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THE STORY OF TWO GATES |
The digestive system goes from our LIPS right through to our ANUS. This is how our body processes food but often we do not give it a second thought, beyond the taste of our food. When our food goes into our mouth it is processed by the grinders - our TEETH. This mixes the food with SALIVA. If we have eaten bread or rice or cereal, this is where starch begins to digest. It has always been said that we should eat slowly and chew our food properly. This is so that we can mix the food well with the saliva before it goes on to the next stage. In our mouth we can tell if food is salty, sweet, bitter or sour.
When the food reaches the STOMACH, it is churned in the GASTRIC JUICES. If, however, we drink when this is happening, the gastric juices are diluted and digestion is disrupted. Some of the most difficult foods to digest are those coated with fat.
The stomach can become irritated especially by spices, vinegar, alcohol, aspirin and some other drugs, and when this happens our mind and temper are affected too.
The digestive process continues down into the DUODENUM where the stomach acids are then neutralised with ALKALINE DIGESTIVE JUICES. Here is where the nutrients in the food now begin to be absorbed into the blood and the lymph system. The PANCREAS is the main digestive gland and it pours powerful enzymes into the duodenum to complete the job of digestion. The LIVER works to produce bile and this is poured into the duodenum to deal with greasy fatty food. The liver also changes the nutrients into substances the body can use and directs storage for future use where necessary. |
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The SMALL INTESTINES deal with the last remnants of undigested foods and continue to absorb the nutrients needed.
The COLON is the holding tank for food residue. FAECES from that meal should appear in about 30 hours. This can be checked by eating beetroot and then seeing when the dark colour appears in the stools. Another way to check this is to swallow a few grains of sweetcorn whole and watch for them arriving. If it is taking a longer time for food residues to appear, then fibre should be increased, along with drinking more water and having moderate exercise. Why was this article called the story of two gates? The first gate, the lips, should be kept sealed to food for five hours after a meal to allow the digestive system to complete its work. The other gate is different, for when we feel the need to go to the toilet we should follow that urge. If we put it off, the signals that we need to go, get weaker and lose the routines and rhythms. This is a common experience when we go away from home and get out of normal routines. So the one gate is to kept closed and under strict control, the other we can allow to tell us when it needs to be opened and we should do what it asks.
What about snacks? You might be surprised! This is a genuine experiment that was carried out. At 7.30 am a healthy person was given a normal breakfast with some Barium added to it so that it could be recorded on X-ray. Then at 9.00am the woman had a square of fudge, with another at 11.00am, another at 2.00pm and another at 4.00pm. She had dinner at 12.00 and tea at 6.00pm. When X-rays were taken, they showed that remains of her breakfast were still there 9 hours after it was eaten, which brings us to late afternoon. Another X-ray was taken and some of her breakfast was still there at bedtime.
On the previous day she had been given breakfast and there were strictly no snacks. An Xray was taken 4 hours after breakfast and all the breakfast had been digested. It has been shown that even a piece of fruit, taken between meals, will delay digestion by several hours.
Something to think about! Sometimes we think we are hungry when in actual fact we are physically thirsty. Try drinking some water instead of reaching for a snack. Your next meal will seem like a feast because you waited. |
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