The Food You Digest Is the Most Important For Health

“A very large portion of society are in a poor state of health, especially when considering the causal chain of the human disease process.”

World Digestive Health Day is on May 29th and one of the pleasers of life is enjoying food without discomfort. We are so blessed to have access to the wide variety of food from most countries of the world at our local supermarket, the exotic spices, fruits and veggies and the entrancing smells. Be it junk food, decadent deserts or making penance with a salad to help ease the guilt, the love of food is the spice of life. I am sure we have all wished the same silent prayer: Lord let me eat whatever I want and dispense with the demons of fat to leave my body without a trace like an unwelcomed in-law. As a child I could eat anything I wanted and still be skinny like a rake; unfortunately today’s kids have lost the magic of active outdoor play.

GERD and other diseases on the rise

We have a major health problem in Canada; the pathway we are taking is quickly spiraling out of control and if it is not treated by lifestyle changes, diet and naturopathic care pharmaceutical drugs will be the only means of survival. A very large portion of society are in a poor state of health, especially when considering the causal chain of the human disease process. According to Government of Canada, 64% of adults over the age of 18[1] and 30% of children aged, 5-17 are overweight or obese[2].

Poor diet and indigestion lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which affects 1 in 6 Canadian adults, and with 16% of the Canadian population between zero to 14 years of age the incidence rate is 1%. It is projected that 56,000 Canadian children will be newly diagnosed with GERD each year. The majority of these patients will be younger than one year of age.[3]

This is totally unacceptable, those in authority need to be held accountable. Canada is a rich nation and to project 56,000 Canadian children under one year of age will develop GERD is nothing short of willful intent. Where is Health Canada when you need them, to have such a degradation of health from birth is a testament that our priorities are wrong.

The most common symptoms of GERD are heartburn and acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux (GER), which is the backward flow of stomach acid into the tube (esophagus) that connects your throat to your stomach. During an episode of acid reflux, you might feel a burning sensation in your chest, commonly called heartburn. Sometimes acid reflux progresses to GERD, a more severe form of reflux. The most common symptom of GERD is frequent heartburn—two or more times a week—and symptoms can include difficulty swallowing, coughing, wheezing, and chest pain, especially while lying down at night.

In a 2015 study, researchers found that among 604 people with GERD over 13% had gallstones, which is higher than the rates in the general population. Gallstones occur in up to 20% of Canadian women and 10% of men by the age of 60 and in 2% of children.[4]

The modern illness is on the rise, each year 50,000 Canadians have their gallbladders removed. Gallbladder disease is linked to two health problems that are on the rise in young people: obesity and diabetes though both conditions can be controlled by diet.[5]

Another major problem is diabetes. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, “30% live with diabetes or prediabetes and 10% live with diagnosed diabetes, a figure that climbs to 15% when cases of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes are included.”[6] Their projection estimates that these number will significantly increase in the next decade.

One of the silent epidemics is high blood pressure, affecting 19% of Canadian adults and 2.1% of children. We could show the same drastic statistics for autoimmune diseases, thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer or mental illness—they are all on a sharp rise. The health authorities are giving warnings but at the same time doing nothing to curb the rise; instead just suggesting treating the symptoms with pharmaceutical drugs. Why else do you think they call our medical system Pharmacare?

Digestive Enzymes

Our main digestive enzymes include amylase, maltase, lactase, lipase, sucrase, and protease. Talk about your morning smoothie: each day your pancreas produces about 8 ounces of digestive juice filled with enzymes that work differently.

  • Lipase works together with bile, which is produced in your liver to help break down fat in your diet.
  • Amylase is secreted by the pancreas and salivary glands; the moment you smell something you love eating you begin to drool thanks to amylase. Released within the pancreas it helps for digesting carbohydrates, breaking down starches into sugars.
  • Maltase, released from the small intestine, is responsible for breaking down maltose (malt sugar) into glucose (simple sugar)—the body’s energy production comes from glucose.
  • Lactase breaks down lactose, thus the name. It is the sugar found in dairy products to create simple sugars glucose and galactose. When lactose is not fully absorbed, it is fermented by gut bacteria—this may cause you to have gas and an upset stomach.
  • Protease breaks down proteins in your diet. It also helps protect you from germs that may live in your intestines, like certain bacteria and yeast.
  • Sucrase is secreted by the small intestine, where it breaks down sucrose (the sugar in table sugar) into fructose and glucose. These are simpler sugars that the body can absorb.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine stated over 2,000 years ago that all disease begins in your gut, it may not be true in all aspects but evidence does show that many chronic metabolic diseases do. Your gut bacteria and the integrity of your gut lining strongly affect your health. It would be reasonable to assume that if we could keep our stomach, including our gastrointestinal tract in a healthy balanced state that we could avert many diseases from forming.

Digestion begins in your mouth, starting with saliva. As food passes into your stomach, proteins are worked on by various enzymes, mainly protease. Digestive enzymes help break down food into smaller parts that can be absorbed, transported and utilized by every cell in your body, from there the food passes into your small intestine, (90% of digestion takes place in your small intestines) where lipase begins to break down fats, and amylase finishes off the carbohydrates.

The tight connections between the cells that line the intestines, called enterocytes, when they weaken, they become more permeable referred to as leaky gut syndrome. This means undigested food particles and the enzymes your body produces to break down and absorb nutrients from food end up outside the gut, the undigested processed foods may begin accumulating and circulating in your arteries.

Broad spectrum means the complete digestion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, as well as fiber in the diet. This is the dual purpose of taking daily enzyme supplements: complete digestion and uncompromised blood circulation.

When the gall bladder is compromised or when removed, bile is less concentrated and drains more continuously into the intestines, where it can have a laxative effect and it is not readily available to aid in digestion. The amount of fat you eat at one time also plays a role.

With age, the digestive system undergoes various changes. In the mouth, tooth loss due to bone loss and gum disease is common, leading to difficulties with chewing and potential nutritional deficits compounded by decreased saliva production and diminished taste. The esophagus often experiences swallowing difficulties and increased heartburn due to changes in esophageal sphincter function. The stomach’s mucus membrane thins, leading to reduced digestive secretions and possible chronic atrophic gastritis. In the intestines, atrophy and reduced enzyme production affect digestion but not absorption rates, though diverticulosis becomes more common in the large intestine. The pancreas sees a decline in secretory cells, impacting fat digestion, while the liver, despite shrinking, maintains its functionality in healthy elderly individuals.

Prevention is better than seeking a cure, from a healthy state, when we consider colorectal cancer is expected to be the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in men and the 3rd leading cause of cancer death in women and is expectedly to be the 4th most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada in 2024 (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers).

It is helpful to practice working with your own body cycles for eating and digestion it is best between noon to 8pm: the absorption and assimilation of the food consumed is done between 8pm to 4am:, for elimination the time is 4am-noon. This is why fruit is best to eat on an empty stomach before noon so it does not hinder digestion. 

It becomes prudent to avoid being a statistic, remain healthy, after all the system is not going to save you, your health rests between your own two hands.

Products that can help:

Additional Reading:

References:

[1] Governement of Canada. 2018a.

[2] Governement of Canada. 2018b.

[3] Fedorak, Richard N. et al. 2010.

[4] Sallum, Rubens Antonio Aissar et al. 2015.

[5] Lewis, Thomas H. 2024.

[6] Canadian Diabetes Association. 2024.