How to Improve Digestion and Gut Health- Blog Series- Part 2

Now that we know how digestion is supposed to flow, let's take a look at how things can go wrong and what supplements can improve digestion and gut health.

Dysfunction in the Brain and Nervous System

You wake up late. You don't have time to make breakfast on your way to school, work, or a meeting, so you decide to grab a quick coffee and scone at a coffee shop or a breakfast burrito/sandwich at a fast-food joint. You quickly eat your breakfast while driving through rush hour traffic.

How many of us have experienced this or similar dining experience? As a culture, we are sympathetically stressed. The opposite state of our nervous system from a relaxed or parasympathetic state is called sympathetic. This means our body is in fight or flight mode, and digesting is the last thing on its priority list.

When we eat on the go, or even in a stressful state around a table, we can be diminishing our digestive power. We need to be in a relaxed, parasympathetic state to digest food. When the brain and body are not relaxed while eating, the rest of the digestive organs will not get signaled adequately and efficiently.

Digestion can be delayed and often food rots in our stomach and other organs before properly being absorbed and used. The rotten/fermented food can become like a poison in our blood, cause inflammation in the gut and body, and cause gas/bloating/diarrhea/constipation. Chronic poor digestion from stress leads to more serious digestive dysfunction as we will see below.

Supplements to support digestion when we are in the sympathetic state are adaptogenic herbs like Rhodiola, Ashwagandha, Cordyceps, etc. Or my favorite, a free supplement called meditation or mindfulness practice.

Dysfunction starting with the Mouth

"Don't forget to chew your food!" - MOM or GRANDMA

Remember your grandparents and parents telling you this as a child? Well, they probably were not doing it very well either, but that doesn't mean it isn't important.

Chewing your food for about 30 seconds each bite is essential to signal the brain and other digestive processes. When we do not chew adequately, the digestive system does not get prompted by the brain to begin releasing specific enzymes and hormones for the food that is in your mouth at that moment. With poor chewing, the production of saliva is also not triggered and this is where enzymes are needed to begin the breakdown of carbohydrates.

If enzymes are not secreted, pancreatic enzymes are not capable of completing the breakdown of starch in the small intestine which leads to undigested starch entering the colon. Undigested starch in the colon feeds candida and creates a general dysbiosis (imbalance of intestinal-flora) further down the digestive tract. This dysbiosis leads to cramping, bloating, gas, IBS, ulcerative colitis, diarrhea, constipation, and other intestinal disorders.

Dysfunction within the Stomach

Approximately 90% of Americans produce too little HCl.

• Jonathan Wright, MD, has tested thousands of patients' stomach pH using Heidelberg Gastrotelemetry equipment.

The hydrochloric acid production in the stomach is essential to digestion and is dependent on adequate nutrients like zinc, B12, and intrinsic factor (which many Americans are deficient in).

Without proper acidity of 1.5-3.0 on the pH scale, digestion of proteins is limited and pathogenic microorganisms are let into the body (yeast, prions, bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.). These microorganisms are actually little proteins and when the pH is correct in the stomach, pepsin is present and can digest these easily. However, when the pH is too alkaline, an environment is created where these organisms thrive. This environment allows carbohydrates to ferment, proteins to putrefy, and fats to rancidify. Low stomach acid is related to H. Pylori virus, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), malnourishment, mood disorders, ulcers, and cancer.

Supplements to improve HCL production are zinc, B12, betaine HCL, and pepsin enzymes.

Dysfunction of the Pancreas and Small Intestines

The pancreas relies on signals from the acidity of chyme from the stomach. If the stomach does not prepare the chyme with proper pH, secretin (a hormone) is not excreted to trigger the release of pancreatic juice, sodium bicarbonate is not released to raise the pH of the chyme. These two components are necessary to neutralize the acidity of the chyme and allow for enzymes to complete the breakdown food. 

When the chyme does not get neutralized it burns the mucosal lining of the small intestine and this leads to duodenal ulcers and destruction of the small intestinal lining. The small intestine walls are worn down by the undigested, putrified, and toxic food. These toxic substances then enter the bloodstream and contribute to widespread inflammation, leaky gut, food sensitivities, and more stress on the immune system leading to autoimmune disorders and more.

Supplements to protect the small intestine and support the pancreas are pancreatic enzymes.

Dysfunction of the Gallbladder

The gallbladder, we learned, is an amazing little organ that stores bile and contributes to the digestion of fat. Fats are primarily digested by bile salts and pancreatic lipase in the duodenum once triggered by the presence of fat in the chyme, however when the chyme has poor quality fats or low-fat content there is no signal to release CCK to stimulate the gallbladder to release bile.

Low fat diets/”bad” fat diets cause bile stored in the gallbladder to become old/viscous. When the gallbladder tries to contract, it is unable to release the viscous bile and the fats, waiting to be emulsified, are left to go rancid in the small intestine. This further stresses out the liver and immune system to clean up the mess, as well as leaves you fatty-acid deficient (Are you getting your omega's?)

Supplements and nutrients to support gall bladder function include bitter greens, lemon, apple cider vinegar, beets, taurine, choline, B6 and B12. Sometimes you may even need to temporarily supplement with ox bile.

Dysfunction of the Large Intestine

The furthest south in the digestive tract and the large intestine receives the worst of what went wrong further north. Mal-digested foods full of parasites, microorganisms, undigested fats, and clumps of sticky undigested starch pass into the colon through a valve but can often clog open the ileocecal valve.

Once jammed open, bacteria and flora that should only reside in the large intestine, overgrow into the small intestine (SIBO). The overgrowth of opportunistic bacteria creates an imbalance and causes the health of the colon wall cells to weaken due to low butyric acid production. The result is inflammation, diverticula, and loss of tone issues such as IBS, Crohn's disease, colitis, and celiac disease.

Some general supplements to support the intestines are butyric acid, zinc, l-glutamine, collagen, probiotics, and fiber.