PROPER DIGESTION: The Be-All and End-All of Body Health

The current generation of health buffs and advocates is so consumed with what to eat and what not to take. Yet, along the way, a very simple fact is glossed over. In promoting and maintaining personal health, the key to success is proper digestion. People may tend to overlook it, but in terms of maintaining good health, proper digestion is non-negotiable.

Breaking down our food

We all know that digestion starts in the mouth. The process of digestion starts when we chew the food. It is very important that we chew our food thoroughly to stimulate the saliva into releasing the digestive enzymes needed to break down (“split” is the term used by some medical nutritionists) the food into digestible particles. Once food reaches the stomach, new enzymes are then released, and this action continues the final digestion of the food particles. 

Importance of saliva

Thorough chewing of food is vital preparation for actual digestion. Foods are enzyme-specific, according to medical experts. That means every kind of food has a specific enzyme that will break it down, and only the saliva can release that enzyme. That is why it is important to eat slowly and take your time chewing your food.  The Healthline website warns that if you eat fast, it is also very easy to overeat and consume the such amount of food that is beyond the capacity of your system to digest.

Medical experts also say that enzymes in the stomach cannot act upon or digest the food from the mouth—especially starch and carbohydrate—unless that food is acted upon by the enzymes from the saliva. This is cited by Dr. William Howard Hay in his book “How to Always Be Well” (1937, New York.) Hence, without the action of salivary enzymes, proper digestion will not take place.

This may be the reason why some people who have been eating healthy foods all their life and have been exercising regularly are sometimes surprised to find out that they have been hit by a serious illness. Obviously, they may have been eating healthy food, but they are not digesting it properly.

Eating practices that help proper digestion

In the context of Fletcherism, “mastication” is the thorough chewing of food to the point that it almost becomes liquid in the mouth and mixed with saliva before it is swallowed. This practice was popularized by  Horace Fletcher in the United States where he was tagged “The Great Masticator.” He also popularized it in Europe during World War II in order to ease the famine in The Netherlands. Fletcher believes that you derive maximum nutrients from food through mastication. “The more you chew, the less you eat,” he had said. This means that you do not have to eat plenty to derive adequate nutrients for the body. He also said: “Nature will castigate those who do not masticate,” which means that, eventually, people who do not masticate will suffer from serious digestive issues.

Eating the right food combination

Different foods require different digestive environments. Some foods have common digestive environments so they can be combined without the risk of being left undigested or improperly digested. Undigested foods are a great health risk. They rot inside the colon, thus, producing lots of acids and toxins that cause serious illnesses. 

However, some foods can be combined to boost health. Some of these combinations are listed by the Reader’ Digestwebsite: hard-boiled egg and salad, potato fries and veggies, spinach and sardines, olive oil and kale, almonds and yogurt, turmeric and black pepper, avocado, and bread toast, and tomato sauce and spinach. Others are brown rice and lentils, canned salmon and leafy greens, brown rice and garlic with onion, green tea and lemon, and pistachios and raisins.

Eating plenty of fiber

Dietary fiber, found mainly in vegetables and fruits, is quite beneficial to health—in terms of relieving constipation, maintaining a healthy weight, lowering risks of diabetes, and avoiding heart disease and cancer. Among the major benefits of a high-fiber diet, as identified by the Mayo Clinic, are normalization of bowel movement, maintenance of bowel health, lowering of blood cholesterol levels, helping control of blood sugar levels, and helping achieve healthy body weight. All in all, this slows down aging and makes you live longer.

Foods that improve digestion

Healthline suggests several foods that can aid digestion. The following 12 foods are easily available at your favorite groceries and nearby market places: (i) yogurt for its probiotics, (ii) apple for its pectin, (iii) chia seeds for the fiber, (iv) papaya for its papain, (v) whole grains like oats and quinoa, (vi) beetroot or beets for the fiber, (vii) miso from fermented soybeans, (viii) kimchi from fermented cabbage and other veggies, (ix) dark green vegetables for their insoluble fiber, (x) salmon for the omega-3 fatty acids, (xi) bone broth for its gelatin from simmered bones and connective animal tissues, and finally, (xii) peppermint because it alleviates IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) symptoms and then pushes food more quickly through one’s digestive tract.

To sum up everything, proper digestion is the vital key to overall health. Without proper digestion, good health becomes elusive. So always chew your food well.

Note: This article was previously published in the printed Issue No. 12 of The Corporate, Guide and Style for Professionals Magazine.