Authors: Sara Hughes,Heather Klein,Eunice Hines,Una Soto
Tags: #Cookbooks; Food & Wine, #Baking, #Cookies, #Kitchen Appliances, #Slow Cookers, #Health; Fitness & Dieting, #Diets & Weight Loss, #Other Diets, #Diets
Disclaimer
While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this book, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter contained within.
The information provided in this book is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities or damages, real or perceived, resulting from the use of this information.
Introduction: It’s Just a Stomach Ache
We’ve all been there. We’ve all had an upset stomach, whether it was heartburn, indigestion, bloated cramps, nausea, or just some sort of belly ache, we’ve all had issues at one time or other with our digestive track. And when you think about how the digestive system works, it is truly amazing that we don’t run into issues more frequently. Because besides just serving as a storage locker for the food we eat, our stomach serves a wide variety of functions and maintaining a healthy balance within the walls of our stomach lining can be difficult.
What we know of as the “stomach” can actually be considered two organs; consisting of the proximal portion that is designed for food storage and digestion, but also the distal portion whose role is relegated to the mixing and evacuation of food material. From these two organs the stomach is then further divided into 4 main regions which consist of the fundus, body, antrum, and pylorus.
It is the proximal section of the stomach that consists of the fundus and body and these two regions coordinate together to serve as a reservoir for any undigested food material. It is also within the proximal stomach that the mechanism of vomiting is carried out since this region is responsible for the emptying out of liquids. It is the lower distal section of the stomach that functions as a kind of grinder, grinding and mixing food together. It is also the distal portion of the stomach that serves to pump and propel waste material out of the body
Chapter 1: Improving Your Diet
Fiber, fiber and more fiber! This should be the mantra of anyone who is wanting to enhance the performance of their stomach. Fiber is like a super treated gasoline to put in the engine of your stomach that greatly streamlines all of the most important processes of the digestive tract. Consuming a diet of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits that are high in fiber is one of the best things that you could to help boost the ability of your Gut.
Fiber neutralizes any constipation in your system and can serve to prevent a whole host of digestive conditions such as diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, and irritable bowel syndrome. Fiber is also crucial in helping you maintain a healthy weight. Introducing fiber into your diet can be an integral part of the overall health of your gut. There are two main types of fiber; insoluble and soluble. Soluble fiber is great for absorbing water and works a major bulwark against having feces that are too watery.
Insoluble fiber on the other hand, such as wheat bran and whole grains can’t easily be digested by the body and as a consequence helps to add bulk to your waste. As well as adding much needed bulk, insoluble fiver also helps to maintain the balance of PH levels in the intestines. The ability to maintain the balance of PH levels alone enables this kind of fiber to greatly enhance the prevention of colon cancer among other things.
And the reason why this kind of fiber is so great at preventing this kind of cancer is due to the fact that the extra bulk that insoluble fiber provides significantly shortens the amount of time that it takes waste to travel through the colon. Since many of our waste products, especially in the heavily processed laden food of the modern world can contain carcinogen producing materials it is especially useful to have our waste leave us as soon as possible so that this chemicals pass through us without any lingering effects.
And the benefits of insoluble fiber do not end there, because as it turns out when bacteria in the intestines break down this kind of fiber, a special chemical known as “butyrate” is produced as a consequence. And it is this very special chemical that has the awesome ability of inhibiting the growth of tumors in the rectum and colon. This is an obvious boon to having a healthy digestive tract and as all studies have indicated having a healthy balance of fiber in your diet can prevent you from having a deadly bout of colorectal cancer.
Another benefit of fiber, this time
soluble fiber
is the fact that it can do wonders to reduce the effects of high cholesterol, because as it turns out, soluble fiber is vital in the control of serum cholesterol, with the potential of a 15% reduction in total LDL cholesterol levels. In order to reap these benefits you should increase your dietary intake of soluble fiber by consuming foods such as beans, and oat bran. Many good cereals you can find at any grocery store do well to include this fiber intake and they would be a worthy addition to your diet to give your gut a tremendous fiber boost.
Just keep in mind that the ideal amount of daily fiber intake is 25-35 grams, you don’t necessarily want to do it; so anything within those parameters would be fine. It would also do you well to keep in mind that introducing a massive amount of fiber into your diet too soon may cause you to have stomach aches, gas and other discomfort. So as a rule, if you are not used to regularly consuming fiber you should start out your consumption slow, instead of 25 grams start with 15 and then increase this by 5 grams each day until you are at the optimum level of daily fiber intake.
Fiber is a great element to add to any diet but no matter how much fiber you consume it is not going to do you a whole lot of good if everything else in your diet is out of whack. If you wish to have a healthy, overall balanced diet the first thing that you need to set firm limits on foods that are too high in fat. Although you may love to eat deep fried chicken and sizzling strips of bacon but these foods are usually absolutely drenched in fat and can wreak havoc on your digestive tract.
The reason why, fatty foods, especially the above mentioned meat products, greatly inhibit and slow down the digestive process. The digestive system just can’t process all of that fat, so it often comes crashing to a staggering halt. When picking out what meat you put in your diet you should try to consume lean meats as much as possible. This means perhaps tossing out the fired bacon in favor for a lean pork loin and ditching the fried chicken for lean chicken breasts or some other skinless poultry.
