Unfortunately, most people have never heard about pancreas or about pancreatic, digestive enzymes, and are unaware of their importance in digestion, and maintaining health.
Many people know about the role of the pancreas in developing diabetes, but donât realize that the pancreas and pancreatic enzymes are very important for breaking down food into an absorbable, usable form for the body.
Without proper digestion, good health is impossible. Even the healthy organic diet will be of little value if the pancreas cannot produce the right amount of high-quality digestive enzymes.Â
No matter what we eat, we consume mostly proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Enzymes digest all of our food and break it into form of small particles to pass throughout the intestinesâ wall into the blood. The consumption of vitamins and minerals also depends upon enzymes, and normal enzymesâ work often needs right amount of vitamins and minerals. Life could not exist without pancreatic enzymes, thus they are essential for life.
The digestive enzymes (such as amylase, lipase, and protease) are released from the pancreatic cells and flow into the pancreatic duct and then to the duodenum (beginning of the small intestine).
Amylase digests carbohydrates; lipase digests fats; and protease digests proteins. Pancreas secretes 1.2-1.5 liters of pancreatic juice daily with the large amounts of minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate, which protects the duodenum by neutralizing the acid that comes from the stomach.
Millions of Americans suffer from a variety of gastro-intestinal disorders including abdominal pain, stomach discomfort, cramps, gas, bloating, heartburn, cravings, malnutrition, alteration in bowel habits, foul-smelling stool, etc. Many of them have pancreatic insufficiency and donât realize it. Those suffering from this problem can eat a healthy diet, but the nutrients from the food will not be utilized by the body. Their organisms are literally starving. Without the proper amount of high quality digestive pancreatic enzymes people suffer from a deficiency of essential minerals, trace elements and vitamins. It is turn to serious disturbances in hormonal system too.
Millions of people are continually tired, develop chronic diseases, and age prematurely. In the worse case scenario, they develop pancreatic cancer. People suffer from a hidden pancreatic insufficiency and donât know that a lack of the digestive enzymes can also increase inflammation, bodyâs pain and a lack of energy, hindering the body’s ability to heal the wounds and traumas.
The pancreas requires for its function three important things: proper regulation, normal structure and sufficient amount of building materials – nutrients.
1. The pancreas is regulated in two ways: by nervous system and digestive hormones.
Disorders of the nervous system, depression, stress and anxiety, some medications, bad diet and bad food combination,â eating on the go âand many other factors can cause spasms of the pancreatic duct, problems with manufacturing and releasing of digestive hormones (secretin and cholecystokinin).
Smoking, alcohol, drugs, Candida-yeast overgrowth and toxic, aggressive bile suppress the pancreatic cells and keep them from producing the needed amount of quality digestive enzymes.
2. The normal structure of pancreatic gland can be broken by many reasons including toxic substances, inflammation of the pancreas â pancreatitis, infection, parasites, fat deposits, trauma, surgery, cancer, etc.
Spasm or blockage of pancreatic duct by gallbladderâs stones may cause back-up of the pancreatic juices and an increase of pressure inside the pancreatic duct. Digestive enzymes trapped inside the pancreas begin to digest their own pancreatic cells causing congestion, inflammation, pain, cysts and finally the death of pancreatic tissue.
3. Sufficient amount of water, minerals, trace elements and bicarbonates has a crucial impact on quality and quantity of pancreatic digestive enzymes and alkalinity of pancreatic juice. The pancreatic enzymes work only when the pH of the duodenum is slightly on the alkaline side. The food coming from the stomach has been acidified, so the body must also provide enough alkalinity for the enzymes to work.
Many of these problems overlap with each other and can cause many things from hidden pancreatic insufficiency to a complete shut – down of the functions of this vital organ.
A lot of the books and articles about treatment of pancreatic insufficiency focus simply on taking digestive enzymes prepared from plants, funguses or animals as the nutritional supplementation.
There is, however, an additional treatment modality that promotes proper function of the peoplesâ own pancreas, even in cases of severe pancreatic insufficiency.
European physicians send their patients with chronic pancreatic disorders to healing mineral spas or sanatoriums.
The most popular European mineral spa for pancreatic insufficiency is the Czech town of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad). It has been a well-known international healing resort since the 1700s. Patients call the Karlovy Vary mineral water the âhealing gift from the earth” or the âmiracle mineral water.â People from all over the globe have traveled to Karlovy Vary and stay there for one to six months to drink the Karlovy Vary healing mineral water for various kinds of chronic gastro-intestinal, liver, and metabolic conditions.
From 1764 Karlovy Vary began to produce the salt from the evaporated thermal spring water which made it possible to distribute the Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt all over the world for treatment at home. Czech doctors believe that the water manufactured from the genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt had the same healing actions as at the spring.
Karlovy Vary healing mineral water is the worldâs best-studied remedies. Hundreds of clinical texts have been published that document the positive effects of the water on both animals and humans. Most of them were published in Czech, German, Russian, therefore they are unknown by American medical professionals and public.
Researchers have concluded that this water may reduce the symptoms of pancreatic insufficiency by improving the function of the pancreas itself. Clinical and experimental results found that the water:
Normalizes the produce and release of digestive hormones in the duodenum and naturally regulates the digestive process in the whole gastro-intestinal tract Restores the deficiency of vital minerals and microelements such as magnesium, potassium, sodium, selenium, zinc, etc, and bicarbonates Promotes secretion and elimination of pancreatic juices Boosts the activity of pancreatic enzymes in the duodenum Normalizes the bodyâs and the pancreasâ acid-alkaline balance for the alkalinity of pancreatic juices Improves the digestion  Diminish inflammation and swelling of the pancreas
The mineral content of Karlovy Vary mineral water manufactured from the genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt is approximately the same as the mineral content of human plasma. Itâs very important that this mineral water, compared with other mineral waters, does not contain toxic heavy metals. Using Karlovy Vary mineral water for pancreatic insufficiency, one needs to follow particular instructions pertaining to temperature, amount of drinking water, frequency and time of consumption.
Despite its popularity among patients in Europe, this therapy is still mainly unknown in the United States. Healing action of Karlovy Vary mineral water manufactured from the genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt makes it beneficial to many different health professionals: medical doctors, naturopathic physicians, chiropractors, acupuncturists, herbalists, nutritionists, colon hydro-therapists and millions of people with pancreatic insufficiency.
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The information on this article is presented for educational, informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment and advice of a qualified licensed professional.
Peter Melamed, LAc, RN, Ph.D. received his medical education first as a registered nurse and was then trained as a medical doctor in Russia. He took specialized training in anesthesiology, intensive care, and internal medicine. He became interested in holistic healing through his clinical experience with herbs, acupuncture, healing mineral water and internal cleansing. He was granted a license to practice acupuncture in Russia in 1978, and from that time he combined conventional Western medical treatment with herbs, acupuncture, and other non-drug healing therapies.
In 1975, Peter Melamed established Biotherapy as a natural holistic approach to healing. Biotherapy combines the wisdom of traditional Russian folk medicine, ancient Oriental medical therapies, and European and American naturopathy with cutting-edge Western technology.
After immigrating to the USA and passing all the exams Peter Melamed succeeded in starting up a private practice in 1996 at the Biotherapy Alternative Medicine Clinic of San Francisco Bay Area. Get more info at http://www.biotherapy-clinic.com/GI_Chronic_Pancreatitis.html