Does your Digestion need a boost?
We all have bodies and we have the ability to eat a meal and know that a couple hours later that meal will move from our stomach into our small intestine where nutrients will be absorbed for later use. That is human body 101. But what is it that is really breaking the food down? Where does it happen? What organs are involved and is there a way to optimize it? What happens if it doesn’t work anymore?
Digestion, the process or turning food into fuel seems easy but there is a lot of moving parts that all need to into one another, its a dance really. Each organ has their own steps to play.
Typically there are four steps in the digestion process: ingestion (eating the food), the mechanical (chewing) and chemical (stomach acid & enzymes) breakdown of food, nutrient absorption (integrate nutrients into the body), and elimination of indigestible food (poo). But beyond that, if you zoom out, the digestive process is broken down into 3 areas or three distinct phases- the cephalic phase (outside the body), the gastric phase (in the stomach), and the intestinal phase (after the stomach). [source]
1) The cephalic phase occurs before food enters the stomach. It involves not just the digestive system but also the nervous system and the endocrine system, which collaborate to help the secretions of gastric acid and pancreatic enzymes that will help facilitate the digestion of the food you are going to be consuming. This phase accounts for about 20 percent of the gastric secretion associated with eating a meal.
The brain and body are such a magical wonder that over the 300,000 years of evolution it designed itself to work in such collaboration together. The body will receive a signal, a sweet smell for instance, that the brain deciphers as something sweet is coming in soon, which sends another signal to our microbiome and digestive organs “hey get ready, we’re going to have sweet nutrients - better create the enzymes to break it down.” The vagus nerve is the connection between these 3 forces. But if there is a kink in the communication, then it wont work. If we don’t have the sight/smell/touch to know that we will be injecting food, then the back end digestion has to work harder, it wont produce the correct enzymes to break the foods down. And it works the other way too, if we have the perception that we’re going to be eating something sweet and then its met with bitter and misaligned additives, well, what do you think happens? Metabolic Mismatch which then stressed the brain out. Once the food goes into the body and its read by our internal receptors and that sweet nourishment is missing it confuses both the microbiome environment (cuz they were expecting one thing) AND the brain (who was also expecting to receive sweet) to be confused. This confusion puts added stress on our overly exhausted nervous system. I believe its in these moments of metabolic mismatch that are an underlying cause for so many of our metabolic disorders. And I’m not the old only, more and more research is emerging that is studying this phenomena. I’d like to cue LL cool J - Phenomenon.
2) The gastric phase is a period in which swallowed food and semi-digested proteins (peptides and amino acids ) activate gastric activity. About two-thirds of gastric secretion occurs during this phase. Ingested food stimulates gastric activity in two ways: by stretching the stomach and by raising the pH of its content.
3) The last phase, intestinal phase, occurs in the duodenum as a response to the arriving chyme (partial digested food) from the stomach and works as a feedback loop. As the duodenum stretches, digestive signals to “slow down” stomach secretions and motility. This also stimulates secretions by the pancreas and gall bladder to release digestive enzymes to continue the breakdown of food and neutralize the acidity of food to ensure proper and complete absorption within the small intestine. This phase is super important it is where the bulk of our macronutrient digestion occurs. In addition to releasing buffers to reduce the acidity of the food coming from your stomach, the Pancreas secretes digestive enzymes specific for starches, sugars, fats and peptides and the Gallbladder releases bile to further digestion of fat. These factors require a neutral environment to function properly so they can to continue the process of breaking down food into single sugars, fatty acids and amino acids that our bodies can absorb (via the mucosa lining of the small intestine).
Phew, there is a lot that happens inside without us even knowing!
Now let’s look deeper at chemical digestion and more specifically these digestive enzymes. Digestive enzymes are globular proteins that speed up the breakdown of food molecules into their ‘building block’ components. We have 3 main macronutrients: Carbohydrates, Proteins & Fats and there exist 3 main forms of digestive enzymes;
Amylases - These enzyme breaks down carbohydrates, or starches, into sugar molecules.
Lipases - These break down fats into three fatty acids plus a glycerol molecule.
Proteases- These enzymes breaks down proteins into small peptides and amino acids. Peptidases break down the peptides further.
Other enzymes include Maltase (to reduce maltose), Lactase (to reduce lactose), Sucrase (digestion of sucrose).
I’d love to get into how most adult humans do not synthesis lactase but I’ll leave that for another time. If you’d like to explore Lactose more read this.
Now these enzymes aren’t all made in one place, no that would be too easy, but also super inefficient for the body. Amylase is made in the Salivary Glands and secreted in saliva to begin breakdown down starches in the mouth.
