Probiotics

There are a vast number of live bacteria that live in each of us and they are essential for good health.    There are several thousand billion in each person (more than all the cells in the body) divided into over 400 species, most of them living in the digestive tract.   The word probiotic, means "for life".

In order to keep this simple, I'll just say that there are principally two "families" of beneficial bacteria called Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria .  To a large extent, these benefical bacteria keep the bad bacteria under control.

The Lactobacillus strains are specific to the small intestine.  These bacteria help reduce levels of harmful bacteria and yeasts and are also responsible for producing lactase, the enzyme responsible for the digestion of milk.  L. acidophilus is also responsible for the production of B vitamins (niacin-B3, folic acid, pyridoxine-B6) during the digestive process. It has antifungal properties, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, aids digestion and enhances the absorption of nutrients.

Bifidobacterium strains are specific to the large intestine. 

Bifidobacterium bifidum is the predominant organism in the intestinal flora. It aids in the manufacture and synthesis of B-complex vitamins and vitamin K.  B.bifidum improves digestion, which helps in preventing digestive disorders such as constipation and gas, as well as food allergies, to name a few.  They produce lactic and other acids which makes the environment INhospitable to harmful bacteria.   

There are other forms of beneficial, or friendly bacteria that are considered "nonresident bacteria" because they perform a job as they pass through.   These are primarily found in yogurt products and other fermented foods, but not all commercially produced varieties of yogurt contain live cultures and they often contain high fructose corn syrup which is contraindicated for establishing beneficial bacteria.  

Probiotics are known to help with:

*chronic bowel problems, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis and Crohn's disease

*constipation and gas

*reducing cholesterol

*acne, & skin related problems, 

*allergies- by lessening the response in the gut to allergenic foods

*arthritis (see below)

*recurrent vaginal or bladder infections (thrush or cystitis)

*cases of diarrhea, especially when brought on by bacterial infections, therefore probiotics are an exotic traveler's best friend!

*softening stool and regulating bowel movements

*enhancing the immune system

*lactose intolerance

*promotes anti-tumor and anti-cancer activity

Here are some things that inhibit or destroy friendly bacteria:

*sugar and highly processed foods

*antibiotics 

*steroids 

*birth control pills

*chlorine and fluoride in tap water

*environmental pollutants

*mental and physical stress

*chemotherapy/radiation therapy

*tobacco

*alcohol

*aging- with age comes a decrease in the quantity of benefical bacteria

*interesting fact*  4 million people die annually from diarrhea related infections, caused by poor sanitary conditions

:) Karen

The Digestive System

Hello again!  I hope you're feeling well after yesterday's feast! :)  Did anyone experience upset stomach, indigestion, gas, or bloating?  I hope not, but would also not be surprised to hear some people say, 'yes.'  There is a very good reason why you may have felt one or a few of those symptoms.

I would like to first give an overview of the GI (gastrointestinal) tract since that is one of the chief complaints among people.  According to my literature in my holistic studies, the most common reason for hospitalization among 15-44 year olds is digestive disorders.  Between the ages of 45-65, digestive problems become the second most common reason for hospitalization.

Later, I will go into more detail of the various common ailments of the GI tract.

Let's first understand how our intricate system works.

At its simplest, the digestive system is a tube running from mouth to anus. Its chief goal is to break down huge macromolecules (proteins, fats and starch), into smaller molecules (amino acids, fatty acids and glucose) that can be absorbed across the wall of the tube, and into the circulatory system to be used by the cells throughout the body. You will hear me refer to "cellular nutrition" throughout the blogs, because cellular nutrition is what feeds our body's organs.

The digestive system can be divided into two main parts: the alimentary tract and the accessory organs. The mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, rectum and anus make up the alimentary tract .  The salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas make up the accessory organs.

Digestion begins in the mouth as food is chewed and mixed with our saliva.  Carbohydrates and proteins are digested differently.  Carbohydrate digestion starts in the mouth when the digestive enzyme, amylase, present in the saliva, starts to break down the food as you chew.  Once you swallow the food and it enters the acidic environment of the stomach, amylase stops working.  Only when the food leaves the stomach and enters into an alkaline environment do we get the next wave of amylase enzymes which are secreted by the  small intestine and pancreas.  This is where the digestion of carbohydrates are completed.    ~~~    Protein on the other hand is not digested in the mouth at all.  It needs the acid in our stomach in order activate the protein-digesting enzyme pepsin.  The protein food may hang out in our stomachs up to three hours until all the complex proteins are broken down into amino acids known as peptides. Once peptides leave the stomach, the pancreas secretes peptidase enzymes which break them down further so the body can utilize them.  There is a lot more that goes into this process but I want to keep it simple.

Fruits are digested relatively quickly, leaving the stomach in about 30 minutes, so it is best to consume fruit on its own as a snack so it doesn't get hung up in the stomach too long causing it to ferment.  So after a meal when you feel like desert, it's best to avoid fruit for this reason.

Can you understand how we can have the symptoms I first asked about?  One reason is the digestion process works differently depending on the types of food we eat, thus it can create an upset in that process if we eat certain foods together.    There are other reasons of course, like not enough stomach acid, deficiencies in certain vitamins, etc.

The Small Intestine has three parts, the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. It receives secretions from the liver and the pancreas, which finalizes the digestion of the nutrients in chyme (the semifluid mass of partly digested food that is emptied by the stomach into the duodenum), absorbs the different products of digestion and moves the remaining residues to the large intestine.  It also consists of cells that secret a variety of substances for the further breakdown of chyme.

