Digestion: its more complicated than you think

Millions of people around the world suffer from indigestion. But when they think of the problem, they tend to centralize is an ailment of the stomach.

But digestion is not a single event.

It is a long, coordinated journey that unfolds across distinct parts of your body. Each part is designed to handle specific classes of nutrients.

Your body is more sophisticated than you can imagine.

Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth. Salivary amylase breaks complex starches into simpler sugars even before food reaches the stomach.

This is not incidental. Chewing and eating without stimulus alters how your body converts it into sugar in the blood.

Rush your carbohydrates and the burden shifts to the small intestine. You will experience this as fermentation, bloating and fluctuating blood glucose.

Protein digestion occurs in the stomach. The stomach’s acidic environment breaks down protein. You need the low pH environment of the stomach to do this.

So if you are on antacids or if your body cannot produce enough bile, protein digestion is affected.

Fat digestion occurs almost entirely in the small intestine. Bile from the liver helps break down the fat into absorbable fatty acids. Low-fat diets, paradoxically, impair fat digestion by reducing bile.

But what about micronutrients, you may ask?

Iron and calcium are absorbed in the beginning of your small intestine. Magnesium and zinc further along small intestine and Vitamin B12 toward the end.

By the way, your stomach produces a protein that helps you absorb the B12. Without this protein, you cannot absorb it.

So what does all this mean for you?

Stop drinking fancy things that supposedly alter the pH of your stomach to improve digestion. Digestion is a complex process, and there is no magic pill.

Instead, eat slowly. Eating slowly restores oral digestion. Allowing gaps between meals restores gastric acidity.

Include adequate dietary fat, which restores bile signaling. Managing stress restores vagal tone, which governs enzyme secretion and intestinal motility.

Eat a balanced meal that includes everything you need.