EKOMEDICINE
Digestive system
The digestive system The World Health Organization has classified the gut microbiome as an organ. It weighs about 2-3 kg. There are around 1000 different strains of microorganisms, each with its own sphere of activity, type of decomposable products, and interconnections. It is believed that bacteria, in synergy with enzymes, release a flow of electrons, or energy, which is captured by intestinal cells.
The gut tract contains the enteric nervous system, which operates partially autonomously, independently of the CNS (central nervous system). For example, a person may be in a coma, but the processing of nutrients on the intestinal walls continues. Underneath the lining of the intestinal mucosa, there are about half a billion neurons that behave as if they had their own brain. The cells of the intestinal mucosa live only for 3 days, after which they slough off and are excreted along with the rest of the waste, but this does not mean that nothing can stick to the intestines. Polyps, diverticulosis, various fungal incrustations, such as candida, plus the toxic effect of fecal masses, all create inadequate nutrient absorption in the intestines (malabsorption or maldigestion syndrome).
Which Enzymes Act in the Digestive System and What Are Their Functions?
In the mouth the salivary glands secrete amylase and maltase. Amylase breaks down starch and glycogen. Maltase hydrolyzes the disaccharide maltose into glucose. In the stomach, the enzyme pepsin, which is part of gastric juice, is activated by hydrochloric acid and is responsible for breaking down proteins.
The pancreas secretes several digestive enzymes. Amylase hydrolyzes starch and glycogen. Lipase breaks down triglycerides into glycerol and fatty acids. Trypsin, along with chymotrypsin and carboxypeptidase, breaks down proteins. Ribonuclease breaks down RNA (ribonucleic acid). Deoxyribonuclease breaks down DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
In the small intestine various enzymes continue digestion. Aminopeptidase breaks down proteīns, lipase hydrolyzes triglycerides, sucrase, lactase, and glucoamylase break down disaccharides into simpler sugars.
Each of these enzymes plays a crucial role in ensuring the complete digestion and absorption of nutrients in the body.
Gut Microbiome
Serious studies on the gut microbiome only appeared in our century, with the advent of medical technology capabilities, but more intensive research actually began only 10 years ago. An adult human's gut tract is home to about 2-3 kg of microbiota, functioning almost like a separate organ. These are more than 1000 species of various microorganisms. They are bacteria, fungi, protozoa, yeasts, etc. They are located throughout the entire food processing path, from the oral cavity to the exit in the gut tract, but a particularly large concentration resides in the colon. Therefore, ignoring all this, talking about good health is unreasonable.
A well-functioning gut microbiota is the foundation of our health. The gut microbiome acts as a health maintainer, performing many functions of the gut tract. They process dietary fibers and act as compost for our growing cells. They participate in the regulation of digestion processes, helping to break down incoming nutrients. Synthesize short-chain fatty acids, vitamins, such as B and K groups, and produce amino acids.
The gut tract produces serotonin, the happiness or good mood hormone (95% of the total amount). The microbiome affects the nervous system as a whole, communicating with the brain hundreds of times more often than the brain communicates with the body.
The gut microbiome participates in the body's detoxification process and also affects appetite, for example, when pathogenic bacteria proliferate, a person's craving for sweets increases. Good bacteria, by inhibiting the growth of foreign bacteria, limit the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. At the same time, the activity of viruses is also limited, thus affecting the pathogenesis of many diseases.
The microbiome participates in the regulation and maintenance of the body's homeostasis. Reduces inflammation in the body. Increases antibodies, cytokines, and promotes the emergence of natural killer cells that help protect the body from infections. In this way, it participates in the formation of immunity. It is important that there is a balance between bacteria. There is nothing superfluous in nature. Pathogenic bacteria can also have useful properties, for example, they can use toxins as their food, thus neutralizing them. The main thing is that they do not gain dominance.
Humans first encounter the microbiome at birth, when it enters the newborn's body with the mother's vaginal secretions, unless the birth is by cesarean section (surgical operation). This explains why children born this way have much weaker immunity. Microbiome diversity is important. The greater it is, the stronger the child's immunity will develop. The main enemies of the gut microbiome that cause dysbiosis are inadequate nutrition, medications (antibiotics, steroid hormones, etc.), birth control pills, infections, stress, alcohol, radiation, and body pollution. The pathogenic microbiome likes sugar, starch, and lactose best, but the good ones like dietary fibers and fermented products that act as probiotics.
The most Mommon Diseases of the Gastrointestinal Tract (the digestive system)
The most popular disease to mention would likely be dysbiosis or dysbacteriosis, which is primarily a consequence of inadequate nutrition and medication use. The majority of modern people, including newborns, encounter this problem. Various inflammations are also common.