Our Stomach lining produces Pepsin (breaks large Proteins into peptides), which pepsin is the only digestive enzyme that can withstand a highly acidic environment like the stomach. When it enters the duodenum it becomes inactive. From there, All of the bodies other enzymes are made in the pancreas and small intestine. Including Pancreatic Amylase, Pancreatic Lipase, and various Proteases and Peptidases. The Small Intestine is where we can find Peptidases, Maltase, Lactase, and Sucrase. Science has identified many more and have synthesized many that the body can not manufacture.
Things to consider:
They prefer an alkaline environment to function optimally. That is why these reactions mostly occur outside of the stomach, and around cells lining the gut.
They are specific. Each enzyme has their own specific 3D shape with a region known as the ‘active site’, which can attract other suitably shaped molecules to bind to the site. Think about the lock and key, enzymes serves as the lock and the attracted molecule (called the substrate) is the key. Once you turn the key and the digestive reaction takes place, the products are released and the enzyme is free to attract another substrate molecule.
Sometimes other chemicals bind with the active sites of enzymes, blocking their normal function. Things like toxins contained within our food supply. For example, compounds of arsenic and mercury are extremely poisonous because they can permanently bind to some enzyme systems, markedly reducing their efficiency.
What can go wrong? What happens if you don’t have enough digestive enzymes to breakdown all the food, what happens?
Well, the long and short of it is that without adequate digestive enzymes, you’re food doesn’t get broken down correctly. And if it doesn’t get broken down correctly (comfortably) it ferments in the intestine. Which I hope you have a good arsenal of probiotics that can eat all of the food waste. Otherwise you will be digestive discomfort experiencing symptoms including but not limited to;
Gas
Bloating
Nausea
Abdominal pain
Heartburn
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Fatty or oily stools
Loss of appetite
Fatigue
But that’s not all. Digestive enzyme insufficiency can also cause problems with nutrient absorption. When you body can’t break down food all the way, it can’t absorb nutrients across the mucosa linings of your intestine and run a risk of malnutrition. A condition in which you don’t have enough of or a proper balance of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Malnutrition makes our bodies more vulnerable to other metabolic and health complications as it interferes with the bodies to produce enzymes, hormones, and other substances that are essential for proper growth and development. So signs of malnutrition include, but are not limited to;
reduced appetite.
lack of interest in food and drink
feeling tired all the time.
feeling weaker.
getting ill often and taking a long time to recover.
wounds taking a long time to heal.
poor concentration.
feeling cold most of the time.
What can you do To help your Digestion
1) Be present for each stage of digestion. Prepare the food yourself or be near the preparation process to take advantage of the cephalic phase to increase gastric secretions and enzyme synthesis. Think about the flavors and textures you are about to encounter. Maybe take a moment to offer some gratitude for the ability to consume these delectable delights of dietary dinning.
Now if you are dining out, I recommend taking several moments with your plate before you start chowing down. Taking time to smell the aroma, see the ingredients, think about the tastes you are going to be experiencing. This act of slowing down will allow sufficient time for the …. one could argue this process starts when reading a menu well studies confirm that “discussing appetizing food for 30 min (without sight, smell, or taste) increased acid secretion from 4 to 13 mmol/h and gastrin concentrations in healthy human subjects. [source] When using sight and smell alone (like looking at a menu or smells coming from the kitchen), secretions were significantly less potent stimulants with responses averaging only 23%-46% of the response to sham feeding [source].
“When eating, the first few bites are really the best for our sensory receptors. Then as we progress during the meal, our pleasure slowly declines. This phenomenon (cue the music again) is called the “satiety cascade,” and influences how much you eat.”
2) Chew your food more completely to take advantage of mechanical digestion. Experts recommend taking small bites and chewing each mouthful 32-40 times before taking another bite[source]. You’ll know if you have chewed enough if your food loses its texture.
Another pro for slowing down eating, studies confirm prolonging chewing can also increase the satisfaction you get from your meals. Also, it can take about 20 minutes for your belly to tell your brain that it’s full (signaled by leptin, the satiety hormone). Allowing time for these signals to be sent, translated and received prevents overeating.
3) Optimize Chemical digestion by consuming foods that your body 1. can easily recognize and 2. can easily digest. Real whole food. Not ingredients that have been formulated in a laboratory that your digestive enzymes are unable to decipher. Kinda like the lock and key model, if you’ve eaten a key that’s been bent its not going to unlock as easily causing indigestion. Artificial and processed foods also come with toxic byproducts like glyphosate or rancid PUFA’s that pose an even greater stress on our chemical digestion. And Processed foods are highly acidic which may cause or aggravate heartburn, digestive disorders, such as acid reflux or GERD.
