How does Digestion support’s the healthy function our Consequences & the Nervous System
After I shared the information on foundational health and why it is so important to not only look at diet but rather at the body as whole. Let’s dig a bit deeper into my favourite topic of digestion. Have you ever had a gut feeling or butterflies in your stomach? Yes, and wondered why when you upset it might feel it in your tummy? Answer is simple, the gut and the brain are very connected to each other – also known as the gut brain connection. So, when looking at Digestive system we have to taken into consideration another important system which is our Nervous System. Let’s explore a bit further how your digestion support’s the healthy function of ourconsequences (Endocrine, Cardiovascular, Immune and Detox) in the body and One additional impact - the Nervous System
Consequence Endocrine
Ever asked yourself why sometimes you could embrace the world and other times you want to just punch some ones’ face or cry right at the spot? What stimulates us to feel, good, bad, refreshed, tired etc. The answer is: HORMONES.
Hormones are chemical messengers that run our body by carrying information and instructions from one set of cells to another. The endocrine system is responsible for the release of hormones into the bloodstream for slow and lasting activity and function together with the Nervous System.
They both interact with the hypothalamus, which controls communication between the two via chemical messengers and our master gland the pituitary, which in turn controls the release of hormones in the body. Additionally, both the endocrine and Nervous System help with regulation (Homeostasis).
When people think of hormones, they mainly think about Sex Hormones – BUT hormones do so much more for our body then just regulating our reproduction system.
Hormones regulate, metabolism & energy, growth and development, sleep and wake cycle, some immune activities and your response to stress.
The endocrine system uses glands to produce the hormones as well as some organs. We have different kind of classes of hormones and they are derived from different nutrients we eat. So, I think we can already see how complex this system is & how can the digestive system support the healthy functions?
Our digestive tone is controlled by the autonomic nervous system – All hormones are made of and run on nutrientsand good digestion helps to break down the nutrients at the molecular level so nutrients are available to create hormones. Compromised digestion leads to poor absorption and creates deficiencies.Weather you like it or not, you can eat up your Broccoli all you want, if it can’t be broken down into the nutrients required it doesn’t help. Our gut is one of the endocrines largest organs any imbalance effects.
Digestion of fats is especially important (the body cannot make hormones without fats! -Fats are an ingredient of the hormonal cell membrane) because fatty acids are required for healthy hormone production. Fatty acids require good gallbladder and hence good liver function to be broken down and turned into the hormone Eicosanoid which in turn help us to manage inflammation in the body.
Hormones are chemical messengers that run our body by carrying information and instructions from one set of cells to another. The endocrine system is responsible for the release of hormones into the bloodstream for slow and lasting activity and function together with the Nervous System.
They both interact with the hypothalamus, which controls communication between the two via chemical messengers and our master gland the pituitary, which in turn controls the release of hormones in the body. Additionally, both the endocrine and Nervous System help with regulation (Homeostasis).
When people think of hormones, they mainly think about Sex Hormones – BUT hormones do so much more for our body then just regulating our reproduction system.
Hormones regulate, metabolism & energy, growth and development, sleep and wake cycle, some immune activities and your response to stress.
The endocrine system uses glands to produce the hormones as well as some organs. We have different kind of classes of hormones and they are derived from different nutrients we eat. So, I think we can already see how complex this system is & how can the digestive system support the healthy functions?
Our digestive tone is controlled by the autonomic nervous system – All hormones are made of and run on nutrientsand good digestion helps to break down the nutrients at the molecular level so nutrients are available to create hormones. Compromised digestion leads to poor absorption and creates deficiencies.Weather you like it or not, you can eat up your Broccoli all you want, if it can’t be broken down into the nutrients required it doesn’t help. Our gut is one of the endocrines largest organs any imbalance effects.
Digestion of fats is especially important (the body cannot make hormones without fats! -Fats are an ingredient of the hormonal cell membrane) because fatty acids are required for healthy hormone production. Fatty acids require good gallbladder and hence good liver function to be broken down and turned into the hormone Eicosanoid which in turn help us to manage inflammation in the body.
Consequence Immune
Talking about Inflammation, Inflammation is the immune system's response to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, toxic compounds and acts by removing injurious stimuli and initiating the healing process.