If the inflammation process starts:
💩 in the esophagus – esophagitis,
💩 in the stomach – gastritis,
💩 in the duodenum – duodenitis,
💩 in the liver – hepatitis,
💩 in the pancreas – pancreatitis,
💩 in the gallbladder – cholecystitis,
💩 in the bile ducts – cholangitis,
💩 in the small intestine – enteritis,
💩 in the large intestine – colitis,
💩 and, if in the rectum – proctitis.
All these inflammatory processes cause changes in the organ mucosa, lead to motility or motor function disorders in the intestinal tract, and can promote the development of gastric or duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, gallstone disease.
Gastric and Duodenal Ulcers
After swallowing food, it first enters the esophagus and stomach, hence the diet must match the physiological structure and capabilities of the stomach. The chemical composition of the consumed food and the activity of Helicobacter bacteria play a significant role in the pathogenesis of mucosal ulcers.
The diet can be characterized by its chemical properties, for example, acidic or alkaline, by composition: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals. Acidic or alkaline does not mean the taste felt in the mouth but the reaction that occurs when food is broken down by stomach and intestinal juices' enzymes.
Ulcers can be caused by increased acidity of gastric juice, hence most often it occurs in the duodenum, where the mucous secretion has an alkaline reaction.
If a person eats food containing both proteins and carbohydrates, for example, a sandwich with sausage, a chocolate bar, coffee, all this reaches the stomach not as a homogeneous mass mixed with saliva but in pieces, necessitating a larger amount of gastric juice. In the stomach, dairy products, eggs, and meat should break down into amino acids, but thermally processed carbohydrates (bread, pasta, boiled potatoes, cereals) do not break down in an acidic environment, they require an alkaline environment and the enzyme amylase secreted by the pancreas. When proteins reach the duodenum, they encounter an alkaline environment, meaning that the processing is incomplete.
Thermally processed carbohydrates are retained in the stomach while proteins are processed and meanwhile absorb stomach acid, later hindering amylase activity because this enzyme is only active in an alkaline environment. An ideal environment for fermentation processes is created, resulting in acetic acid and lactic acid. Consequently, the internal environment of the duodenum becomes significantly more acidic. The intestinal mucosa suffers, and ulcers form. Fatty acids, produced by lipase breaking down fats, also promote the formation of a more acidic environment.
If the stomach lacks pepsin, the protein fermentation process is promoted. This is related not only to incorrect dietary combination but also to the physiological peculiarities of humans as a species and their organism's morphological structure, as the concentration of pepsin in human gastric juice is insufficient to process meat proteins. As a result, the food processing process produces toxic fermentation and putrefaction products, which, entering the liver through the portal vein and further, are neutralized in the liver, but over the years, problems arise in the liver itself.
Then, the partially digested semi-liquid or liquid content, chyme, after the duodenum enters the 10m long small intestine. There, through the intestinal walls, the main components of processed food are absorbed into the blood and lymph. These are amino acids, fatty acids, and broken-down carbohydrate products - monosaccharides, disaccharides - which further create an acidic reaction, one of the causes of ulcers, leading to the formation of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Cold, hot, rough food, or stress, i.e., neuroreflex action, only exacerbate the condition. As a result, the pH of gastric juice may shift towards the acidic side, even up to 2.0 units. Therefore, if you eat often, gastric juice is continuously secreted, and ulcers form both in the stomach and the duodenum.
In such cases, doctors usually recommend a gentle diet: boiled, steamed, without vinegar, pepper, salt, etc. It can be animal proteins, like steamed cutlets, eggs, cottage cheese, also oils, white bread, sweets. What chemical processes will develop? It will be fermentation, putrefaction in the small and large intestine, toxins entering the blood. Everything repeats, so the result is absent because the aforementioned products create an acidic environment. But medications that inhibit acid secretion only provide temporary relief, hence the ulcer treatment process continues for a long time.
As known, inflammation occurs where there is pus. Above the stomach are the bronchi and lungs. Most people have a third of their bronchial tree filled with purulent masses, and toxins enter the gastric and duodenal submucosal layer through the vascular network in certain sections. If they come into contact with gastric juice with increased acidity, separate ulcers or many pinpoint ulcers, an erosive gastritis, form. Then, unwanted guests settle in these places: viruses, bacteria, protozoa. Taking tissue samples (biopsy), for example, Helicobacter pylori, drugs that kill it are used, and remission occurs, the ulcer subsides, but after some time everything repeats because the cause remains, hence the liver, bronchi, lungs, etc., need to be cleansed. A natural remedy against Helicobacter pylori is lavender oil. Ulcer treatment, like the treatment of any other disease, is the treatment of the entire organism. Fresh plant-based food, herbal teas, and later also juices are necessary. It is essential to adapt not to mechanically traumatize the ulcer.
