The digestion of food begins in the mouth where we chew to break food into smaller pieces as it is bathed in saliva. Once we swallow, the food or drink enters the stomach where strong acid and digestive juices begin to break it down into smaller and smaller pieces. Carbs, fats, and proteins are all chain molecules and only when they are broken down to individual parts can they be digested as they continue through the small intestine. This is where most of the absorption occurs.(1) Naturally, when this process doesn’t work quite right, some pretty unappealing health outcomes can result. Likely, you have experienced some of them before like diarrhea and indigestion. Even worse though can be malnutrition. You might actually eat enough, but not get enough nutrients.(2) To avoid these problems, your digestive system care begins here with Gastrointestinal Care!
Enzymes For Proper Gastrointestinal Care
Digestive enzymes all fall into 3 families; proteases, lipases, and amylases. Furthermore, each has the job of breaking the chemical bonds between, respectively, proteins, fats, and carbs. This happens all the way through your intestines as your food slowly makes its way from your stomach to your…well, toilet. The lining of your digestive tract can only absorb food when it is broken down into its smallest “pieces,” so digestive enzymes represent a crucial part of this process. When sufficient enzymes are present, your body will receive the maximum nutrition possible, but if your natural enzyme production is not at its peak (and it decreases with age among other things), food that might have made it into your body ends up in your…well, toilet.(2)
Fiber Means A Healthy Gut
There are actually many different fibers, but they all have one thing in common. They are carbohydrates that can’t be broken down in the digestive tract but are still necessary for proper Gastrointestinal Care. Fibers mix with food and form a sort of gel that makes its way through the stomach and intestines. Because it is a gel, it can reach into small folds in the intestines and remove particles left behind that might otherwise someday might cause some problems up to and including cancer.(3)
Probiotics, Another Necessity For Gastrointestinal Care
Acidophilus is one of the most important types of good bacteria in your body, but not the only one. In fact, there are 100’s of types of friendly bacteria in your guts. Each comes chemically equipped against invaders that might normally make you sick. Unlike digestive enzymes, probiotics are living cells. They are not unlike the cells throughout your body and must eat to survive. They actually eat some of the food you digest, often sugars and fibers. In fact, you can blame these guys the next time you clear a room. When they consume food particles, they sometimes release methane gas. Probiotics are regularly used to treat all sorts of digestive problems, including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammation of the colon, bad bacterial growth in the intestines, constipation, recovery from bowel surgery, and so on.(4)