Without an immune system, we are unable to fight harmful things that enter our body from the outside or harmful changes that occur inside our body.
The main tasks of the body’s immune system is:
1. protects our body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal and viral infections (Barriers None-Specific)
2. recognize and neutralize harmful substances from the environment (Innate Immunity, None-Specific)
3. to fight disease-causing changes in the body such as cancer cells (Adaptive Immunity, Specific)
Also known as the 3 lines of defense.
What we always want to remove the stressors and strengthen the defenses.
What people usually would say when they get sick often because they are exposed by either an Antigen or Allergen is that their immune system is weak – which is true in a way as the Immune system keeps us safe by making sure pathogens don’t come in. But it gets the resources to do so mainly from the digestive system as 70-80% of our immunity lays is the gut and is also our primary potential entry point for pathogens. So, what we actually should be saying is that our digestive system is weak/compromised and needs support.
The immune system is buildand made of nutrients and we must be able to digest them well to absorb all the benefits from them- sounds familiar 😊 If we are not able to achieve this because our parasympathetic tone is compromised we might see inadequate hydrochloric acid and pepsin production for example, this in turn might damage the mucosa lining, if the mucosa lining is not tight enough undigested food particles might move into the blood stream (commonly known under leaky gut) and these might be recognized as foreign to the body and trigger the immune system to response. In short, the food we digest effects the diversity and composition of bacteria in the gut which in turn affects the immune cells/system.
Healthy digestion may be the most important Foundational factor in healthy immune function.Supporting the North to South process is therefore extremely critical to support this consequence.
The CNS regulates immune function, inflammation, and pathogens responses against host tissues, through the production of inhibitory cytokines, hormones, and other soluble molecules able to signal to the brain, which in turn exerts strong regulatory effects on the immune response.
Without an immune system, we are unable to fight harmful things that enter our body from the outside or harmful changes that occur inside our body.
The main tasks of the body’s immune system is:
1. protects our body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal and viral infections (Barriers None-Specific)
2. recognize and neutralize harmful substances from the environment (Innate Immunity, None-Specific)
3. to fight disease-causing changes in the body such as cancer cells (Adaptive Immunity, Specific)
Also known as the 3 lines of defense.
What we always want to remove the stressors and strengthen the defenses.
What people usually would say when they get sick often because they are exposed by either an Antigen or Allergen is that their immune system is weak – which is true in a way as the Immune system keeps us safe by making sure pathogens don’t come in. But it gets the resources to do so mainly from the digestive system as 70-80% of our immunity lays is the gut and is also our primary potential entry point for pathogens. So, what we actually should be saying is that our digestive system is weak/compromised and needs support.
The immune system is buildand made of nutrients and we must be able to digest them well to absorb all the benefits from them- sounds familiar 😊 If we are not able to achieve this because our parasympathetic tone is compromised we might see inadequate hydrochloric acid and pepsin production for example, this in turn might damage the mucosa lining, if the mucosa lining is not tight enough undigested food particles might move into the blood stream (commonly known under leaky gut) and these might be recognized as foreign to the body and trigger the immune system to response. In short, the food we digest effects the diversity and composition of bacteria in the gut which in turn affects the immune cells/system.
Healthy digestion may be the most important Foundational factor in healthy immune function.Supporting the North to South process is therefore extremely critical to support this consequence.
The CNS regulates immune function, inflammation, and pathogens responses against host tissues, through the production of inhibitory cytokines, hormones, and other soluble molecules able to signal to the brain, which in turn exerts strong regulatory effects on the immune response.
Consequence Cardiovascular Health
Our cardiovascular system with its primary organs: Heart, blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries) has the purpose to transport blood throughout the body by circulating. The cardiovascular centre is a part of the human brain and regulates heart rate and blood pressure via the 2 branches of the autonomic nervous system.
The cardiovascular system needs the nervous system to adapt e.g. SNS helps to accelerate the heart rate. The PNS helps to slow down the heart rate.
It delivers nutrients, oxygen, hormones and white blood cells around the body by pumping blood which is needed for our bodies to have ENERGY and removes waste products from the blood.