Correctly prepared peppermint tea with quality honey is a good tissue nourishment. Honey heals the ulcer and is absorbed in the stomach, creating a more alkaline environment. Adhering to such a cleansing program, within a few weeks, acidosis disappears, and gastric juice acidity normalizes. Since there is no food, gastric juice is not secreted, and ulcers heal.
Heartburn
After 35 years, a person's gastric acid production decreases, performing an important disinfection and food processing function, i.e., breaking down large amino acid molecules into small, easily assimilable amino acid fragments. Gastric juice acidity should be > pH 1-3. If it decreases, protection against viruses entering the stomach with food, fungi, and bacteria, as well as partly against parasites, especially their eggs, weakens. If there is insufficient gastric acid amount, the liver also does not receive a signal to produce enough bile acid. As a result, food assimilation weakens, and a nutrient deficiency develops, also affecting immunity. If this condition continues and becomes chronic, the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach stops closing tightly, and GERD may develop.
The essence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is that the contents of the stomach and duodenum uncontrollably return to the esophagus, irritating the respiratory tract mucosa and causing an unpleasant sensation in the throat. The sphincter, located at the junction between the esophagus and stomach, separates the neutral environment of the esophagus from the acidic environment of the stomach. Muscles in the esophagus facilitate the movement of saliva and food towards the stomach.
If there is a hernia of the sphincter muscle and it does not close tightly, the stomach contents enter the esophagus and even the mouth. The thin epithelial layer of the esophagus can be damaged, and if this continues for a long time, oncology may even develop.
To determine the causes, esophagogastroscopy, sphincter examination with an endoscope is necessary, possibly due to some anatomical changes. It may be related to medication side effects, for example, pain relievers like aspirin and analgin, or hormonal drugs, antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, etc. Therefore, always clarify medication side effects. The cause may be products promoting an acidic environment, for example, animal products, haste during eating, dry or salty food, carbonated drinks, coffee, smoking, chronic pancreatitis, Helicobacter pylori. Eating in a lying position can be a cause. Also, frequent eating in small amounts can cause heartburn because a lot of gastric acid is secreted.
Recommendations similar to other health problems: do not go to bed after eating, adequate diet, interval fasting, use apple cider vinegar half an hour before eating.
Helicobacter Pylori
Helicobacter pylori is an obligatory pathogen, asymptomatic (without clinical symptoms) infection of nearly half the world's population, especially in places with poor sanitary conditions.
Helicobacter pylori resides in the stomach's pyloric part on the inflamed inner surface (mucosa) and the duodenum. To survive in the stomach's very acidic and aggressive environment, this bacterium creates an alkaline capsule around itself in the mucosal mucus layer. Further in the duodenum, the environment is already alkaline. The problem is that, as the number of these bacteria increases, no symptoms are immediately observed, but as it progresses further, they start to appear. The bacterium's connection with gastric and 12-duodenal ulcers, acute and chronic gastritis, gastric mucosa lymphoma, etc., has been proven. The main mode of infection with Helicobacter pylori is non-adherence to hygiene.
Helicobacter pylori is also found in animals, but in humans, it most often enters due to inadequate personal hygiene. Possible symptoms (depending on the disease caused by the bacterium) include pain or discomfort in the upper part of the abdomen (epigastrium), burning (heartburn), bloating after eating, nausea. Treatment usually involves a combination of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors. Unfortunately, such treatment is accompanied by many side effects.
In eco-medicine, lavender oil is used (one drop before eating, mixed with water, gradually increasing the number of drops). The course lasts 2 months, gradually reducing the dose at the end of the course. At the same time, avoid spicy foods and eat in small portions. It is especially recommended to eat mustard leaves and broccoli sprouts.
Gastritis
The stomach's most important function is protection, to prevent infections from entering the intestinal tract, i.e., large molecular amino acid compounds with a foreign program developed in a foreign organism. Therefore, to avoid problems, they must be destroyed.
Gastritis is considered inflammation of the stomach's mucosal lining. This is a generalized concept, as the
cause and course of inflammation can have very different variants:
🥶 Atrophic gastritis is when antibodies act on the gastric mucosa, i.e., an autoimmune process. As a result, cells that produce acid are lost. Those who have undergone stomach surgery (resection) and the elderly are considered at risk. Atrophic gastritis often causes pernicious anemia when vitamin B12 absorption from the diet is disrupted.
🥶 Fungal or viral-induced gastritis.
🥶 There is bacterially induced gastritis, most often associated with Helico bacteria.
🥶 Acute gastritis. Usually occurs after severe trauma, bone fractures, burns, or some severe diseases.
🥶 Eosinophilic gastritis. It is an allergic reaction to infection with helminths. This is indicated by an increased number of eosinophilic leukocytes in blood tests.
🥶 Lymph nodes increase, and large folds form on the stomach walls, as well as fluid-filled cysts, which often turn into malignant tumors.
🥶 There is a form of gastritis when plasma cells, plasmocytes, a type of leukocyte, accumulate in the stomach walls, usually caused by corrosive liquids entering the stomach, for example, from household chemicals. These can also be the consequences of radiation therapy.
🥶 Erosive gastritis. It occurs as a result of various irritants. It develops slowly, but if nothing is done, ulcers appear. Such irritants include many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs available in pharmacies, for example, the well-known aspirin. Development can be stimulated by bacterial and viral infections. If the irritation continues for a long time, Crohn's disease (an autoimmune process) can even develop.
Eco-medicine can use a herbal mixture for treating gastritis, for example, from yarrow, chamomile, and sage, chopping and mixing these herbs in equal proportions. They are put into a thermos and poured over with hot water +70°C, allowed to infuse for at least an hour, periodically stirring. This tea is used regularly before meals for several weeks, ideally together with propolis in honey. Parallelly, on an empty stomach, potato and cabbage juice can be taken. Also, aloe vera juice (two tablespoons a day). To make it more pleasant to use, it can be mixed with honey. For a positive result, just like with other diseases, during the treatment period, it is necessary to completely abstain or at least reduce the consumption of animal protein-containing products.
Gastric Juice Acidity
When we prepare to eat or are already eating, saliva is secreted, and simultaneously the hormone gastrin, synthesized in the pyloric part of the stomach's G-cells, is secreted. It also stimulates the release of histamine, which promotes the secretion of hydrochloric acid.
A very important function performed by gastric acid (hydrochloric acid or HCl) is protective (disinfection).
If gastric juice acidity is decreased, the digestion and further absorption of the consumed food is disrupted, leading to a deficiency of certain nutrients and provoking many diseases. The optimal pH of gastric juice should be 1-3.
Hydrochloric acid is the only acid produced by the organism. Other acids result from metabolism as waste products that must be removed from the body. After the age of 35, the production of gastric juice decreases. Contributing factors include regular overeating, sweets, eating before going to bed, a lack of greens in the diet, and incorrect combination of products (for example, proteins together with carbohydrates).
To avoid a decrease in acid in gastric juice, it is recommended:
🧪 To be silent during meals.
🧪 Not to drink alkaline water during and immediately after meals.
🧪 To chew food thoroughly.
🧪 Not to eat too hot food, as it destroys the parietal cells that produce hydrochloric acid. Do not consume food at a temperature higher than +40°C. At +60°C, proteins begin to coagulate. If you drink +60°C hot water, the cells of the esophagus and stomach that produce hydrochloric acid are instantly damaged.
Hypochlorhydria
Hypochlorhydria is a condition characterized by a decrease in the production of hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach. This leads to an increase in the pH of gastric juice and manifests through symptoms such as nausea, bloating, belching, abdominal discomfort, and nutrient deficiencies related to poor absorption.
If the acidity of gastric juice drops below pH 3.0 and approaches pH 4.0, the enzyme pepsin is weakly activated, resulting in impaired protein digestion. At such low acid concentrations, the stomach valve does not close properly, which can lead to acid-induced chemical burns in the lower part of the esophagus, potentially increasing the risk of oncological diseases. Additionally, food disinfection weakens.
To prevent such issues, drinking apple cider vinegar before meals, for example, can help activate pepsin secretion. When stomach acid levels are low, there is an increased strain on the pancreas, and the absorption of iron and vitamin B12 deteriorates.
What the Liver Dislikes and why it Decomes Diseased
Consuming unnatural food, especially when improperly combined, produces toxins such as aldehydes, methane, methyl alcohol, acetic acid during fermentation processes. These are poisons that can lead to a lethal outcome, but we do not die only because we have a liver that neutralizes these poisons, combining them with glucuronic acid to be excreted through the kidneys.
Blood from the small and large intestines does not immediately enter the large circulatory loop but goes through the portal vein to the liver. Most proteins from our diet are not fully assimilated, giving the liver an additional unnecessary task – processing proteins into urea, which is excreted through the kidneys. Regularly overloading liver cells, hepatocytes, with saving the body, so to speak, neglects other functions: protein, hormone, enzyme, glycogen, bile synthesis. This manifests as headaches, weight loss, bulimia, insomnia, fatigue.
