Posts

The Four Basic Processes (DIGESTION, ABSORPTION, UTILISATION, ELIMINATION).

DIGESTION
First, when we consume any food it must go through a
“digestive” process, or a process whereby the body breaks
down the structures of the food into building materials and
fuels. The body requires these raw materials for energy to
function and also to build and repair itself. The breakdown of
food is accomplished through enzyme action, which starts in
the mouth, where carbohydrates, sugars and fats begin their
alkaline digestion. The stomach also produces a digestive
enzyme called pepsin; an acidic enzyme released by HCL
(hydrochloric acid) for initial protein digestion. The rest of
digestion takes place in the small bowel, which is alkaline in
nature. When our foods are not properly broken down, either
from a weak pancreas, stomach and intestinal tract, or from
bad food combinations, one will experience gas formation
from fermentation and/or putrefaction. The greater the gas
problems, the greater the weakness and/or bad diet choices.
The body breaks down the foods you eat into the following:
Proteins are broken down into amino acids for building and
repair material. Carbohydrates (starches and complex
sugars) are broken down into simple sugars for fuel. Fats are
broken down into fatty acids and glycerol, for building, repair
and emergency needs. It is important to remember that we
have alkaline digestive enzymes in the mouth for
carbohydrate and fat digestion. We have acid (pepsin)
digestive enzymes in the lower stomach for initial protein
digestion. Then we have alkaline digestive enzymes in the
pancreas and throughout the first part of the small intestinal
tract to finish up the job for proteins, starches, sugars and
fats. It is also important to understand that most of our
processes are alkaline in nature. Digestion is the first process
that must take place in a healthy body and many people fail
right here. If you are very thin or lack adequate muscle
tissue, it is a strong probability that your body has not been
digesting (breaking down) your foods adequately and you
maybe very acidic

ABSORPTION
Once foods are broken down, we must now absorb these
building materials, fuels and other components, which
include: tissue salts, vitamins, tannins, alkaloids and flavins.
These components are now carried by the bloodstream to the
cells for energy, stimulation, building and repairing, or stored
for future use. Absorption is accomplished through the villi
(fingerlike projections on the surface of certain membranes)
and small pores all along the mucous membranes of the small
and large intestines. This absorption should be simple, but
most people’s intestines become impacted with a thick
rubberlike substance called “mucoid plaque.” This thick
plaque, which develops in the GI tract, is made of gluten,
mucus, foreign protein, and other food byproducts that act
more like glue than nutrition! Refined sugars, grains, meats,
and dairy products are the foods that are most responsible for
the formation of this plaque. This “mucoid plaque” blocks the
nutritional components of our foods from being adequately
absorbed into the body. (I have seen clients and my self who
have eliminated loads of this “black” plaque from their
intestines.) Most of us fail in the second stage of food
utilisation to some extent because of this congestive mucoid
plaque. Again, if you are thin, malnourished or lack adequate
muscle tissue, or bloated a malabsorption issue must be
considered.