The large intestine has four basic functions:   

1. the reabsorption of water 2. the reabsorption of electrolytes 3. the formation of feces 4. the storage of feces

Compared to the small intestine, the large intestine plays a minor role in the digestive process.  The small intestine has glands that secrete a variety of substances but the major substance secreted by the large intestine is mucous and the purpose of the mucous is to protect its walls from materials passing through it (when this happens it's termed "leaky gut"), and for holding fecal matter together.

The liver, gallbladder and pancreas are accessory organs that are closely related to the small intestine.

Liver functions include the following:

• secretion
• synthesis of bile salts
• synthesis of plasma protein
• storage
• detoxification
• excretion
• carbohydrate metabolism
• lipid metabolism
• protein metabolism
• filtering

 The principal function of the gallbladder is to serve as a storage reservoir for bile. Bile is a yellowish-green fluid produced by liver cells. The main components of bile are water, bile salts, bile pigments, and cholesterol.  Bile salts act as emulsifying agents in the digestion and absorption of fats.

When I say the word Pancreas, what do you think of first?  The production of Insulin, right?  Well that it partly right. By the way, did you know that Insulin is a hormone?   The other hormone secreted by the pancreas is glucagon, which is what replenishes the blood sugar if its levels get too low.   Well the pancreas is vitally important in the digestive system because its special cells produce enzymes that break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  These enzymes are called amylase, lipase, and protease.  The production of these enzymes depend on many micronutrients, especially vit. B6, so you can see if we're deficient in that particular vitamin, how it can affect a very important organ.     Suboptimum  nutrition often results in suboptimum digestion, which in turn creates suboptimum absorption, so nutritional intake gets worse and worse.   When I say nutritional intake, I am referring to that which is available for the body's cellular use. 

I'll address how you can create balance and optimum organ function by the nutrients you consume.   That is for future blogs.

So that's the digestive system in a nut shell.  Of course a lot more goes into the processing of our food but this gives you a synopsis.

*interesting fact* it takes the stomach and hour to break down cow milk

:)Karen

Welcome

Hello Friends!

Since I have been asked by some people to start a "health blog", I decided to go forward with that request and share some of the knowledge I've learned, and am learning, through studying the natural approaches to Holistic Health.

What constitutes health? Well, it is not merely the absence of disease, but also an abundance of life. We can measure health in 3 ways: 

Performance- both physically and mentally; Absence of ill health- the lack of signs and symptoms of disease; and 

Longevity- a healthy life span.  

What we currently call "health care" is really "disease care".  Think about that for a moment.

Most of us eat whatever we want, unless of course we're on a "diet" and then it only typically constitutes calorie restriction.  It may too, be the only time we really try to eat healthy.  However even if we don't show any signs of illness, we may not necessarily be healthy.  The absence of symptoms could merely mean that we are not yet exhibiting any overt symptoms of illness. If we end up sick, we typically go to the doctor and leave with a medication for our symptoms.  While those medications may sometimes help alleviate the symptoms, they may also create other symptoms that you didn't have before.  Also, what else are those medications doing to our bodies that may not be so good for us?  Antibiotics, for example may be very necessary in order to kill the bacteria that is making you sick, but did you know they also kill your digestive tract's good bacteria?  That in turn sets us up for an overgrowth of yeast colonies which if not addressed can wreak havoc on our body.  There are very simple things you can do to replenish the good bacteria. However, if you end up getting a fungal infection as a result of a yeast overgrowth, typically you get another medication to kill the fungus.  Yet that does not address the root problem!  Taking a probiotic is essential when taking antibiotics because it replenishes your gut with the billions of bacteria needed for essential health and function of the intestinal tract.  Or you can eat yogurt that contain live cultures or drink Kefir (found in the health market refrigerated section of the grocery store). Not all yogurt contains these live cultures. Read the label, and be sure to buy organic yogurt so that you prevent consuming yogurt made w/milk that is tainted with antibiotics and hormones. Keep in mind that yogurt only replenishes transient bacteria, that is, bacteria that passes through as it aids in digestion.  It is important to also replenish the resident bacteria and this can be done through the use of a quality Probiotic supplement.  Remember, not all supplements are created equal, so do your research or contact me for more information.  I will be happy to assist you with your choice of supplements.  With a yeast overgrowth, you must also be careful about sugar intake as this is what yeast feed on, and a lot of yogurts contain high amounts of sugar, so please read labels.  Again, contact me if you need assistance.  I will give more in-depth information on the topic of Probiotics in another blog. You will be surprised at their numerous benefits.

One of the biggest culprits of inadequate nutrients is cooked and/or processed foods. Cooking food at high temperatures and conventional food processing destroys vital nutrients the body needs to function properly.  What's missing from our diets is the organic raw foods that supply these much needed elements.

Every system in our body is connected. For example, did you know our digestive system does not function on its own? There are accessory organs that are vitally important for the proper digestion of our foods, so if one of those organs is not functioning properly, it disrupts all other systems in some way.

That is what Holistic Health is about.  It's imperative to treat our body as a whole and not as separate parts if we want it to run like well-oiled machine.

I will set this blog up so that each blog constitutes a new subject matter.  I will do my best to keep it simple and I will offer links when it applies.

Please come back for future topics.  It is my prayer that you will find this helpful and useful...and that it ultimately causes you to exchange some bad habits for some good ones.  

We're all a work in progress.  Let us help each other be the best we were created to be.

*Interesting fact*- it is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open

:)Karen.