Not all toxins that enter the liver parenchyma are neutralized, hence they enter the general circulation and spread throughout the body, causing popular health problems. Endogenous toxic metabolic end products are joined by exogenous ones: alcohol, industrial and household chemicals, nicotine, and drugs, which can cause various liver diseases. It manifests as inflammation of the liver tissue – hepatitis. If neglected or treated with antibiotics and hormonal preparations, it can turn into cirrhosis, that is, connective tissue grows in place of dead liver cells.
Gallstone disease, purulent thickenings in the gallbladder and bile ducts, consisting of cholesterol, calcium salts, and bile, starts with gallbladder inflammation, manifesting as strong pain on the right side. In such cases, the patient is advised to take pain relievers, the gallbladder is surgically removed, but the cause is not addressed in this way. Unless you have reached a situation where you need to call emergency medical services to save a life, cholangitis and cholecystitis can be treated without surgical intervention, including laparoscopic (with minimal cuts). Also, stone crushing with ultrasound is not harmless, as it negatively affects the surrounding tissues.
Just like other organs, the liver cannot be cleansed separately. It is necessary to cleanse the entire body and stop polluting it. By cleansing the liver, you will also rid yourself of such addictions as smoking, alcohol, drug addiction. Because it is not through persuasion, coding, or other psychological impact on a person that the liver can be cleansed. As soon as liver and brain cells are cleansed of toxins produced by alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, the tendency towards such harmful habits will most likely simply disappear by itself.
Gout is the Deposition of Uric Acid
Gout is essentially an autoimmune reaction that causes inflammation in the body, as a result of which the acid-alkaline pH level shifts towards the acidic side, so it is very important to consume antioxidant-containing products. Doctors usually prescribe medications to prevent the external manifestations of the disease, which suppress the formation of uric acid, associated with blocking the enzyme that produces uric acid.
Uric acid is a metabolic product that results from the breakdown of proteins and forms colorless crystals in the body that poorly dissolve in water, ethanol, and diethyl ether, but dissolve in glycerin, hot sulfuric acid, and alkali. If the amount of uric acid in the body exceeds the norm, it begins to deposit in soft tissues covering the joints. The deposition occurs in cartilage, in the form of needle-like crystals. This is one of the mechanisms of gout development.
Consuming a large amount of large molecular amino acid compounds (animal proteins) in the diet overloads the liver, which starts to synthesize uric acid intensively, but the kidneys cannot excrete it in such large amounts. Moreover, if considering that the acid-alkaline balance is disrupted, as well as a deficiency of vitamin D, it can be concluded that such a situation is favorable for the development of gout and many other diseases. Uric acid also deposits in places with poor blood circulation (ears, fingers of hands and feet), for example, on fingers in the form of tophi, deforming the joints. Inflammations, redness, and swellings may form.
In the kidneys, uric acid microcrystals cause damage that can promote inflammation, further complicating kidney function, thereby promoting many other diseases.
Chronic excessive amounts of uric acid in the body – these are kidney problems (pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis).
Gout primarily affects people who consume a lot of meat, do not eat greens, and drink little water. Alcohol also promotes the development of gout, accelerating the metabolism of purines (nitrogen-containing heterocycles), thereby promoting uric acid synthesis in the liver. Beer is especially harmful because it contains not only alcohol but also purines and acts as a catalyst. Hence, in ancient times, gout was called the disease of the wealthy, as lords often held feasts, where tables were overloaded with meat dishes, alcohol, and as a result, they already suffered from diseases popular today.
Some diseases, in which cells rapidly die and regenerate, i.e., a lot of proteins enter the circulation, also promote the development of gout, for example, leukemia and psoriasis.
Gout is diagnosed by blood tests (uric acid should not exceed 300μmol/L), urine tests (at least 600µg and no more than 900µg of uric acid should be excreted per day), as well as urate and oxalate tests, and joint ultrasound (USG).
Gallstones
Bile participates in fat metabolism and acts as an emulsifier. The cause of gallstones may be an altered composition of bile because the amount and quality of cholesterol have changed, which, for example, may be associated with Giardia (Giardia lamblia) (a parasitic protozoan organism) the presence of, cholesterol of animal origin that enters the body with food from animal fats, the use of glue-like products (cheese, cottage cheese, white bread). Under the influence of these factors on liver function, the quality of the bile produced deteriorates; it becomes thicker and gallstones form. As a second cause of gallstone formation, brought about by stress and physical inactivity, one could mention impaired contraction of the gallbladder and compression of the bile ducts related to spasm of the abdominal cavity muscles. As a result, bile stagnates and stones form.
Gallstones (cholelithiasis) are crystalline deposits that form in the gallbladder or bile ducts. Most often they are cholesterol stones, more rarely pigment (bilirubin) stones. In many people, gallstones cause no symptoms for a long time and are discovered incidentally.
