Health Blog | I Give You Health

Article by Susan Murphy

Copyright (c) 2011 Susan Murphy

Digestion is one of the most complicated processes in the human system. It has to deal with all that we care to put in our mouth. A brief idea of what digestion is all about will tell us a lot about foods that aid digestion and the why’s and how’s of eating.

The food we eat has to be broken down into small particles so that our system can absorb them and send them on to do their job. This process of breaking down the food in to molecules is a broad definition of digestion.

This breakdown is chemical and mechanical in nature. The only things that our body can absorb without breaking down are water, salt, and simple sugars like glucose. There are special proteins called enzymes in our body that help this breakdown process.

The digestive process This starts when you put food in your mouth. Chewing is very essential, as the saliva in our mouth provides the enzymes that aid the breakdown of carbohydrates. The chewed food is then sent down to the stomach.

The walls of the stomach are muscular and churn the food into even tinier particles. Gastric acid is released along with an enzyme called pepsin, which boosts the food breakdown. The food is now converted into a semi-fluid called chyme when it gets sent to the start of the small intestine or duodenum.

Here, enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver break down the fats and proteins. From here, food gets pushed, and absorption takes place. Undigested food, fiber, etc. is sent to the large intestine and colon for exit from the body.

This entire process can take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours depending on the person’s constitution and metabolic rate.

Different rates for different foods:

Simple sugars digest in minutes, as no breakdown is required Starch needs an hour plus Fat takes 4-6 hours Meat takes longer and is dependent on how much you eat. Small amounts are digested faster than large quantities.

Foods that aid your digestion There are foods that help the digestive process, and then there are foods that complicate this process and thus affect overall health:

Fiber rich food – A diet rich in fiber keeps your digestive system functioning properly. Not only does this mean you remain healthy, but that you also have energy to take you through your day without feeling tired.

According to experts, high fiber food should be introduced slowly, and there should be a balance in what you eat. Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and plenty of water to flush waste from the body should be your mantra for a healthy digestive system. Fiber rich foods include:

Whole Grains Vegetables Fruits Legumes Nuts Fermented foods – Fermented foods give your digestion a leg-up because these are pre-digested to an extent. The bacteria present in the above foods have done most of the breaking down of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, so your digestive system has a little less to do. These foods include:

Yogurt Pickles Sourdough Bread Aged Cheese Miso Kimchi Sauerkraut Tea Chocolate Spices – Spices increase salivation, which is the first step to digestion. Spices in food also increase bile production to some extent, which helps the body break down and absorb fats. They include: Coriander, Cumin, Mustard, Garlic,Cinnamon, Paprika, Cayenne and Black Pepper.

Herbs – Herbs work well to fight environmental toxins. You need very little of these- just a sprinkle on your food acts as a cleansing agent and as a natural laxative to rid your system of toxins. Some of the herbs that are good for digestion are:

Peppermint Ginger Fennel Clove Coriander Wormwood Rosehips Spirulina Aloe Olive oil helps stimulate digestion and works wonders for an upset stomach. It is the perfect way to give your body the monosaturated fatty acids and antioxidants it needs. One tablespoon is all you need to sort out an out-of-sync digestive system. Flaxseed oil has the same benefits.

Lemons activate the salivary glands. The juice helps the digestive system break down essential minerals in the food like calcium. It is rich in vitamin C as well. Probiotic supplements are very essential for digestion. This is because at times, the probiotics found in food are not enough to keep the digestive system going. Supplements that contain acidophilus and bifidobacteria are available in health food stores. Some conditions that occur due to a malfunctioning digestive process are:

Irritable bowel syndrome Diarrhea Gas, bloating, flatulence Recurring vaginal yeast infections Bad breath In addition the foods you eat, the following factors also affect your digestion process: Chewing Smaller bites Water intake Reasonable gaps between eating Eat slow and taste the myriad flavors of what you are eating Don’t have cold liquids while eating. Warm drinks make digestion easier.

Put all of the above tips to good use, and you will find that irrespective of what you eat, your digestion can handle it. All you need is to do is put some sense and sensibility to your dietary habits!

About the Author

help with digestion Warm drinks make digestion easier. This starts when you put food in your mouth. Gastric acid is released along with an enzyme called pepsin, which boosts the food breakdown.

More Digestive Articles

How the digestive system works

How Your Body Works 7 Thyroid Problems & Conditions Radhia discusses thyroid problems, thyroid nodules, thyroid disease, underactive thyroid and overactive thyroid, the signs and symptoms of thyroid problems, how to help thyroid problems without taking thyroid medications like Armour and thyroid test work, etc. What are good foods you can eat to help regulate your thyroid? What are common symptoms of thyroiddisease. RADHlA is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, CCN She is also a Certified BioNutritional Analyst. She has a M.Ed. in nutrition and is a professional member of the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists, (IAACN), and the American Naturopathic Medical Association (ANMA). Visit Radhia’s Website at www.advancedhealthinstitute.com This video was produced by Psychetruth www.myspace.com www.youtube.com psychetruth.blogspot.com Psychetruth is empowered by TubeMogul www.tubemogul.com © Copyright 2009 Target Public Media. All Rights Reserved.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

How the digestive system works

When you take Ayurstate capsules, you are costuming the highest concentration possible of 50 natural phytonutrients that exert 250 synergistic activities on your body to decrease the size of your prostate and reduce urethra inflammation by re-establishing healthy estrogen-testosterone balance, inhibiting conversion of testosterone to DHT, preventing protein deposits in prostate ducts, toning your bladder, and enhancing immune system response. It will improve your urine flow, semen production, and ejaculation control in a safe and natural manner with no side effects. Ayurstate re-establishes healthy estrogen-testosterone balance by supplying phytoestrogen compounds that mimic the action of estrogen. There is growing evidence that estrogens play a role in the etiology of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). This is based on the fact that BPH occurs when men have elevated estrogen levels and their prostate tissue exhibits increased sensitivity to estrogen. Excess estrogen also reduces testosterone production by saturating testosterone receptors in the hypothalamus. Phytoestrogens compete with natural estrogens for estrogen receptors on cells. By binding to the receptors, phytoestrogens prevent the negative impact of estrogen on your prostate and discourage excessive estrogen production. Ayurstate also inhibits an enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT (dihydrotestoterone) which binds to receptors in prostate cells and stimulates tissue growth around the urethra. This growth …

Colon health difficulties are much more widespread in the developed world than you might think. One reason is that we tend to shy away from topics like constipation and health in our everyday conversations. But even if are not willing to talk about it, the healthy functioning of your colon is crucial to your overall health and well-being. If you’re suffering from chronic pain, constipation and lack of energy, these could be symptoms that indicate you need a natural colon cleanse.

You may be wondering why your doctor has never discussed the need for a colon cleanse. The reality is that most doctors receive very little training in nutrition and natural health procedures. This often means that maintaining your overall well-being and good natural health is up to you.

Finding and using a natural colon cleanse that works should be one of your highest priorities. Our intestinal tract and waste elimination systems were designed to work quite well with a natural diet and regular physical activity. But today we are much less active and much more likely to be eating processed and engineered food. Not only are chemicals added to your food, but beneficial nutrients are often removed in the process. These unnatural foods create toxins in your body. Not only is your colon health affected, but it places an extra load on other toxin-removing organs in your body as well.

A natural colon cleanse accomplishes more than simply cleansing unwanted matter and built-up waste from our colon. It also helps to disinfect your colon, kills unwanted bacteria and regulates and balances your intestinal flora. Intestinal flora are natural microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. Although it’s possible to live without them, they play an important role in improving our overall health and protecting us from harmful microorganisms.

Those who’ve experienced a colon cleanse report relief from an incredible array of health conditions, including constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, headaches and allergies. As you might have guessed, a natural colon cleanse is an excellent way to lose weight and many dieters report that weight loss is much easier once their digestive system is operating at peak efficiency. Optimal functioning of our colon also means that we will be assimilating vitamins and minerals from our food much more easily.

Since a colon cleanse reduces waste and toxins in our bodies, you should also expect greater overall vitality, higher alertness and possibly even some relief from depression.

There are several basic ways to accomplish a natural colon cleanse. Most of these solutions can be found at your local health food store or on the Internet. If you choose to purchase from the Internet, do your research well and don’t fall for a product with outlandish claims and an unbeatable price.

An oxygen-based colon cleanse is preferred by many alternative health practitioners because it’s able to effectively remove unwanted bacteria while leaving the good bacteria in place to continue working. An oxygen-based natural colon cleanse cleans and refreshes your entire intestinal tract, not just the lower intestine.

Another way to accomplish a natural colon cleanse is through the use of colonics or colon hydrotherapy. Colon hydrotherapy is often used in connection with an oxygen-based colon cleanse. Also known as colonic irrigation, colon hydrotherapy is quite similar in many ways to an enema, but uses purified water that often infused with beneficial minerals or other natural substances.

You also have the option of performing a natural colon cleanse by using herbal-based products. Herbal-based products normally contain natural fiber, which is designed to loosen and remove built-up materials from your colon, and parasite-fighting herbs, which naturally kill any intestinal worms or other parasites you may be harboring in your colon.

Some purists maintain that the only truly natural colon cleanse involves changing your diet to eliminate processed foods. A diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables, juices and high fiber foods is optimal for good colon health. And you will certainly want to begin adjusting your diet to avoid colon health problems in the future. But it’s a good idea to start the colon cleanse process with high quality herbal products that can help you get off to a good start.

