Digestion: why it’s important

Digestion is an essential function of the body that breaks down food to basic molecules so that nutrients can be absorbed and used by the body. Good digestion is vital for good health. If there is dysfunction in the digestive system, we will be unable to unable to properly use the nutrients we eat. Without proper digestion, we will begin to see dysfunction in other areas of our body.

Poor digestion, what is common isn’t always normal

Firstly, it is important to understand what exactly is a sign of poor digestion. Some signs of poor digestion can stand out like bloating, gas, belching, nausea, indigestion, heartburn, loose stool or constipation. However, there are other uncommon signs of poor digestion that are not well known such as fatigue, cravings, mineral and vitamin deficiencies. Getting to know the types of digestive dysfunction and their consequences will help us better understand our symptoms and how to address them.

Where can poor digestion start?

Dysfunction can happen at any point along the digestive system, let’s look at potential problem areas from head to toe:

The Brain: Interestingly, digestion starts in the brain with our perception of our food, it’s smell and sight. If we are busy or stressed, our brain’s signals to start the digestive process are dulled leading to decreased function of our entire digestive system.

The Mouth: Did your mother ever tell you to chew your food better? Well she was right! If we quickly chew and gulp our food down, we are compromising our digestion. Proper chewing breaks down our food and bathes it in saliva. Saliva acts as a lubricant and contains enzymes which start acting on our carbohydrates and fats. Therefore without proper chewing and saliva production the first steps of digestion are compromised adding stress to the stomach and intestines downstream.

The Stomach: Optimal stomach acid and enzymes facilitate the breakdown protein, the absorption of B12, the killing of pathogens and trigger further downstream digestion. However, due to stress, allergies, medications and/or nutritional deficiencies problems can arise. In fact, the production of stomach acid and its functions can be compromised. This can lead to common digestive issues such as reflux, heartburn or ulcers. Also, less common symptoms such as fatigue after eating, infections, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, intestinal issues, etc.

The Pancreas, Liver and Gallbladder: After the broken down food (chyme) leaves the stomach and is in the small intestine, this group of organs work together to continue digestion. They provide pH balance, enzymes and digestive juices. Digestive dysfunction to the north (brain, mouth and stomach) will lead to dysfunction in the south. Reduced neural signaling, chewing, saliva, stomach acid production can lead to insufficient signaling of pH buffers, reduced enzyme secretion and emulsion of fat.

The Intestines: While most nutrient absorption (almost 90%) happens in the small intestine; the large intestine is where the final absorption and breakdown of our food matter happens. Poor digestion of our carbohydrates, fats and proteins leads to fermentation, rancidification and putrification of our food matter in the intestines. This can lead to bloat, poor nutrient absorption, lymphatic congestion and damage to our small intestinal lining. In addition, further down in the large intestine, poorly digested food matter can fuel an imbalance of organisms in the intestines (dysbiosis). In addition, when dysbiosis is present symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, diverticulosis, colitis and irritable bowel disease are common.

The problem with poor digestion

Beyond the discomfort and often embarrassing symptoms, poor digestion can lead to poor health. In other words, each point of digestive dysfunction can lead to further dysfunction down stream leading to greater and greater digestive dysfunction and great health problems. To clarify, when this happens we can not utilize the nutrients and building blocks needed to support optimal health. You may have heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” But a more correct statement is “You are what you absorb!“

Thankfully there are few simple ways to improve digestion you can try today at home.