The most typical symptom is biliary colic: pain in the right upper quadrant or epigastrium, more often after a fattier meal, which can radiate to the back or the right shoulder and pass within a few hours. Seek urgent help if the following appear: fever and chills (possible inflammation); jaundice or very dark urine (possible obstruction of bile outflow); persistent vomiting, very severe or prolonged pain.
In modern medicine, various methods are used to get rid of gallstones. Unfortunately, they cause side effects. The best known are laparoscopic surgical operations, fragmentation with ultrasound (resonant effects on surrounding tissues and cells), medications under various names, whose active substance is ursodeoxycholic acid (dissolves only sand and small stones). In modern medicine, the causes of gallstones are considered to be age—which is in fact the time it takes the disease to develop, but before that the conditions for its occurrence were created. Heredity is also mentioned, although this factor is of minor importance, because in reality what is inherited are family lifestyle traditions. Female hormones also need not be blamed if a person eats an adequate diet, the kind intended by nature.
Signs that may indicate that gallstones have formed:
👇 bags under the eyes,
👇 pigmentation spots on the face and hands, often observed in older people,
👇 baldness,
👇 rapid greying,
👇 formation of cysts and tumors,
👇 dull eyes,
👇 coating on the tongue,
👇 unpleasant breath from the mouth,
👇 herpes outbreaks often appear,
👇 cracking at the corners of the lips and on the heels.
Causes of gallstone formation:
💥 dehydration of the body; lack of water, so bile thickens and crystallization begins,
💥 an inadequate diet, overeating, a high proportion of protein in the diet,
💥 refined foods,
💥 a disrupted eating and sleep schedule,
💥 sweetened drinks,
💥 medications.
Pancreas
It is believed that lifespan is directly related to the condition of the pancreas. Nature has arranged that living cells, if damaged, self-digest (autolysis process). This means that if "live" products are consumed in the diet, a minimal amount of pancreatic enzymes is needed to break down just a few cells and start a similar reaction cascade.
The pancreas is often damaged at an early age when children are fed, for example, sweet porridges boiled in milk (semolina, oat, rice), which lose their biological value when boiled, overload the pancreas, and cause fermentation, putrefaction processes in the intestinal tract.
The pancreas weighs about 70g. Its small endocrine tail part contains Langerhans islets' beta cells, where the hormone insulin, a universal anabolic hormone, is produced, facilitating the entry of broken-down dietary elemental components into cells through their membranes. The head part of the pancreas produces the main food processing enzymes lipase, amylase, and trypsin.
If the optimal body temperature is +36.6°C, then for the pancreas to produce enzymes, it is +38.0°C
The synthesis of enzymes and the hormone insulin is an energy-intensive process. For example, processing thermally processed fruits requires up to 100 times more enzymes than if they were fresh. People, due to ignorance of physiological processes, harm the pancreas because they are guided only by appetite, not realizing what it can lead to, but it can lead to diabetes, cancer, pancreatitis, and even necrosis, which can occur by regularly overloading the pancreas, especially with meat products. The release of a huge amount of enzymes can start a very dangerous process of necrosis, where the released enzymes begin to process the pancreas itself. Necrosis can be easily avoided (with moderation in eating), but it is difficult to cure.
How to Protect the Pancreas?
Already earlier, doctors knew that the pancreas from acute pancreatitis can be best saved by fasting. Nowadays, various preparations have appeared, including hormonal ones, which further expand the possibilities to save the patient in an acute situation. Although the capabilities of medics have expanded, still, if the primary cause is not addressed, the situation can become unpleasant. Chronic pancreatitis nowadays is a very common problem, and to not reach the life and death boundary, it is necessary to switch to a cyclic, naturally conditioned eating regimen, correcting the diet.
For the pancreas to regenerate, ideally, one should not eat anything from 4 p.m. onwards because, if eating later, the food remains in the duodenum until morning, although there is still a 5-meter journey through the small intestine and 2 meters through the large intestine ahead. This is very damaging to the body. Fermentation, putref
action, and gas formation begin. This way, bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SIBO), irritable bowel syndrome, and dysbiosis develop. Of course, the intensity of these processes is influenced by the factor – what, how much, and in what combination was eaten. As a result, a nutrient deficiency is formed, but toxic substances, through the portal vein, which is like a venous collector, from the intestinal tract reach the body's main filter – the liver. To process toxic metabolites, the liver has to work with a greater load, hence many other functions are neglected. Various liver diseases arise, such as hepatoholecystitis, calcified cholecystitis, and even cirrhosis. All this inevitably leaves an impact on the entire body over the years.
The pancreas's self-renewal can only occur during fasting.
