phase occurs as well as bacterial digestion of any leftover nutrients.
The fleshy machine is a complex one. Since there are so many areas to consider when separating the whole into components, there are three primary areas that one can focus on to jump-start health: the nervous system, the myofascial-skeletal system, and the digestive system. Coordinating the active and restful branches of the nervous system is central to many health traditions around the world. Let us not be so haughty to think that because a system is ancient or uses a different biological or psychosomatic map than our present post-industrial one that it is inferior. Western medicine shares the same holistic roots as the Asian systems through the ancient Greeks. There are millions of people at present enjoying good health by following these ancient traditions and millions who have thrived in the past. In understanding the fleshy machine we benefit from everyone’s outlook, old and new. Let each person decide for himself or herself what the best course to take might be, but let us not limit our choices based on an ill-informed prejudice or bureaucratic myopia.
Although not the only way, one of the best habits for coordinating the nervous system is through regular meditation. This simple (but often challenging) discipline, coupled with stress management and a good quality diet, is paramount to good health. It is also important to have a basic understanding of how your body functions. The more you learn, the more informed you are to make worthwhile choices. The next step, as the Eastern traditions teach, is to get to the root of the mind, the source of the body’s purpose.
Physiology Fundamentals
MANY PEOPLE CAN EXPLAIN HOW A COMPUTER, AUTOMOBILE, OR airplane operates, but when asked about their own body, their most precious vehicle, they often are clueless. How strange that we should invest so much effort in knowing machines and so little in knowing our own bodies. The following paragraphs should establish the basics.
Digestion and assimilation of nutrients is a complex process, and the various organ functions that support these processes also have many aspects to them. The following explanation is pared down for the sake of expediency, yet it is still a good starting point for understanding what is happening both when you eat and while you live.
The Mouth
You have three sets of salivary glands in the mouth that perform two important functions: (1) Secreting saliva that acts as both a lubricant for food and as a trap for bacteria. It is the chewing of food, mixing ample saliva with the nutrients, that helps isolate minor pathogens. This assumes, of course, that your immune system has not been deeply compromised. (2) Secreting a special enzyme called alpha amylase (ptyalin) that breaks down starches.
This is the first place in the body where starches get broken down, so it is important to chew starchy foods well to ease the burden on the rest of the digestive system. Starches, also called complex carbohydrates, need to be turned into sugars initially in the mouth. It is common for people to wash down breads and pastas with liquids, not allowing for this vital sugar breakdown, and this could have counterproductive consequences later in the digestion process. Breads are chewy for a reason; they need lots of saliva and chewing activity to prepare them for the small intestine, efficiently releasing the long-chain sugars.1 Don’t wash down starches or any nutrients with liquids.
As a result of numerous inquiries in class such as “How many times are we supposed to chew starches before we swallow them?” and replying that there is no number set by the International Board of Mastication, we can assume that grandma’s advice to “chew thirty times before swallowing” is more than sufficient.
The Stomach
Nutrients do not get assimilated in the stomach. The stomach is a type of holding tank for food, preparing it for the small intestine, where about 90% of the nutritive assimilation occurs. The stomach’s job is to create various acids and other chemicals to turn food into a kind of stomach smoothie called chyme (starts with “k” and rhymes with lime). There is a churning in the stomach caused by small muscular contractions (similar to the way a concrete truck mixes cement), rolling food over and mixing it with stomach acids. The stomach has folds in it that expand, somewhat like an accordion, to allow more room for that third helping of lasagna. If one overdoes it, a signal eventually gets sent from the lower part of the stomach saying, “No mas, no mas” [no more, no more], and that “accordion” plays a very mournful version of Lady of Spain, which your body interprets as digestive unhappiness.
There is a bit of a delay from the time when the brain registers being full from the special receptors in the stomach—all the more reason to eat slowly and observe the Three-Quarters Rule: Eat three-fourths as much as you think you want, stopping three-fourths before you want to. This is another reason for not getting too distracted during a meal, so you can pay attention to your body’s signals and stop before it is too late.
The Small Intestine
The stomach terminates into this crucial organ. Here is Digestion Central. The average small intestine is about 20 feet long.2 It has lots of little folds that have little finger-like projections on them, which in turn have smaller hair-like projections on them. All of this is for the purpose of creating more surface area in your body for nutrients to get broken down into energy or structure (muscle, fat, and so forth). If your small intestine were just a simple hollow tunnel, it would have a total absorptive surface of about 3.6 ft.2 Instead, because of all the folds and projections atop projections, it has a total absorptive surface area of about 2200 ft!2 Baseball players tell me that is approximately the size of a standard baseball infield.
The small intestine occupies most of your abdominal region. A plethora of digestive enzymes and juices created by the liver and pancreas are mixed here with chyme, which then get absorbed into your bloodstream.
The Large Intestine
Also known as the colon, the large intestine has no enzymes released in it. Any digestion that occurs here is the result of both small intestine enzymes continuing to work and the activity of bacteria. An important function of the colon is the reabsorption of water and some of the B vitamins. If the colon does not reabsorb water, the result is diarrhea.
This is where the very important fecal material is formed. A bowel movement is composed of approximately 75% water, 5% bacteria, with the remaining 20% fiber, dead cells, and cellular waste products.
When starches go partially digested, because of poor food combining or excess fiber consumption, for example, there is a stimulation of excess bacterial gas (a.k.a. flatulence), which could facilitate cramping and abdominal distention. As a result of poorly digested sugars becoming food for the colon’s bacteria, a very undesirable condition in the colon could manifest with symptoms as diverse as chronic fatigue, headaches, blurry vision, and skin problems.
You’ve Gotta Move
Having a healthy daily elimination is crucial to good health. No matter what supplements you take, how much you exercise, how long you watch your favorite yoga tapes, if you are not having a daily elimination, you are not healthy. Twice a day is even more efficient. A healthy BM should be well formed and in one piece, not in “marbles” or small fragments.
