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The majority of our
illnesses are created in the intestinal tract,
which is an external (not internal, as you may have thought) anatomical
system.
That is a very
strong statement to make. As you read on you may begin to appreciate its
irony.
Let’s begin with a
quick trip through the many feet of intestinal tubing, starting at the
mouth and ending at the anus.
Digestion is the
process of breaking down food into a form our body’s cells can use.
This exchange program is commonly known as metabolism. This
process converts food into energy for growth and reproduction.
"Appropriation" is the act of putting food into the digestive
system--eating.
Digestion begins at
the mouth where the parotid glands stimulate salivary glands to produce
saliva. Saliva is released from three glands through ducts and
mixed in the mouth to form an acid pH. It is this acidic nature
that begins the digestion of food and acts like an antibiotic producing
an environment difficult for viruses and bacteria to survive in.
Therefore, this special substance we call “spit” is the first line
of defense provided by our immune system. Now you can understand
why our babies seem to be able to put anything in their mouths.
Babies can produce enough spit in one year to fill a gallon pail!
Once broken down by
the action of the teeth and tongue the food is presented to the stomach
through swallowing. The stomach's action is like contractions of
ring-like waves. It produces strong acids that turn the food into a
paste-like substance called chyme. Oh, why not call it what we
know, “puke.” This acid nature of the stomach is the second
step in decontaminating toxins taken in from the environment. The
food you just swallowed could be in your stomach for up to three hours.
Liquids however will pass through quickly, drawn downwards by gravity.
A constant supply of mucous produced by glands in the stomach-lining
protects its internal nature from the action of the acid. And a
note here, these acids are produced in response to a hormone released
from the pituitary gland in the brain. The
stomach is a triple muscle, with the third type of muscle shaped in a
spiral to screw the contents down. In times of distress these
muscles can contract violently and eject food a great distance out
through the mouth (projectile vomiting).
At the end of the
stomach is a sphincter, which holds the ingredients back until a small
amount is released through to the small intestine for "tasting."
If sufficiently reduced to an acceptable pH, chyme enters the duodenum.
The first section is alkaline in nature and therefore requires that the
chyme be reduced to further our digestion to the assimilation phase.
This assimilation
phase is accomplished by the lining of the small intestine known as the
microvilli. Through an active transport mechanism, chyme is
diffused through the lining of the intestine much like the action of a
sieve. The particles remaining behind are furthered down to the
large intestine while those absorbed are transferred by a blood system
to the liver for processing into
energy. It should be explained here that the appendix is not some
expendable, unnecessary part of our anatomy and like the tonsils has a major role in digestion. The appendix is
called a vermiform appendage; a worm sticking out is a simple
definition.
And what does this worm do? Think of it as a grease
nipple, similar to a car where lubrication is provided. In this
case the appendix lubricates the intestines to allow for easy movement
of the waste substances under influence of peristalsis (the urges
presented by the contractions of the intestines to expel wastes = a
bowel movement). Without lubrication in your car, the parts rub
together, create friction, heat and eventually seize. This same
situation occurs in the intestines without proper lubrication.
What an amazing system!
This absorption
begins to create energy in the form of what I compare to plutonium being
used in a nuclear reactor. Its name is
ATP. Think of it as raw nuclear material. When all of this
material is added up, it can equal five pounds. And you know
what five pounds of nuclear material can do...either create energy or
destroy it. The unused parts of the food sources are sent to
the large intestine in shifts and like several trains at a station, the
material waits its turn for unloading.
That means if you ate three
meals with sufficient fiber, you would have three exit times or three
bowel movements over the next 36 – 60 hours. During this
time water is absorbed from the waste material and placed into the
lymphatic system for recycling. Eighty percent of what is taken in
by the mouth is cycled and recycled 18 times in 24 hours before being
eliminated. The waste materials including poisons, chemicals,
toxins, bacteria, virus, fungus and parasite, reach the final six inches of the rectum and the final
stage of recycling into the lymphatic system absorbs any remaining
nutrients.
We have often heard
of the amazing length of our intestinal tract; upwards of 33 feet.
And again, remember that this tract is not internal anatomy, it begins
at the mouth and ends at the rectum, just like a juicer. The
liquid is kept for metabolism and the waste is ejected. Now, grab
your belly and listen to this; the intestines are about as long as you
are tall plus the added length of your arms above your head. That’s an average of about 9 feet, not 33. Where’s the
difference? That’s easy. If you were dead and measured the
distance, you would get around 33 feet, but in the living body it is
about 9 feet. Much of our information came from the study of
cadavers or dead bodies. Even Leonardo Da Vinci had to break the
rules of the day and exhume bodies to understand the underlying layers.
It was his Mona Lisa that first demonstrated the muscularity beneath the
skin.
So, now you know that
your digestive system is just like a juicer producing raw energy for the
nuclear power plant known as the brain. Let’s consider this
system as the food conglomerates of our society. We’ll simply
call them the farmers. What can go wrong is how we explain the
beginning of many diseases, read on.
The most common
problem in this system is dysbiosis. Yes, I know that word is
probably unfamiliar, but break it down; dys for not right, abnormal and
bios for bisosis or life, vitality, energy. If this is our raw
material for the nuclear power plant and it dysfunctions, we are in
grave trouble. Another name is intestinal permeability defect, like
hundreds of microscopic ulcerations.
Essentially,
dysbiosis means a breakdown in the process of digestion. Most of
the time it is those four criminals invading our body and being able to
survive our detection and protection core, the immune system.
Tiny imperfections
and perforations can allow the criminals or their waste products through
the lining of the gut and into the sacred kingdom our internal anatomy. Are you remembering that the digestive system is external anatomy?
Once the bacteria, fungus, parasite or virus
enters the kingdom, the battle will be long and hard fought. From
anorexia, arthritis, botulism, bowel flu, cirrhosis, Chrohn’s disease,
diabetes, fibroids, heartburn, hepatitis, irritable bowel syndrome,
hiatel hernia, obesity, ulcers to vomiting, dysbiosis is often the
beginning of a majority of disease processes.
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