Signs Indicating Problems with the Pancreas
The pancreas can produce up to 200g of enzymes per day, depending on what and how much a person eats. This important human organ consists of two gland system parts: exocrine and endocrine. The exocrine part produces more than 90% of the total amount of substances produced. This part produces amylase, lipase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin. Meanwhile, the endocrine part produces pancreatic polypeptide, as well as hormones: glucagon, insulin, and somatostatin. Additionally, the pancreas produces bicarbonate soda or alkali to create an alkaline environment in the intestinal tract along with bile and thereby activate enzymes that cannot work in an acidic environment.
If the hormone insulin is secreted when there is a lot of glucose in the blood, then the hormone glucagon works oppositely – it releases glucose from glycogen and fat tissues. This happens in situations when a person is fasting or completely abstains from fast carbohydrates. For example, switching to a keto diet – eating fatty food is an effective way to lose weight.
Pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin stop the action of insulin, as well as glucagon, thereby completing food processing.
Overloading the pancreas for a long time (frequent snacks, mixing various foods together, a large amount of fast carbohydrates, meat, lectins), it gradually degrades and even decreases in size over time, resulting in the production of fewer enzymes. This means that food is assimilated worse. Pathogenic microflora feeds on incompletely processed food. Dysbiosis develops. Inflammatory processes occur, nutrient and vitamin deficiencies form, especially concerning fat-soluble vitamins. As a result, the potential of the immune system's functioning weakens.
The condition of the pancreas is influenced by the liver and gallbladder. The liver's excretory duct connects with the gallbladder's excretory duct and forms a common excretory duct, which at the entrance to the duodenum is joined by the pancreatic duct. Therefore, if the bile is thick, its flow worsens, which can disrupt the flow of pancreatic juice containing enzymes and hormones. This way, a blockage can form, and unevacuated enzymes can start processing the pancreas itself, leading to pancreatitis or even necrosis. To prevent this, it is necessary to drink enough water, eat greens, and fatty food. Bile-driving teas and garlic fit well.
Here are some typical signs that may indicate problems with the pancreas. Of course, similar signs individually are also observed in other health issues, but if several of these signs are relevant to you, it may
indicate problems with the pancreas:
😶🌫 pain after eating, especially overeating,
😶🌫 abdominal pain around the navel,
😶🌫 specific feces,
😶🌫 abdominal bloating,
😶🌫 weight loss,
😶🌫 regular appetite reduction, which is a natural mechanism by which the body tries to protect itself.
It should be noted that pancreas regeneration only occurs when a person does not eat, so fasting positively affects this organ. Although frequent meals with small amounts of food, as some incompetent specialists suggest, will help, overall, it will not improve the situation because the pancreas does not have time to regenerate if food enters frequently, hence one should not eat and drink at night. At night, all organs should rest and renew themselves, not deal with food processing and utilization, so interval fasting fits well (see the section on Detoxification).
Mechanism of tartar formation
Any mucus is like a biofilm created by bacterial colonies. Mucus or biofilm in the oral cavity is like a bacterial shield that also emits an unpleasant smell.
This biofilm protects bacteria from the effects of our organism. To protect the teeth from acids, the body produces sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), i.e., soda, and hydrogen peroxide. Soda adversely affects bacteria that produce acids, but hydrogen peroxide performs a disinfection function.
The first enzymes in the body that act on food are amylase ptialin and maltase in saliva, which work best in a slightly alkaline environment.
Bacteria, forming mucus or biofilm, thus protect themselves from soda and hydrogen peroxide.
Plaque or biofilm forms the most if you eat sweets, but bacterial food is sugars or carbohydrates, whose processing process produces acids, capable of damaging weak tooth enamel. Enamel mainly consists of calcium, which is an alkali. Over time, as this biofilm accumulates, it turns into tartar, which bacterial colonies create as protectors from external threats.
In addition to cleaning teeth with toothpaste, for prophylaxis, they can additionally be rinsed using the natural cleaning mechanism with similar components. Dissolve a quarter teaspoon of soda in half a glass of warm water and add a quarter teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide, thoroughly mixing everything. After rinsing the teeth several times with this mixture, of course, rinse your teeth with clean water. This way, tooth cleaning can be supplemented, mimicking a similar natural cleaning and protection mechanism.
Caries
One of the manifestations of metabolic disorders in the body is caries and other dental problems. Disruption of the balance of oral, intestinal microflora, and mineral balance disorders in the body are the main causes of caries, vitamin K and D, as well as calcium, magnesium, silicon deficiencies should not be allowed.
Saliva contains amylase, which only works in an alkaline environment, but when consuming sweets, the environment is acidified because tooth enamel, consisting of alkaline minerals, is damaged by an acidic environment created by sugar and its products, as bacteria processing sugar produce acids.
