in our diets have increased.  But fiber, which we need more than ever, had decreased.

Remember that your intestine has a very vital job in your body. It is responsible for absorbing the nutrients you need as the food passes through, but also for quickly eliminating anything not useful or dangerous that it does not need.

Now let me paint you a picture. Close your eyes and picture a big juicy steak that has been left in a dark, warm, moist place for several days.  How does it look?  Even better, how does it smell?  What has happened?  Yuck! You know it! it’s rotten.  Protiens putrefing, fats beoming rancid and sugars fermenting! All this is going on in your gutt when you do not have adequet fiber to keep things moving along.

The average North American takes in only 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day and  food transit time is an average 65-100 hours.  That’s 4 days for a meal that should only take a few hours.

The average North American potentially holds eight meals of undigested waste material in the colon. Now, if you ask me, that is one big belly ache!

Aside from improving colon function, fiber scores high marks in other contributions.
It improves protein and nutrient absorption. You get more nutrition out of your meal.

Fiber alsocurbs weight gain. It keeps us feeling full and reduces the risk of blood glucose spikes and food and sugar cravings

Fiber builds immunity by helping remove harmful bacteria, viruses, and allergens that may otherwise enter your body

The recommended daily fiber intake is 21 to 25 grams for women, 30 to 38 grams for men, however if you have decided to increase your daily intake of fiber, do it slowy. Two or three extra grams per day each week with lots of water will help prevent any abdominal discomfort.

Increasing fiber in your diet can be a simple solution without even making any drastic dietary solutions. Heres a few quick tips.

Try eating an orange rather than drinking just the juice. The pulp contains the fiber. Eat whole fruits. Remember, whole fruit, with seeds and peels intact, provides more fiber than most fruit juice.

Don't peel your potatoes. Rather than peeling your potatoes, include the skins - that is also where much of the nutrition is found.

Start your day with a high-fiber no sugar breakfast cereal. Read the nutrition label and select a cereal that offers more than 4 grams per serving.

Add a few tablespoons of wheat bran to your cereal, cottage cheese, yogurts, and salads.

Include plenty of fresh or frozen vegetables in your day. Add them to soups, pizza, sandwiches, stir-fries, pastas, omelets, rice, and anything else you can think of. Enjoy a salad with every meal. Add more vegetables to your beef stew. Meat doesn't contain any fiber; so add a few more vegetables will improve the fiber content.

Eat breads and pasta made from wheat, rye, and oat products, along with brown rice, barley, and other whole grains. Whole grain flours contain the fiber that has been proccessed out of white breads.

Add fruit to your cereal (hot or cold), top off your pancakes and waffles with fruits, mix fruits into yogurts and salads, or simply enjoy them plain.

Cook with beans and lentils. They are loaded with fiber. Enjoy them in soups, stews, salads, burritos, and a million other creative entrees.
 

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