UTILISATION
We must get nutrition too and into our cells. The blood system
and its highways (the vascular system) are the transport
system. Most of the absorbed nutrition must first pass
inspection by the liver, which can create further chemical
changes, store nutrients, or pass them on unchanged to the
rest of the body for utilisation. The number of processes the
liver can carry out is miraculous. It can create its own amino
acids, change sugars too fats, and vice versa. It can create or
destroy. Now a little secret. This is where the importance of
acid and alkaline comes in. If our body (including our blood)
becomes more acidic, our nutrition becomes anionic
(coagulating). In other words, our building materials (fats,
fuels, minerals, and other compounds) start sticking or
clumping together not letting these nutrients be absorbed.
Most of the foods commonly eaten by humans are acid
forming. Acidity, which is heat-producing in the body, causes
inflammation in the walls of the vascular highway and
throughout the body. Lipids (fats) begin sticking to the walls
of the vessels in hopes of buffering this inflammation. But
lipid bonding also causes lipid stones, such as gallbladder and
liver stones. Cholesterol is the most common anti-
inflammatory lipid that the body uses to fight this
inflammation. When the tissues become acidic and thus
inflamed, the liver will produce more cholesterol to fight it.
But that means that blood cholesterol levels begin to elevate.
Minerals too start bonding and form “rock-type” stones,
which show up as kidney stones and bone spurs. Cell
membrane walls have tiny portholes that will not allow this
“clumped” nutrition to be absorbed. When red blood cells start
clumping together, blocking proper oxygen transport, or
utilisation, this creates cellular starvation, which causes
hypo-active conditions of glands and organs, loss of systemic
energy, loss of muscle tissue, and finally death. Many glands
supply hormones, steroids, to assist utilisation. As these
glands become hypo- or under-active as described above, the
utilisation of calcium and other constituents is affected,
creating many disease symptoms. For example, one of the
jobs of calcium is to help transport nutrients across cell
membrane walls. When the thyroid gland becomes hypoactive
this slows or stops calcium utilisation, which has a domino
effect, causing cellular starvation. This, of course, makes
tissue even weaker and the cycle just gets worse and worse until sickness, then death. Most people fail in the utilisation of
their nutrition to some degree.

ELIMINATION
What goes in must, for the most part, come out. We must
expel more than what we put in. If it comes out looking the
same way it went in, that’s a problem. (You should not see
undigested foods, except corn, in your stools.) When the
elements in food are broken down into their simplest forms
for utilisation by the cells, there are many by-products from
this process including gases, acids, cellular wastes,
undigested proteins, and unused material like vitamins and
minerals that need to leave the body. The body is always
trying to eliminate in ways that we often do not understand.
An example would be cold and flu-like symptoms, where
sneezing, coughing, sweating, aching, fevers, and diarrhoea
are experienced. These symptoms are elimination processes
used by the body to purge itself of mucus, parasites, toxins,
and the like. If we do not eliminate our wastes, we build
congestion interstitially (around cells) and intracellularly
(inside cells), causing further cellular decay and death. Good
elimination means moving our bowels three times a day, or
after each meal, urinating adequately, sweating, and
breathing properly. All of us fail in this category to some
extent or another. By correcting digestion, absorption,
utilisation, and elimination we can regain our energy, build
vitality and vibrancy, and live a disease-free life. If you have
trouble loosing weight or have edema you are likely to be not
eliminating

DIGESTION TIME OF VARIOUS FOODS.

DIGESTION TIME OF VARIOUS FOODS: This is approximately the time spent in the stomach before emptying into the intestines and bowels.

Pure Distilled Filtered Water is Alkaline.

When the stomach is empty, it leaves immediately and goes into intestines.
Cold Pressed Juices is Alkaline

Fruit, vegetables, vegetable broth – 15 to 20 minutes.
Semi-liquid is Alkaline.

Blended smoothies and salads, vegetables or fruits – 20 to 30 minutes.
Fruits is Alkaline.

Watermelon – 20 minutes.
Other melons – cantaloupe, honeydew etc. – 30 minutes.
Apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, plums, persimmons, papaya, pawpaw, grapes, cherries, berries etc.- 40 minutes.
Fruits is Acidic

Orange, lemons, limes, strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit – 30 minutes.
Raw Vegetables is Alkaline.

Raw salads and vegetables – tomato, lettuces, cucumber, celery, red or green pepper, other succulent vegetables – 30 to 40 minutes.
Steamed or cooked vegetables without oil is Alkaline.

Leafy vegetables, spinach, kale, greens etc.- 40 minutes.
Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, yellow squash, corn on cob – 45 minutes.
Steamed or cooked vegetables with oil is Acidic.
Leafy vegetables, spinach, kale, greens etc. – 65 minutes.
Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, yellow squash, corn on cob – 70 minutes.
Cooked root vegetables without oil Alkaline.