How Your Body Works 4 Hypoglycemia, Low Blood Sugar & Diabetes What happens when the body cant regular its blood sugar levels correctly? How does it related to diabetes? What is hypoglycemia and what it hyperglycemia? Why do people become overweight or fat? What does blood sugar have to do with weight loss? What symptoms are a sign of blood glucose problems? Is there are natural way to treat high blood sugar, obesity ordiabetes? RADHlA is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, CCN She is also a Certified BioNutritional Analyst. She has a M.Ed. in nutrition and is a professional member of the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists, (IAACN), and the American Naturopathic Medical Association (ANMA). Visit Radhia’s Website at www.advancedhealthinstitute.com This video was produced by Psychetruth www.myspace.com www.youtube.com psychetruth.blogspot.com Psychetruth is empowered by TubeMogul www.tubemogul.com © Copyright 2009 Target Public Media. All Rights Reserved.

This video overviews how the CardioChek cholesterol analyzer system works and explains all available analyzer models, test strips, control solutions, printer options, and necessary supply items

In your body, the colon, or large intestine, is an important region for detoxification. The colon is likened to the sewer of the body. If it is not cleansed, the waste matter from the body cannot be flushed out. And with time, your cleansing system will grow weak and you will have to adopt colon-cleansing therapy for colon detoxification.

Colon cleansing generally involves the detoxification of the body’s system. There are many herbal and alternative methods for colon cleansing.

Enema detoxification is a very popular way of detoxifying the body. It is a natural way that helps you in cleansing your colon. In this method, organic and a fully caffeinated brew of coffee is used. The detoxification can be done in the convenience of one’s home.

Foot detox is another method that is being used for colon cleansing. This method involves placing one’s feet in a basin of salted water that contains ion generators. The ion generator is supplied with a low current of electricity. The generation of current produces oppositely charged ions that attract opposite charged particles in the body. The entire method works by getting rid of charged toxins in the body that are usually in the form of metals.

Saunas and spas are another effective colon cleansing method. They have been in existence for centuries and are perhaps the oldest methods of detoxification. The heat generated within the body in saunas or spas causes the body to sweat intensely. During this process several toxins are eliminated from the body.

There are also several herbal methods like the lymphatic therapy that helps the entire body system drain its contents. The Chelation therapy involves the use of substances that actually bind with the toxic metals in the body and then form a kind of salt. These salts are then easily eliminated.

Benefits of Colon Cleansing

Colon cleansing has several benefits. It relieves us from number of common ailments like constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, chronic fatigue, acid reflux, and even skin and hair problems.

One major benefit of colon cleansing is reducing constipation. If you have a poor diet and lack the nutrients that your body needs, it can lead to your intestinal walls becoming lined with a plaque-like substance. Cleansing your colon out will remove this junk from your intestine walls and allow waste to pass more freely.

Another benefit of colon cleansing is eliminating diarrhea. Diarrhea is a condition that is normally caused by toxins which cause problems for the process which solidifies your waste. When you go through a colon cleansing, it can help this condition out immensely and allow your bowel movements to become more solid.

Third benefit to colon cleansing is that it avoids colon cancer. If your family has a history of colon cancer, performing a routine cleansing of your colon once a year or so would be an excellent preventative measure to take as it helps to keep the colon running smoothly.

Colon cleansing clears blockage. It helps in blood clotting and cleans the blood. It prevents gallstones and assists in the breakdown of cholesterol. It removes yeast infections and helps control blood pressure. It also removes symptoms of toxicity like coated tongue, constipation, backache, bad breath, skin problems, etc.

There are lot more benefits of colon cleansing. Fortunately, there are many safe, natural, herbal based colon cleansers available now which make the process of cleaning your colon a simple and inexpensive one.

What are Colon Cleansers?

Colon cleansers are simply food, laxatives or procedures used to stimulate the bowels into action producing a bowel movement. It provide relief from toxins that fill your body. It is believed that colon cleaners are good for conditions such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, chronic fatigue, acid reflux, and even skin and hair problems.

Generally digestive problems are caused by a toxic build-up in the body, so it is essential to flush the body of all toxic chemicals. This can only be done effectively with colon cleansers.

Colon cleansing must be done regularly and often since we are constantly taking in more food which leads to additional build up of toxic waste in the colon.

A common method of colon cleansing is to use specific herbs designed to stimulate action and the colon and get your bowels to move. A commonly used herb for colon cleansing is triphala. It consists of three fruits, amla, harada and behada. It restores and balance body functions so that the body achieves maximum potential of the nutrients.

