Few malfunctioning body systems can grab
one’s attention as quickly the digestive tract. A single, little
episode of heartburn or diarrhea can really ruin one’s day.
For the purposes of this article we are
focusing on the gastro-intestinal tract and not auxiliary digestive
organs.
Digestion begins in the mind. We don’t
often give the brain and senses their due credit in the process of digestion.
Thinking about food, seeing pictures or displays of beautifully made
food, and/or smelling pleasing aromas begins the nervous system reaction
of stimulating the release of digestive juices in the mouth, stomach,
and small intestines. This physiological reaction can be stifled, however.
Stress is the first and biggest culprit when it comes to poor digestion.
The sympathetic nervous system knows that when there is stress there
are more important things to be done (like running from bears, dodging
ricocheting bullets, and dealing with a fast-paced life) than digesting
that alfalfa sprout and cream cheese on multi-grain bread sandwich.
Assuming that life is good, and that one’s
sympathetic nervous system is not over-worked, the next step of digestion
happens in the alkaline mouth. This is the location of teeth and salivary
glands. I repeat, this is the only location of teeth. They are supposed
to be used to crush food to a very fine consistency, mixing it with
the help of the tongue, with enzyme-rich saliva. Without adequate chewing
to mechanically break food particles into smaller bits, the rest of
the digestive processes cannot progress. Humans do not have teeth in
their stomachs.
When I was a teenager I learned a recreational
song, sung to the melody of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. It went like this:
