We eat to stay alive. We eat because it tastes good and some foods even trigger feel good neurotransmitters. We eat because we have to. We eat because it’s social. So many reasons to put something in your mouth. BUT, food is foreign to our body. Our immune system has to check it before it is allowed to enter our blood stream. And what if it has some mold/bacteria/virus on it. Better check for that too!
Break it down for us
Our body, specifically the gut, has a lot of work to do to get that piece of food into a recognizable little bit that can get into the blood stream and then to a cell. Our body doesn’t recognize a big piece of steak! It needs it to be broken down into amino acids for absorption. Same goes for other macronutrients like carbohydrates and fats. They need to be broken down into vitamins and minerals (micronutrients). If it stays a big piece your immune system attacks it like it’s foreign and this creates food sensitivities.
The breakdown process starts in your mouth with saliva (it contains salivary amylase-an enzyme) and your teeth. I always tell my patients to chew food 30 times per bite! Your food should be nearly liquid before it goes down. Give your gut a little help, there are no molars down there to grind that big chunk you swallowed! Avoid the gobble and go! Don’t eat over the sink or in the car/on the run or at your desk. Those habits also make your nervous system feel like it is in fight or flight. When that happens your gut doesn’t make the other digestive juices that are necessary for proper digestion. So, light the candles and turn off the news to set the stage for proper digestion.
The liquified food then travels down the esophagus to the stomach. In the stomach the food should be greeted by a pool of hydrochloric acid. This acid breaks food down some more but also kills bacteria, viruses and mold that may have made the trip. Often, we don’t have enough stomach acid. It takes a lot of energy for our body to turn a base into acid! If we haven’t been fueling our body well, then it just won’t happen. Then you are in a vicious cycle of not breaking down your food to get the fuel to make the acid. And without the acid you can’t break down the food to get the fuel. Some people also take acid lowering medicines (like Pepcid/famotidine, Protonix/pantoprazole and other PPI’s) to treat heartburn/reflux. Did you know that heartburn is often a sign that you don’t have enough stomach acid? Taking medications to lower it even further is the last thing you need. One of my biggest goals when I work with someone is to get them off those medications. I really can’t stand them because they are associated with a higher rate of all cause mortality (death!!).
soak it all in
The next step of digestion after the stomach is the small intestine. In the small intestine we absorb the micronutrients. The small intestine is only one cell thick! If you have ever heard of “leaky gut,” this is where it occurs. Leaky gut is when the single cell layer breaks and the contents of the intestine spill into the abdominal cavity (not good!). Below that cell layer is the immune system and the blood stream. The immune system checks EVERYTHING before it is allowed into the blood stream. If there is a big piece of chicken hanging out there because you didn’t chew it well enough and your stomach acid is low, the immune system doesn’t recognized it and starts to tell other immune cells to target chicken (or whatever else you have consumed that isn’t broken down). It might not be a strong allergic type reaction that you have, but it does create food sensitivity. This sensitivity creates inflammation as a natural part of your immune system being activated. Where that inflammation shows up is different in everyone. It is usually some sort of chronic issue that main stream medicine does not know how to treat.
let it all out
After the small intestine has absorbed everything it is supposed to (hopefully!) the leftovers move into the large intestine. Water and electrolytes are absorbed back into the body in the large intestine and fiber is left behind. The large intestine is not sterile like the small intestine is supposed to be. Sometimes the bacteria that live in the large intestine move up into the small intestine and create problems, one called SIBO-small intestine bacterial overgrowth. It can be a fungal overgrowth too. In the large intestine our microbiome (bacteria) eat the fiber. The microbiome is a major source of neurotransmitters for our brain and makes some vitamins! They also produce short chair fatty acids which have many beneficial effects on the body. If you have ever taken antibiotics you may not have enough of these beneficial bacteria. Even if it was only once that you took them! If your poop is not formed and soft or if you don’t poop every day, you could have a problem with your microbiome.
when food is your friend
I often recommend an Elimination Diet to help determine if you have a food sensitivity. It really is a gold standard in Functional Medicine. And that’s because it works! When you pay attention to the way your body reacts to food, you can reduce all kinds of medical symptoms by reducing inflammation. When the inflammation is reduced your body can start healing things like leaky gut and heartburn.
I would love to work with you to see if you are reacting to food. Please reach out. Look on the services page to book a free 15 min consultation or you can schedule an initial appointment! I have ways to see if you have enough stomach acid. There are other tests to see if you have a good microbiome. There is a breath test to see if you have SIBO. We can test for leaky gut too!