Not recommended to roast in oil (Oil slows digestion).

Carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips etc. – 50 minutes.
Cooked root vegetables with oil is Acidic.

Not recommended to roast in oil  (Oil slows digestion).
Carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips etc. – 1hr 15 minutes.
Semi-Concentrated Carbohydrates (Starches) is Alkaline.

Not recommended to roast in oil (Oil slows digestion).

Artichokes, butternut squashes, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, chestnuts – 60 minutes.
Concentrated Carbohydrates – Grains is Acidic.

Really not recommended for good digestion.
Brown rice, millet, buckwheat, cornmeal, oats – 90 minutes.
Legumes & Beans is Acidic

Not recommended for good digestion, but in moderation in good combinations can be tolerated especially when sprouted.
Lentils, lima beans, chickpeas, yellow peas, kidney beans, etc. – 90 minutes.
Soy beans – 120 minutes.
Seeds & Nuts is Alkaline.

In moderation in good combinations.
Seeds, sunflower, hemp seeds, pumpkin, pepitas, sesame – 2 hours.
Nuts, Almonds, macadamias, peanuts (raw), cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans etc. – 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Raw Fats is Alkaline

In moderation in good combinations.
Avocado, coconut, nut butters – 3 hours.
Cooked or extracted fats is Acidic.

Really not recommended for good digestion
Trans fats, olive oils, coconut oil, butter, canola oil, rice bran oil, rapeseed oil etc. – 6 hours.
Dairy Acidic

Really not recommended for good digestion
Skim milk, soft cheese, low fat pot cheese or ricotta – 90 minutes.
Whole milk soft cheese – 120 min.
Whole milk hard cheese – 4 to 5 hours.
Animal proteins is Acidic.

Really not recommended for good digestion
Whole egg – 45 min.
Fish, cod, snapper, flounder, sole, seafood ect. – 30 minutes.
Fish – salmon, salmon trout, herring, (more fatty fish) – 45 to 60 minutes.
Chicken – 11/2 to 2 hours (without skin).
Turkey – 2 to 2 1/4 hours (without skin).
Beef, lamb – 3 to 4 hours.
Pork – 41/2 to 5 hours.
Animal proteins is Alkaline when eaten alone.

Egg yolk – 30 minutes.
Remember this is leaving your stomach. These foods can sit in your colon for up to 4 days if your digestion is not good or you have poor food combinations, especially meat. For the best digestion choose easy to digest foods and in the right combinations.

Nuts and seeds and the truth about digesting them . . .

Nuts nuts nuts!

Are they a health food or stopping your gut from healing? How many is good and in what combination is best?
People who have had inflammatory bowel disease or leaky gut or suffer with a gut-brain connections such as (depression, autism) generally do not digest fats well because they lack the enzymes needed to break them down, I was no exception and the low carb high fat diet nearly killed me! Then moving away to a gourmet raw vegan diet. . . I still overloaded on raw desserts and nut cheeses and pates as I was living a gourmet raw diet trying to recreate cooked dishes that were so high in fats and hard to digest foods and fancy gourmet dinners.

shutterstock_360660002.jpg

This is what I’ve learned and why I now eat a simple diet with simple combinations and a small amount of  seeds germinated here and there.