Our Digestive system breaks down our food into the nutrients which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and carries them where they need to go - hence plays a key role in the cardiovascular system. The digestive organs stimulate the heart through nerve impulses, sending signals for increased amount of blood. The heart responds accordingly by sending more blood supply to the digestive system. Compromised digestive function together with poor dietary choices can lead to serious conditions in the digestive system and can affect the cardiovascular system in serious ways and may lead to heart diseases – mainly in the form of inflammation and not in a way most people think that heart diseases are caused by eating food that have high Cholesterol, in fact dietary cholesterol does not significantly effect blood cholesterol levels in most people. Cholesterol is important for good health and is needed for making cell walls, tissues, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acid.
Inflammation can be caused by irritants such as:
1. Over consumption of processed foods and sugar
2. High insulin
3. Toxins
4. Poor sleep
5. Lack of exercise
6. Smoking
7. Stress
and is a huge contributor that cholesterol can enter into the arteries- as it’s damaging the tissue in the walls of the blood vessel. The build -up of Cholesterol will then promote the narrowing/blockage of the arteries, which in turn makes the blood harder to flow and supply oxygenated blood to the organs of our body and eventually increase the likelihoodof heart attack, stroke, and even death.
The support of our digestive system ensures: Good protein digestion to make amino acids available which is needed by the heart for tissue repair, for this we also need a proper PH and it also helps to absorb calcium which is a primary mineral for the heart and digest B Vitamins. Microbiota in large intestine help us produce necessary nutrients for cardiovascular system. We need good fats and must be able to digest them well to ensure the bodies ability to inflame and anti-inflame, fats play a massive role in both. Low fat diets have often had their flavor replaced with extra sugar - this leads to elevated insulin and RUN AWAY inflammation - we NEED fat for healing.
Inflammation is the cause of the most common form of heart diseases and not the intake of the Cholesterol itself and we need our digestions to support.
The cardiovascular system needs the nervous system to adapt e.g. SNS helps to accelerate the heart rate. The PNS helps to slow down the heart rate.
It delivers nutrients, oxygen, hormones and white blood cells around the body by pumping blood which is needed for our bodies to have ENERGY and removes waste products from the blood.
Our Digestive system breaks down our food into the nutrients which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and carries them where they need to go - hence plays a key role in the cardiovascular system. The digestive organs stimulate the heart through nerve impulses, sending signals for increased amount of blood. The heart responds accordingly by sending more blood supply to the digestive system. Compromised digestive function together with poor dietary choices can lead to serious conditions in the digestive system and can affect the cardiovascular system in serious ways and may lead to heart diseases – mainly in the form of inflammation and not in a way most people think that heart diseases are caused by eating food that have high Cholesterol, in fact dietary cholesterol does not significantly effect blood cholesterol levels in most people. Cholesterol is important for good health and is needed for making cell walls, tissues, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acid.
Inflammation can be caused by irritants such as:
1. Over consumption of processed foods and sugar
2. High insulin
3. Toxins
4. Poor sleep
5. Lack of exercise
6. Smoking
7. Stress
and is a huge contributor that cholesterol can enter into the arteries- as it’s damaging the tissue in the walls of the blood vessel. The build -up of Cholesterol will then promote the narrowing/blockage of the arteries, which in turn makes the blood harder to flow and supply oxygenated blood to the organs of our body and eventually increase the likelihoodof heart attack, stroke, and even death.
The support of our digestive system ensures: Good protein digestion to make amino acids available which is needed by the heart for tissue repair, for this we also need a proper PH and it also helps to absorb calcium which is a primary mineral for the heart and digest B Vitamins. Microbiota in large intestine help us produce necessary nutrients for cardiovascular system. We need good fats and must be able to digest them well to ensure the bodies ability to inflame and anti-inflame, fats play a massive role in both. Low fat diets have often had their flavor replaced with extra sugar - this leads to elevated insulin and RUN AWAY inflammation - we NEED fat for healing.
Inflammation is the cause of the most common form of heart diseases and not the intake of the Cholesterol itself and we need our digestions to support.