Triphala is considered as a highly nutritious compound that cleanses, detoxifies and toxifies the deepest organic levels without causing depletion of the body reserves. It is considered as an effective laxative that helps in the body strengthening. It is regarded as the best rejuvenating agent that strengthens the immune system.

Why do you need Colon Cleansers?

Natural colon cleansers helps in flushing excess fecal matter from your intestines, lose unhealthy weight you are carrying in your intestines and stave off colon cancer without any side effects.

Now-a-days people don’t have enough time to eat healthy fiber rich diet. The average person carries up to 20 pounds of undigested fecal matter in their intestines. This putrefying, decaying fecal matter in your intestines is potentially very dangerous to your health. A natural colon cleanser will help flush fecal matter that is lining your intestines.

Flushing your system not only adds a good colon health, but also flushes up to 20 pounds of undigested fecal matter lining your intestines. This will obviously help you lose weight as you cleanse your system.

Colon Cleansing Foods

The lack of food helps in cleansing your colon. Technically it is called a fast, or a body detoxification technique. Using this colon cleansing method, you simply go on a juice for about one week. Juice fasts can last for two to three weeks if you’d like though, and many people use them for both detoxifying their body and losing unwanted body weight.

Juice fasts can be done using either fruit or vegetable juices, but if you’re diabetic you may want to water down your fruit juices because they do contain high amounts of natural sugar.

There are some fruits and vegetables that are regarded as colon cleansing foods. Fiber should be an important constituent of one’s diet. Vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains are some of the things that are known to have high fiber content. They are an essential and non-digestible component of food. A high fiber diet actually supports a healthy digestive system by sweeping the debris that accumulates inside the colon. Fiber also exercises the intestinal tract. Other food items high in fiber content are brown rice, barley, cabbage, beets, carrots, peas, citrus and apples, to mention a few.

Green foods that contain a high amount of chlorophyll like alfalfa, wheatgrass and barley are also ideal for colon cleansing. The chlorophyll component is known to soothe and heal damaged tissue in the digestive tract. They help the body draw more oxygen and remove toxins. Chlorophyll is also known as internal deodorant.

Drinking plenty of water is another way of cleansing the colon. Insufficient amount of water in body causes constipation and leads toxicity levels to increase. Drinking lots of water is an absolute necessity for colon cleansing. The optimal levels of water can vary between 6-10 glasses every day. It is perhaps the most natural of all colon-cleansing agents.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

Copyright © Nick Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

A lot of weight loss programs are being offered online these days. But only a few of them are effective. They do not work most probably because of the myths related to weight loss. A weight loss plan should instruct a candidate on the correct food to be taken, the time interval of its consumption, and its most appropriate pattern of consumption. Manipulating fat burning hormones is the only effective method for losing weight in a safe and healthy way.

No! Do not lose heart! Don’t think that you can never achieve that enviable figure or body anymore. Here’s a ray of hope for you. A weight loss plan that really works, let’s say, in just eleven days!

You must have tried out a number of weight loss plans by now. If you still find yourself very fat and ugly, then there must be something wrong with all those weight loss plans. You must understand that till now many weight loss plans have been formulated, but sadly, not even a handful of them are effective. What can be the reason behind this? Is it impossible to conquer obesity? Certainly not! You simply need to identify facts about weight loss and segregate them from myths.

Many weight loss plans are based on myths and that is the reason they do not work. For example, did you know that lack of exercising is not actually a big reason for you to get obese? A lot of weight loss programs stress on your taking long and painful exercising sessions in the gymnasium. A lot of people who are quite obese find it difficult to exercise. As a result this method proves to be ineffective for losing weight.

Weight loss pills are another ineffective remedy for losing weight. These days a weight loss plan normally consists of the consumption of one or two herbal pills in a day during the treatment. The pills are claimed to effectively reduce the weight in a short span of time. But they hardly work and, moreover, they are harmful for the consumer. Many people have contracted dangerous diseases, such as, stomach cancer etc., after consuming those pills.

The food that you eat, the intervals in which you eat, and the pattern of consumption play a very significant role in weight loss. A weight loss plan should consists of a schedule that lets you know what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat. Did you know that for losing weight eating the right food is not enough? You should know when to eat what. Otherwise the body will not burn the food efficiently and you will not lose much weight. On the contrary these unused calories will get deposited as fat in your body. An effective weight loss plan consists of the correct pattern of eating food.

There are some popular weight loss programs such as those of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig Weight Loss Plans. But they offer to reduce weight at a slow pace. You can reduce only about two or three pounds per week. But these are hardly effective. An accelerated weight loss program from Fat Loss 4 Idiots, for example, is a more effective one. It is a highly efficient and fast fat-burning program that drives away all myths about weight loss and put you on the right track. Their plan scientifically manipulates fat burning hormones. You will definitely find yourself losing significant weight in a short time by following their diet plans and other weight loss instructions.