All About Digestion

Published on July 28, 2008 by in Written Articles

0
All About Digestion

Troy Giles, D. C. 565 West 2600 South, Bountiful, UT 84010
(801) 298-4646   www.familywellnesscenter.info

Digestion

Digestion begins with what you put on your plate.  You have heard the old saying, “you are what you eat”.  That is not totally correct.  You are what you eat and absorb.  In order to absorb and assimilate proper nutrition, you must first eat foods that have proper nutrition inherently in them.  Fruits and vegetables are naturally nutritiously complete with all of the necessary vitamins, minerals, and even more importantly, enzymes necessary to digest the food properly.  To illustrate — if you leave a banana on the counter, the digestive enzymes go to work and will eventually turn the banana brown.

Digestive enzymes are very vital to appropriate digestion.  Fruits and vegetables are full of enzymes and help the body digest other foods eaten with the fruits and vegetables.  Eating foods that have active enzymes inherent in them will diminish the stress on the body during the digestive process.

Cooking your fruits or vegetables will diminish the vitamin and enzyme content.  If you wish to cook your fruits and vegetables, only lightly steam or stir-fry them.  Do not heat live foods to over 120 degrees.  Heating live food over 120 degrees will kill the vitamin and enzyme content.  Microwave ovens are especially harmful to the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals in your foods.

Three major enzymes exist.  Protease digests proteins, Amylase digests carbohydrates, and Lipase digests fats.  These enzymes are produced in the body mainly in the pancreas.  As food is eaten, chemical receptors in the digestive tract sense what is in the meal, and the pancreas secretes the appropriate type and amount of enzymes to digest the food.  The body becomes stressed when we eat dead foods that contain no digestive enzymes of its own.  Simple carbohydrates such as bread, cakes, cookies, and candies do not contain their own enzymes, so the body has to produce more enzymes to digest this food properly.

Stomach acid is also very important to the digestive process as it is one of the major factors in digesting proteins such as animal flesh.  Many people have a diminished acid production as they age and it becomes difficult for them to digest meat properly.  If you are older than 30, a digestive enzyme supplement with each meal is recommended to aid in the digestive process.

Chewing food thoroughly is also very important in effective digestion.  The more surface exposed to the digestive acid and enzymes, the better the digestion of the food.  The idea with digestion and assimilation of food is to break it down small enough to be absorbed into the blood.  If it is not broken down small enough, it can not be absorbed and the food value will be lost.

Drinking fluid while eating your meal will diminish the digestion by diluting the enzymes.  If you need to drink with your meal, only sip water instead of drinking a full glass.  Drink the bulk of your water one hour after consuming food if possible.

Continue Reading

All About Diabetes

Published on July 28, 2008 by in Written Articles

0
All About Diabetes

Troy Giles, D. C. 565 West 2600 South, Bountiful, UT 84010
(801) 298-4646   www.familywellnesscenter.info

Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body does not make or use insulin effectively.  Insulin is the hormone that helps the body use the energy from sugar, starches, and carbohydrates.  Without the proper function of insulin in the body, you don’t have enough energy to accomplish daily activities.  Insulin helps to metabolize sugar and without this proper metabolism, sugar builds up in the body and causes damage to tissues and organs.

The major symptoms of diabetes are:

  • Increased urination
  • Blurred vision
  • Fatigue or drowsiness
  • Poorly healing cuts or bruises
  • Increased hunger and thirst
  • Rapid weight loss
  • Dry, itchy skin
  • Loss of feeling in hands or feet

There are two types of Diabetes –Type 1 and Type 2
Type 1 is typically juvenile onset diabetes and usually has a genetic cause.  Children develop the disease early in life and are usually insulin dependent immediately upon diagnosis.  One theory for Type 1 Diabetes is there may be an autoimmune issue with an allergy to cow’s milk.  The body sees the protein of cow milk to be very similar to that of the pancreas.  As the body attacks the foreign protein of the cow milk, it sees the pancreatic protein also as a foreign protein and attacks it as well.
Type 2 is usually adult onset and has to be purchased at the store!!!  This means the pancreas becomes overworked and abused by all the simple carbohydrates we consume.  The onset of Type 2 diabetes typically occurs later in life after the pancreas and the body is burned out with too much sugar.  Type 2 Diabetes can be controlled by changing the diet to a more whole food diet that consists of complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats.  The ratio of these foods should be 50% vegetables, 20 % fruits, 20 % proteins, and 10% fats.
Treatment
1)    Control the diet by making wiser food choices to include complex carbohydrates.  The combination of foods is also important since improper food combinations may lead to mal-digestion.
2)    Support the pancreas with specific targeted supplementation that helps to remove any layers of infection out of the pancreas and supports the tissue in creating normal levels of insulin.

Continue Reading

Toxic Liver Syndrome

Published on July 28, 2008 by in Written Articles

0
Toxic Liver Syndrome

Troy Giles, D. C. 565 West 2600 South, Bountiful, UT 84010
(801) 298-4646   www.familywellnesscenter.info

Toxic Liver Syndrome

The liver is the major filter and chemical processor of the body.  This filter removes all the toxins from the blood.  When the blood is toxic, the liver works to remove all the toxins.  Continued high toxic levels overwhelm the liver’s ability to detoxify the blood and its ability to function decreases.

Toxic Liver Syndrome is caused by several factors:
1)    Leaky gut
2)    Translocation of infections
3)    Food sensitivities

Leaky Gut Syndrome creates an environment for translocation of infections to occur and food sensitivities to develop.  Therefore, treating the leaky gut is vital to the treatment of the toxic liver.  Treatment of leaky gut involves removing the various layers of infection such as parasites, fungus, and bacteria in the digestive tract.  Next, support the digestive system and rebuild the colon using specific supplementation.  Replace the good bacteria with a high count acidophilus supplement and take a digestive enzyme with each meal.  Lastly, change the diet to a more natural, unaltered diet consisting of 50% vegetables, 20% fruit, 20% protein, and 10% fat.

Once the holes in the digestive system have been repaired, the toxic levels in the blood will begin to drop.  The next process is to detoxify the liver.  This is done by supporting the liver with specific supplements that help each of the lobes of the liver rebuild in preparation for detoxification.

Once the liver is strong enough, a liver / gallbladder flush is in order.  The process again is accomplished with specific supplementation to cause any gallstones and congestion in the liver and gallbladder to become soft and to be able to be expelled.  A specific diet is also followed during this process that helps to expel toxins from the liver and the gallbladder.  (Performing a liver/gallbladder flush or other type of liver detoxification before the repair of the colon takes place will dump more toxins into the blood and interstitial tissues of the body and will create a cycle of overload to the liver and lymphatic systems.)

To help maintain a clean and effectively functioning liver, we recommend a liver / gallbladder flush every six months.

Continue Reading

Thyroid and Your Access To Health

Published on July 14, 2008 by in Weekly Video

0
Thyroid and Your Access To Health

Continue Reading