Highly Acidic Foods = High-fat foods, Fried Foods, Full-fat dairy, Alcohol, Caffeine, Sodas, Fatty cuts of Meat, Creamy sauces, tomato-based or citrus foods, Salad Dressings.
4) If you feel your digestion could use some support, consume a digestive supplements to enhance your chemical digestion. When looking for supplements you want to make you’re getting a wide spectrum of benefits. The best time to take these supplements is when you remember too, the second best time to take them is with your meal. You shouldn’t have more than 1 serving per day.
Personally I love Arbonne’e GutHealth Microbiome and Digestive Support. It contains 3 billion CFU of a spores based Bacillus coagulans probiotics (spore so it can withstand our stomach acid to get into the duodenum and small intestine where they function best. It also contains Prebiotics derived from Chicory Root which help feed the Probiotics in the gut. AND it also contains 13 digestive enzymes to allow the proper breakdown of Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats including Lactose!
Fungal Amylase (Aspergillus Oryzae) 5,000 DU // conversion of grain starch into fermentable sugars (maltosE).
Protease 4.5 (Aspergillus Oryzae) 20,000 HUT // breaks proteins into peptides and amino acids.
Papain (Carica Papaya) 540,000 PU // breaks proteins into peptides and amino acids.
Lactase (Aspergillus Oyrzae) 1,200 ALU // used to break down lactose
Peptidase (Aspergillus Oryzae) 2,500 HUT // Breaks down Proteins
Protease 3.0 (Aspergillus Niger) 50 SAPU // Breaks down Proteins
Glucoamylase (Aspergillus Or yzae) 10 AGU // to aid digestion of potato, maize, and wheat starches
Alpha Galactosidase (Aspergillus Niger) 175 GalU // breaks down the carbohydrates in beans into simpler sugars
Bacterial Protease (Bacillus Subtilis Sp.) 5,000 PC // Breaks down Proteins
Protease 6.0 (Aspergillus Or yzae) 2,500 HUT // breaking down proteins into polypeptides or single amino acids
Bromelain (Ananas Comosus) 140,000 PU // proteolytic enzyme to break down protein
Lipase (Rhizopus Oryzae) 210 FCCLU // breakdown and absorb fats
Invertase (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) 500 SU // catalyzes the hydrolysis of sucrose into fructose and glucose.
Other Supplements that are worthy of consideration and why.
Digestion DB by Pure Encapsulation - A mix of enzymes, bile salts, taurine and herbs to promote healthy gallbladder function and lipid utilization. I have use and love this one as an added bonus to my Arbonne GutHealth.
Onnit DigesTech -Brand Reputation / Quality Product & contains 14 powerful enzymes and digestive aids including ginger extract, pepsin, serrapeptase and cellulase, flannel seed powder, and many more.
MassZYMES by Biooptimizers - Brand Reputation / Quality Product, Each pill contains 100,000 units of digesting enzymes that increase your energy and improve your mental health, clarity, and focus, and of course, boost your metabolism and gut health.
for more options with a detailed breakdown this is a good reference.
There are food that contain digestive enzymes that assist in the digestive process; Some examples are
Kiwi: contains actinidin, which breaks down protein
Oats: contain lipase, which breaks down fat
Honey: contains amylase, which breaks down sugar
Pineapple: Contains bromalin, which breaks down protein
Also, consuming Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt and contain bacteria that helps support our microbiome to promote successful digestion.
5) As mentioned above with consuming real foods, it is important to also consume adequate fiber, that includes soluble and insoluble. These are not just foods for us to help us eliminate waste and keep things moving in ur lower digestive tract but also because Fiber is our microbiomes macronutrient.
6) Drink lots of water and herbal teas. Both promote good digestion and herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, and cinnamon aide with digestion.
At the end of the day, our digestion is how we receive nutrients from the outside world. We are what we eat because of this system. So if you wanna love yourself in the most supportive and enriching way, you’ll be sure to love on those digestive processes.
Additional Sources:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ap/chapter/phases-of-digestion/
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/three-phases-food-digestion-process-6382.html
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1840-digestive-enzymes
https://www.britannica.com/science/pepsin
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-acidic-foods
https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/07/17/3-simple-steps-to-eliminate-heartburn-and-acid-reflux/
https://www.houston-enzymes.com/learn/resources/article/enzyme-basics