Posts Tagged ‘digestive system’

Colitis is literally a gut reaction to stress, bacteria, inflammatory response to food, drink, smoking, or other lifestyle factors. The immune system depends on the effectiveness of gastrointestinal health, specially the integrity of the lining of the gut.

Digestive System

The intestines are home to the second brain. What that means is what you think effects your digestion system. This is not a novel idea.  

The gut and brain have a very close relationship. The hidden brain in the gut is known as the enteric nervous system. Every time someone has felt butterflies in the stomach they have experienced the actions of the dual nervous systems.

Colon

Colon health is dependent to a certain extent by what you think. The connection between the two brains helps account for physical aliments such as anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, diverticulitis, and crohn’s disease.

“The majority of patients with anxiety and depression will also have alterations of their GI function,” stated Dr. Emeran Mayer, professor of medicine, physiology and psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The role of the enteric nervous system is to manage every aspect of digestion, from the esophagus to the stomach, small intestine and colon. The brain in your gut has stored a variety of behavior programs to call on for every operation.

Serotonin

There is research that points in the direction of serotonin playing a role in regulating mobility in the colon. That means transit time, or the speed that the colon empties. Serotonin ensures that the neurons up and down the colon communicate to see that there is coordinated constriction and relaxation to move waste down.

In patients who take Prozac, a drug that increases serotonin levels, frequently have gastrointestinal dysfunctions, including diarrhea or constipation. Any drug that increases serotonin is going to affect the bowel.

The majority of the body’s serotonin is produced in the small intestine. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride author of the Gut and Psychology Syndrome said. “99% of all the serotonin produced in the body is produced in the gut Wall.”

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a perfect example of this concept. People have called it a nervous stomach. Researches have found that the colon muscles in people with IBS contracts more readily than in people without this condition. A number of factors may be involved including foods, medication, and emotional stress.

However, foods and medication may lend a hand, but anyone with this condition knows that stress is the tie breaker.

Colitis

Colitis is a label that gives a description of the changes that occur in the gastrointestinal track. Discovering the true cause is not the same as giving a description of the condition.

The focus in medicine is to name something and find a drug to fix the symptoms. Unique solutions will not come from dispensing pharmaceuticals.

The first impression of colitis is that the symptoms are dependent on physical factors. It’s time to take a second look, and realize it is a condition that comes as a story of what is going on in the patient’s world.

Fiber alone is the wrong answer for intestinal health. With all the information out there, it is still not easy to find the truth. We know that the Eskimos had good health on a low to no fiber diet. There have never been so many intestinal problems than here in the high fiber touting U.S.A.

Dietary Fiber

Most doctors, nutritionist, and food manufactures recommend a high fiber diet. Dietary fiber is considered not only good, but necessary. Fiber is in many whole foods. The American assumption is if this is true, than let us manufacture more.

This recommendation is based on the assumptions of Dr. Dennis Burkitt, a British surgeon working in Africa a half century ago. It was his theory that the barley bread eaten by his African patients was what made their digestion system work so well. The Englishmen living in Africa and England lived on a diet of refined food.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The real difference was in the diet. Inflammatory bowel disease wasn’t a fiber shortage, but a lack of good fats and whole foods.

The English ate large quantities of sugar. The Africans ate none.

The English ate large quantities of flour. The Africans ate none.

The English ate large quantities of breakfast cereals made from grain. The Africans ate none.

The English ate large quantities of potatoes. The Africans ate none.

The English ate salt cured meat when meat was eaten. The Africans ate no cured meats.

The English ate very little fresh meat or raw meat. The Africans ate a generous supply of both.

The English were most likely to be protein deficient. The Africans had a generous supply of protein from meat.

The English diet was deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. The Africans had omega-3 fatty acids in the fresh meat.

The English diet of processed food was deficient in vitamins and minerals. The Africans had an abundance supply.

The English diet caused tooth and gum problems.

The English drank large quantities of sugar sweetened soft drinks. The Africans drank none.

The English ate a significant amount of honey. The Africans ate none.

The English ate molasses and maple syrup. The Africans ate none.

The English ate a significant amount of canned fruit. The Africans ate very little fresh fruit and none canned.

Low-Carb Diet

Dr. Burkitt’s assumption that the fiber made the African’s so healthy. The real reason for their good health was from the benefits of eating a relative low-carbohydrate diet, which consisted of fresh meats, animal fats and some vegetables. The barley bread was a relatively small part of their diet.

They were not vegetarians; their diet had a large quantity of meat. They raised domestic cattle, sheep, and goats, while hunting and eating wild animals. The diet was high in protein and fat.

Eskimos

The Eskimos had good intestinal health with a diet of primary animal protein and fat. The Arctic Eskimos ate an all meat diet with almost zero fiber. They had very healthy digestive systems, and were without cancer of any kind in the entire population. The digestive health of the Eskimos was much better than that of Dr. Burkitt’s African patients who ate the higher fiber barley bread diet. Eskimo is an American Indian word which translates to “eaters of raw meat.”

Masai Tribe

Dr. Weston A. Price visited the Masai tribe in 1935, and noted that they had excellent health. They herded cattle, and ate little to no fiber.

Low Fat-Diet

Between the high carbohydrates, low-fat, high fiber diet that is recommended we still are not healthy. It must be the opposite low carbohydrates, high good fats, and hold the industrial type fiber. Manufacturers of high fiber cereal, and potent fiber over the counter laxative type products, don’t get it. Everything is in a whole food diet, which includes plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids, brings good intestinal health.

Conclusion

Fiber is known to make inflammatory bowel diseases worst. It actually encourages pathogenic bacteria and produces bowel diseases. Many times fiber expands and gets impacted in the intestines.

Fiber fermentation inside the intestines produces gases. The acidity from the fermentation causes intestinal inflammation. Avoiding dietary fiber isn’t easy. It is hidden behind names like cellulose, pectin, guar gum, cellulose gum, Carrageen, agar-agar, frutooligoaccharides, psyllium, and others.

These are factory-made ingredients. The sources for them are wood-pulp, cotton, husks, seeds, tubers, and other plants that may not be for human consumption unless they are processed. These add texture and volume to our faux foods. If you need these items for fiber, your diet consists of pre-packaged manufactured foods.

The human mouth is not meant to grind indigestible fibers. That is why fiber is milled or ground first so it will require little or no chewing. Manufactured fiber is not fit for human consumption.