Along with what you eat you should also make room for good probiotics in diet; known as the “healthy bacteria” probiotics help keep the body in a manageable status and even does much to counter the damaging effects of an already unhealthy diet. Working as the great restorer and repairer of gut health, these little guys are miraculous. Probiotics work to keep down stress; they break down lactose, strengthen the immune system and even help treat people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Probiotics are normally found in fermented food items such as yogurt and other produce that contain live cultures of this helpful bacterium. Outside of food consumption you can also ingest probiotics in the form of supplemental capsules; whether they are liquid or chewable, supplements are a great way to boost your intake of probiotics. And just for your FYI, there are a quite a few different strains of probiotics available, but the most common by far are Lactobacillus and Bifdobacterium. These are the most likely strains of probiotics that you are going to be dealing with when it comes to supplements.
Probiotics also serve to treat stomach problems such as diarrhea and gastroenteritis. The Lactobaccillus strain in particular has shown a lot of promise in treating diarrhea, especially in children and infants. As a great relief to parents everywhere, a simple administration of this strain of probiotics can even successful combat the dreaded “nonsocomial diarrhea” that so often afflicts newborns. So, whether you are young and old, these probiotics are worth having around.
After everything that we have discussed in this chapter so far we would be remiss to mention how important it is to have a regular eating schedule. No matter what you eat, not being a sporadic eater does wonders to make your digestion regular and productive. It’s really not hard to figure out and it makes a lot of sense.
What you put in your mouth has to come back out eventually and if you eat at the same times each down, you should have your bowel movements at about the same time as well. This is precisely why folks all over the world have had designated times for breakfast, lunch and dinner for countless centuries, because if you stick to a timed eating routine your bathroom breaks will be running on predictable clockwork precision.
Chapter 2: Eliminating Bad Habits
Of all the bad habits that can affect our stomach those that are induced by alcohol consumption have got to be the most devastating. With just one bottle of Bud Light containing 110 calories, with three beers adding up to your total daily need of calories. On top of this, due to the fact that our bodies tend to view alcohol as the toxic poison which it is, (I’m sorry guys! I just had to bring you the true meaning of “intoxication”) as a result the body wishes nothing more than to flush this substance out of your body as soon as possible.
This then inevitably brings on the drunken craving to wolf down a large pepperoni pizza all by yourself so your body can absorb and (ahem) dispense with the alcohol as soon as possible. Which instantly quadruples your waistline, this sort of sporadic bursts of caloric intake may be fine when you are 22 years old, but by the time that you are 32 it can lead to some disastrous results for your waistline, let alone your gastrointestinal health as a whole.
Although it may come as some surprise for you, alcohol is generally bad for your health, if however you are insistent upon drinking a few brewski’s you can work to mitigate the bad side effects of extra caloric consumption simply by drinking some milk. That’s right. Just by sipping on some milk before you venture out to the bar you can protect yourself and your insulin levels, with that special lactose coating. The protein in milk can actually work to slow the absorption of booze by as much as three times. This will also probably cause you to drink less alcohol in the first place. (This is good or bad depending on your opinion.)
Even worse than an expanding waistline however some of the effects that alcohol can have on your long term health are much more startling; from hardened arteries, Cirrhosis of the liver, and a wide range of other failing body systems. As alcohol passes through the system it can make fundamental gastrointestinal changes to the structure and function of important segments of the GI tract. One of the most frequent complaints of a regular drinker is that of heartburn; this symptom is a direct result of one of those structural changes created by the constant flow of alcohol. This is due to the fact that alcohol can significantly impair the function of your esophageal muscles.
Alcohol induced metabolic changes can also lead to esophageal cancer. Cancer is a significant threat for the long term, during the short term however there is also a very real metabolic consequence that may appear on the form of chronic ailments such as acute gastrointestinal bleeding as a result of the lesions created in your stomach and small intestines from years of repeated alcohol consumption.
As detrimental as alcohol can be on the lower portions of the digestive tract, it is just as damaging to the upper portions, including the very first point of contact in the digestive system; the mouth. The mouth can suffer all kinds of consequences as a result of too much alcohol; one of the most common being gum disease. Alcohol in its fermented state can rot out teeth and blacken the gums, so it is definitely a habit that can cause the digestive system some serious problems, but what about some lesser known habitual hazards?
Like coffee for instance? Yes, I know you are probably putting down your cup of Joe and glaring at the page, but bear with me, because yes, while coffee is beneficial to some degree, too much of it can certainly cause some damage. The concentrated caffeine of a cup of coffee causes the esophageal sphincter to relax allowing all kinds of stomach acid to creep on up leading to some serious indigestion and heart burn.
And as if the destructions of all our favorite vices weren’t complete, of course we would have to mention cigarettes as one of the most important to put down in order to have a healthy gut. The most obvious impact smoking has on the digestive system would be the wide variety of cancers that smoking can bring about. And of the many; the worst of which being; stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colon, and rectal cancer. Besides cancer smoking can also cause major heartburn GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and peptic ulcers.
Along with these digestive nightmares smoking is also known to increase the risk of Crohn’s disease, a debilitative condition that causes food to pass through the digestive system before it is fully digestive. This can then lead to massive ulcers that can tunnel all the way through the intestines, damaging other tissue in the process and creating such a disturbance that the only corrective procedure that can be done is surgery. Either eliminating or at least greatly reducing any of these habits will undoubtedly lead you to a much healthier gut.