Of course, dental hygiene is necessary, but too frequent tooth brushing can weaken the enamel. Caries is caused by specific bacteria that produce acids. For mouth rinsing, water with added soda can be used. If a person does not eat sweets and has no tartar, it is not necessary to clean teeth 2-3 times a day.
Toothpaste should be chosen with as natural a composition as possible, so it does not contain laurel sulfate, triclosan. It should not be too abrasive. Avoid using toothpaste with fluoride, as it accumulates in bones and promotes oncological diseases. Teeth become brittle, and fillings adhere poorly to them. Added triclosan destroys both bad and good oral microflora. The bad soon regenerates, but the good not so quickly.
Can you keep your teeth healthy
Since school days, almost everyone has heard that the cause of caries is bacteria that stick to the teeth, which multiply from sweets; therefore after eating you should brush your teeth with toothpaste to get rid of acids and bacteria. This raises a logical question—sugar kills bacteria, after all; for example, sugar is added to jam so that bacteria that produce acids do not multiply in it. Yes, acids damage tooth enamel. But the opposite process also takes place—the body restores tooth enamel. If both processes are in balance, teeth do not deteriorate. Teeth have root canals through which lymph circulates, and by means of it mineral salts reach the enamel. Only when the supply of these mineral salts is insufficient do teeth lose their protection and begin to break down their enamel. First comes an insufficient mineral content in tooth enamel, and only then caries.
Healthy teeth cannot decay.
First, teeth lose minerals due to an inadequate diet, and only second is the cause poor hygiene. Through the pulp, through which all blood vessels pass, dental fluid, or dental lymph, circulates; it is a sticky mineral solution that reaches the enamel. Salivary parotin, whose production is controlled by the hypothalamus located in the lower part of the diencephalon, stimulates the movement of dental lymph; in this way this solution restores tooth enamel and strengthens dentin. Dentin is stronger than bone, and tooth enamel is stronger than dentin. Although enamel consists of calcium, calcium deficiency is not to blame here, but rather vitamin D3 deficiency, because there is nothing to deliver calcium to the teeth; and, as a result of vitamin K2 deficiency, there is nothing to keep this calcium in the teeth. Milk and cottage cheese will not help here: the calcium obtained, by neutralizing the acids produced by casein, will be lost more than gained.
Butter as a source of vitamins D and K does fit—at least it did in the past, when cows in the sun on natural meadows ate green grass. But what about modern cows that have never seen the sun in their lives? It is what it is. It should be understood that butter can differ greatly in structure and composition. If cows are fed something other than grass, it is very likely that an insufficiency of these important vitamins will develop. Then this deficiency must be compensated with dietary supplements.
What harmful ingredients may be present in toothpaste
Before buying toothpaste, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with its composition.
Here are some undesirable ingredients that manufacturers tend to add:
🦷 Fluorine (more precisely—fluorides), as advertisements say, is added to toothpastes mainly because it strengthens tooth enamel and reduces the risk of caries. However at high fluoride concentrations (fluorosis), fluoride can be a powerful oxidizer that causes damage not only to tooth enamel but to the entire skeletal system, promotes gum bleeding and changes enamel color—mottling. It causes deficiencies of vitamins K and B, weakness in the limbs, inhibits intracellular synthesis processes, thereby accelerating the body's physiological aging, weakens immunity, causes colloid degeneration of thyroid tissue and changes in brain tissue (similar to Alzheimer's disease).
🦷 Sodium fluoride (NaF), although it is not as aggressive as fluorine, nevertheless produces a similar effect.
🦷 Metronidazole, chlorhexidine, triclosan and tricloguard are powerful antibiotics that destroy the symbiotic intestinal microflora. In pregnant women they impair fetal blood supply and oxygen delivery and reduce the level of the hormone estrogen.
🦷 SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) and SLES (sodium laureth sulfate) are added to toothpastes mainly to create foam and to provide active surface cleaning. They damage lipid membranes (including those of bacteria and mucosal cells), do not distinguish between “good” and “bad” bacteria. They denature salivary proteins (e.g., mucins), reduce saliva's ability to regulate surface tension and can cause a feeling of dryness in the mouth. They promote the development of cataracts. In children they damage vision and inhibit mental development. When SLS and SLES break down and interact with other substances, dioxins can form. The resulting anionic surfactant compounds dissolve poorly and are poorly eliminated from the body.
🦷 Aluminum compounds perform an abrasive function, serve as carriers of active substances, and can be a filler and a structure stabilizer. They create a risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
🦷 Parabens (butyl,propyl, isobutyl, isopropyl, methyl) are strong preservatives. They have a harmful effect on the female reproductive system, increase the risk of breast and uterine cancer, and in men increase the risk of testicular cancer.