Consequence Detoxification
And on top of all this our body needs to be able to detoxify properly to eliminate toxins/waste. In our modern world it’s no longer a question weather or not our body has come contact with a toxin but rather to what degree and how we can support a healthy detox. Remember anything in access can be a toxin.
Our digestive system is the barrier between self and none self and helps to neutralize any pathogens that enter via food via highly acids gastric juices. The small intestinal system – which is our most important organ in the detox process together with the liver and gallbladder, decides as to what it allows to the blood stream. Anything not entering the blood stream is considered waste and eliminated through the colon or urinary tract, which are the main elimination pathways. However, if our digestion isn’t working properly even the most perfect diet (Detoxification is such a nutrient-intensive process) can clog the elimination pathways, for our body to detoxify properly we need to ensure all elimination pathways are open. We need specific amnio acids for the proper function of the detoxification process in the liver and for proper protein digestionwe need good hydrochloric acid& proper physical and chemical breakdown of the food. If we are digestion our fat poorly it will clog the lymph and therefore the liver- our bile helps us to remove toxins form our body. If these toxins can’t be eliminated, they are left to circulate around the body and cause intense damage. Meaning when endotoxins are secreted by less-than-optimal bacteria in the gut, they are shipped directly to the liver via the portal vein. So, instead of receiving amazing nutrients from our gut microbes (B vitamins, K, fatty and organic acids), they get poison- that has to be metabolized by our detoxification pathways!
Most of our detoxification happens when we are sleeping, if we are stuck in a sympathetic overdrive these detoxification processes can’t take place.We need to be able to rest and digest our dinner for example,so when we go to bed the body is not caught up in digesting our food but can put all resources into the detoxifying process.
Both Digestion as well as detoxification are parasympathetic process- which explains the involvement of the Nervous system & healthy detoxification is the way the body heals and repairs itself.
All of the systems within the body interact with one another to keep an organism healthy. Although each system has specific functions, they are all interconnected and dependent on one another. The nervous system controls various organs of the body directly. The brain also receives information from many organs of the body and adjusts signals to these organs to maintain proper functioning.
The best way to support the consequences is providing foundational support – and the first line of defence – given a nutrient dense diet is simply digestion. The gut is the gatekeeper of your health from here the other foundation will be supported in automatically.
Our digestive system is the barrier between self and none self and helps to neutralize any pathogens that enter via food via highly acids gastric juices. The small intestinal system – which is our most important organ in the detox process together with the liver and gallbladder, decides as to what it allows to the blood stream. Anything not entering the blood stream is considered waste and eliminated through the colon or urinary tract, which are the main elimination pathways. However, if our digestion isn’t working properly even the most perfect diet (Detoxification is such a nutrient-intensive process) can clog the elimination pathways, for our body to detoxify properly we need to ensure all elimination pathways are open. We need specific amnio acids for the proper function of the detoxification process in the liver and for proper protein digestionwe need good hydrochloric acid& proper physical and chemical breakdown of the food. If we are digestion our fat poorly it will clog the lymph and therefore the liver- our bile helps us to remove toxins form our body. If these toxins can’t be eliminated, they are left to circulate around the body and cause intense damage. Meaning when endotoxins are secreted by less-than-optimal bacteria in the gut, they are shipped directly to the liver via the portal vein. So, instead of receiving amazing nutrients from our gut microbes (B vitamins, K, fatty and organic acids), they get poison- that has to be metabolized by our detoxification pathways!
Most of our detoxification happens when we are sleeping, if we are stuck in a sympathetic overdrive these detoxification processes can’t take place.We need to be able to rest and digest our dinner for example,so when we go to bed the body is not caught up in digesting our food but can put all resources into the detoxifying process.
Both Digestion as well as detoxification are parasympathetic process- which explains the involvement of the Nervous system & healthy detoxification is the way the body heals and repairs itself.
All of the systems within the body interact with one another to keep an organism healthy. Although each system has specific functions, they are all interconnected and dependent on one another. The nervous system controls various organs of the body directly. The brain also receives information from many organs of the body and adjusts signals to these organs to maintain proper functioning.
The best way to support the consequences is providing foundational support – and the first line of defence – given a nutrient dense diet is simply digestion. The gut is the gatekeeper of your health from here the other foundation will be supported in automatically.
