Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (13 page)

Repair:
Using foods and supplements such as glutamine, gamma-oryzanol, duodenum glandular, N-acetyl glucosamine, fiber, boswellia, geranium, licorice, quercetin, goldenseal, wormwood, aloe, celandine, cranesbill, marshmallow root, rice protein powders, essential fatty acids, okra, cabbage, fasting.

Rebalance:
Stress management, improved sleep habits, exercise and movement, changes of attitude and belief systems. Come to a new sense of who you are. Accept that and regroup your lifestyle to promote a healthier way of living and being.

The 5 Rs are sprinkled throughout this section of the book and continue in
Part III
, “Coming Back into Balance.”

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”

—Goethe

If you cannot digest and absorb your food, your cells won’t get the nourishment that they need to function properly. Many health issues begin because people aren’t fully digesting and/or absorbing their food. This can occur from five main reasons:

Poor chewing and rushed eating

Hydrochloric acid insufficiency

Bile salt insufficiency

Enzyme insufficiency

Lack of dietary fiber

In today’s rushed culture, we often don’t chew our food well or even really pay much attention to what we are eating. I’m as guilty as anyone, reading while I eat or eating while driving in the car. Yet, the simple act of using our teeth for the purpose for which they were designed can dramatically improve our health.

Eating mindfully or consciously can help you digest food more efficiently and minimize digestive issues. It is an old custom to chew each bite 30 times. When drinking liquids, we also need to slow down and pay attention to pacing.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl), found in the stomach, is used to begin the process of protein digestion. The normal pH of our stomach is 0.8 to 1.5. If we poured this acid on our hands, we’d get burned. HCl is produced by the parietal cells in your stomach.

The parietal cells of your stomach use this pump to secrete gastric juice. Most of our body has a neutral pH of about 7.0, like water. In order to create hydrochloric acid, our parietal cells concentrate our acid a million fold. Small wonder that parietal cells are stuffed with mitochondria, our cellular energy factories, and use huge amounts of energy as they carry out this enormous concentration of protons.

The mucous layer in the stomach protects it from this acid. HCl triggers pepsin secretion. Pepsin cleaves large protein molecules so that they can be more easily broken down by digestive enzymes in the small intestine. In the duodenum, the high acid environment allows for absorption of minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and copper. Stomach acid also provides our first defense against food poisoning, H. pylori, parasites, fungi, and other infections. Without adequate acid, we leave ourselves open to decreased immune resistance. A couple of tip-offs that people may have low stomach acid levels is that they often belch and burp, develop food poisoning, or have been diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).

In the current medical system, it is believed that excess stomach acid causes much disease. According to a Gallup poll, 44 percent of us experience heartburn at least once a month and 7 percent of us have it once a week or more. We are quick to blame this discomfort on excess acid. In fact, drugs to block stomach acid production have blockbuster sales. In 2007, Nexium, Protonix/Pantozol, and AcipHex were all in the top 25 drugs, making up about 10 percent of
all
top drug sales. This doesn’t include over-the-counter sales for Zantac, Prilosec, Tums, and other antacids.

Chronic use of antacids and acid-blocking drugs contribute to long-term problems. They increase the incidence of SIBO; decrease mineral, folic acid, and B
₁₂
absorption; open us up to more food-borne infections; and cause dependence because when we stop using them we feel even worse than before we began. Jonathan Wright, in
Why Stomach Acid Is Good for You
, has found that many people with diseases such as type 1 diabetes, osteoporosis, childhood asthma, chronic fatigue, depression, and other illnesses have atypically low levels of HCl in their stomachs. When they are supported with HCl plus pepsin, digestive enzymes, nutrients, stress management, and other supportive treatment, their health issues improve or resolve.

Acid blockers and antacids
do
help us feel better. But is the cause too much acid or too much acid in the wrong place?

Between the esophagus and the stomach is a circular muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). It opens to allow food to pass from the esophagus into the stomach. In some people, the LES opens inappropriately for brief moments. This allows stomach acid to back up, or “reflux,” into the esophagus. Even small amounts of this cause tissue damage and burning.

The problem, however, is typically due not to an overall excess of stomach acid, but to acid where it doesn’t belong. As we age, stomach acid levels decline while heartburn increases. In addition, the LES works less effectively in many of us as we get older. Nicotine, caffeine, high-fat meals, orange juice, tomatoes and tomato-based products like spaghetti sauce, spicy foods, and alcohol can weaken the LES. Carminitive herbs, such as peppermint and spearmint, also relax the LES and can increase acid reflux.

CLINICAL CLUES OF LOW STOMACH ACID

Bloating, belching, burning, and flatulence immediately after meals