You are what you eat. If you don’t put it in your mouth it ain’t there
Sometimes the diet is great but the nutrients are not being absorbed and getting to the mark. That’s when we have to become the detective to find out why.
Assuming you eat an adequate diet, you may have poor digestion in the stomach or malabsorption of nutrients in the small intestine?
At a cellular level, we are a biochemical factory. The production line can’t work without the essential nutrients that are cofactors for the many chemical reactions that make us tick.
Why is primary digestion so important?
At the first point of digestion past the mouth, the stomach needs sufficient acid to break down foods and kill unwanted bacteria preventing them from entering the small intestine.
With low stomach acid we can’t absorb protein for making muscles and bone, or provide amino acids for our brain, iron and many vitamins for energy production in the cells, or zinc needed for hundreds of enzymes, magnesium for muscle contraction and heart health.
Take zinc for example, what happens if we don’t get enough?
If one mineral can affect so much; imagine the consequences of not absorbing multiple nutrients.
Without enough stomach acid, trouble starts in the Small Intestine.
Bacteria from the food we eat can pass into our small intestine and prevent digestive enzymes from doing their job. Many nutrients are not broken down into an absorbable form and miss their bus stop or receptor point in the small intestine, so pass on through to be excreted in the large bowel.
The mucosal surface of the small intestine can become irritated from foods we don’t tolerate and produce antibodies against that food that travel throughout the body causing pain and swelling.
The last stage in our digestion is collection of waste in the large bowel.
Over 500 different bacteria live in our bowel to break down undigested materials. A delicate balance exists between good and bad bacteria.
We need small quantities of bad bacteria to assist fermenting of foods but when the balance is tipped in the wrong direction, the gut wall becomes invaded with undesirable bacteria, large food particles break through the mucosal surface stimulating production of inflammatory cells that enter the blood stream and deposit in our tissues, muscles, joints, brain, and other mucosal surfaces such as the nose and lung.
This is how reactivity in the gut can cause increased mucous production, behavioral problems, fatigue, poor concentration, fibromyalgia type symptoms, and chronic pain, to name a few.
GOOD FATS VERSUS BAD FATS
Do You Get Enough Of These?
Reduce Saturated Fats:
Moderate monounsaturated fats:
Increase polyunsaturated fats:
Sunflower seeds/oil, grape seed oil, flaxseed oil, fish oils, walnuts. Essential Fatty acids(omega3)
Omega 3 Fatty acids:
Increasing Omega 3 Fatty acids intake has been found to alleviate symptoms of inflammation, arthritis and depression.
ARE SUGARS EVIL?
If we eat too much carbohydrate or sugars that increase the blood sugar above resting level, this is toxic to the body. The brain responds by signaling the pancreas to secrete more insulin to bring the blood sugar level back down and excess glucose is stored as fat.
Eating a diet high in carbs over time causes insulin to rise, and more and more is needed to deposit the sugars into the cells as fat. Eventually it may stop working, blood sugar sky rockets, and the doctor gives you a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.
Why wait ‘til you tip over the edge? Type 2 Diabetes takes 15+ years to develop. Make smart choices now to stay fit and healthy.
The down side of too many sugars is obesity, altered fat metabolism, hormonal disturbance and often infertility, increased tissue inflammation, and cancer.
The choice is yours!
What are high glycemic foods?
Foods that more readily turn to glucose or sugar in the blood.
Take care to read the labels on packaging. One teaspoon of sugar is 5 gm, so yoghurt with 10 gm of sugar has 2 teaspoons of sugar added! It’s better to eat natural unsweetened yogurt with real fruit to sweeten.
One can of soft drink or coke has the equivalent of 16 teaspoons of sugar. Would you sit down to eat a bowl of 16 teaspoons of sugar?
High carbohydrate foods such as potato, potato chips, white bread, rice, pastas, cakes, biscuits and take away foods laced with sugars and saturated fats, need to be kept to a minimum.
KEY NUTRIENTS FOR BONE HEALTH
Key nutrients:
Protein, zinc, calcium, phosphorous, vitamins D and K.
Protein is a building block of the bone matrix, while zinc and vitamin B6 are essential cofactors for protein synthesis. Vitamin D is needed for absorption of calcium in the gut. A balance of calcium and phosphorous is needed in the bone matrix.
Vitamins A & D balance:
Vitamin A predominantly promotes activation of osteoclasts and bone resorption and vitamin D promotes the action of osteoblasts and bone mineralisation, and, as mentioned above, is essential for calcium absorption
***15 minutes in the sun before 11am or after 3pm daily will promote conversion of vitamin D in the skin.
Exercise - Weight bearing or resistance exercise helps stimulate increased bone density.
BoneHormonal balance - With the loss of oestrogen post menopause, the average woman loses up to 10 per cent of her bone mass in the first five years after menopause. Ask your doctor about your hormone balance.
“My goal is to avoid you going there. Let’s stop the cycle before it starts.”
Yours Truly
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