High- protein, fatty and oily foods must be minimised, especially during the first year of gut recovery or you will plato and cause long term damage. Learning to eat within your digestive limitations is so important for healing no matter what your mind wants and your eyes see. Fat intake must be increased gradually only in accordance with what you can properly digest good overt healthy fats are essential in the diet but must be stopped or minimised at first to get the healing. Overeating on overt healthy fats like nuts, seeds, coconuts and avocados will, typically, stress the digestive system and create a toxic condition indicated by gas, foul, putrid bowel odours, stomach acidity, constipation, fatigue, etc., which can trigger an inflammatory bowel disease flare up. None mind bad fats, them you just need to steer well clear off.
• One to two ounces of nut or seed or nut butters eaten with one dinner (away from fruit) in a salad meal once per day, may be all the fat that anyone can digest effectively after healing inflammatory bowel disease. Or 1/4-1/2 of an avocado may be your digestive limit per day.
• Raw (ungerminated) nuts are difficult to digest; but, when eaten in small quantities (one ounce per meal, once per day, one to three times per week, depending on your digestive strength (I can not even cope with that much without getting sluggish and tired) and of course chewing them well with lettuce, celery or cucumbers, then they might digest ok and give healthful benefits. The masticating action (chewing) of our teeth is not capable of effectively breaking down hard nuts and seeds to particle sizes small enough to be completely digested by our stomach acids. We are not squirrels! Stomach acid can only act on the outer surface of the nuts particles; if acidic digestive enzymes are not able to act on the protein within the particles, the protein will pass through the system unused and without giving you its nutrients and will putrefy in the bowel causing bloating, gas and wind. Activating your nuts and seeds helps with this.
• Raw nuts and seed smoothies (made with water, citrus fruit (only) or vegetables in a blender) and raw nuts and seed butters -made in good blenders and or available in jars from health food stores, not mass supermarket brands. Are much easier to digest than unprocessed whole nut and seeds, and are, therefore, recommended to eat. Still, they are very rich in oily fat which can cause problems if eaten beyond your digestive capability and you know how fast a bag of nuts goes or a jar of nut butter. So go easy on them with small amounts in the right food combinations and always the freshest highest quality. Food combining and why is it essential for health!-chart. I would suggest having smoothies with fruits, greens and water with NO NUTS OR SEEDS ADDED.

 

• “Living” nuts and seeds, i.e., raw nuts such as almonds germinated/sprouted in water for 12 to 24 hours then sprouted in room temperature air, are more digestible than ungerminated (raw) nuts. The soaking and germination process hydrates and softens the hard fiber and reduces complex proteins into readily digestible amino acids. Germinated nut and seed blends (cheeses or patés) are perhaps easiest on the digestive system—an easy salad dressing is to blend one to two ounces of nuts or seeds with water, fresh-squeezed orange juice, a slice of orange or a tomato in a blender, then use this as a salad dressing or dip for vegetables.
• Experiment making nut and seed milks. Soak raw nuts or seeds in purified water for 2 to 24 hours, rinse well, blend at high speed with purified water in a blender, then strain and slowly drink the milk, mixing in your saliva. Chew chew chew even liquids!

shutterstock_330801518.jpg

Step by Step – Making Nut and Seed Milks.
• Avoid old rancid nuts and seeds that’s any that come from a supermarket or in packets, they can be 1-3 years old—these tend to feel soft, taste cheesy with no sweetness and appear darker in color than when they are fresh. You are not getting nutrition from these just toxins and more mucus being formed.
• Heated or roasted nuts and seeds are very toxic and must be avoided. Avoid roasted and salted nut and seed butters. Never cook with nuts!
• Peanut butter is not recommended because: 1. In raw or heated form, it is difficult to digest due to its high protein and starch content which we know doesn’t digest well; 2. In roasted form it is highly toxic; and 3. Peanuts are one of the most heavily pesticide-sprayed crops even in Australia.
• Organic, whole, raw peanuts can be eaten in moderation if they have been sprouted (soaked in water and allowed to germinate for several hours). However, these are subject to a toxic, yellow mold and must be carefully inspected and eaten with caution. Peanuts are actually a legumes and not recommend for gut healing as they are hard to digest.
If you are to eat nuts I would suggest choosing high omega 3 nuts like walnuts, pistachios, Macadamia, Brazil nuts which are great brain foods, over the higher omega 6 almond if you can. I do not suggest the raw nut desserts the are so hard to digest and are high in fats and rancid oils. Once you’ve done the healing work add them in as an occasional treat or different texture!