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Food contains many large molecules such as proteins and complex carbohydrates, which are essentially foreign materials to the body's tissues, and as such, constitute antigens. Proper digestion of food is extremely important, for without adequate breakdown, the body's immune system would be activated against your very nourishment, with far reaching consequences. Additionally, a damaged or leaky gut wall will also lead to increased penetration into the bloodstream of these "dietary antigens."
The human diet is made up of foods consisting of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), residues (vegetable fiber), water, and unfortunately with processed foods, many foreign chemicals, some of which, do not even occur in nature. Also consumed are a plethora of various molecules found in natural foods and herbs, including flavonoids, polyphenolics, volatile oils, resins, tannins, saponins, etc.
Most vitamins and chelated minerals are absorbed into the bloodstream without change. Larger molecules must be broken down to effect healthy utilization of their value, and prevent potentially severe results if they are not. Apart from physical maceration which occurs in the mouth, the rest of the digestive job is left to the actions of enzymes, acids, and salts, all of which must occur in the right amounts and in the right environment for them to work.
Carbohydrates are provided from starchy and sugary foods, and are the main source of energy for the body. With adequate digestion, they are broken down to glucose, fructose, and galactose. Complex carbohydrates provide for a gradual timed release of these energy molecules. Consumption of refined sugars and white flower, on the other hand, impact the body by producing an abnormally high level in the bloodstream of these simple sugars (hyperglycemia hyperglycemia), such as produced in inadequately controlled diabetes mellitus, producing thirst, the passing of large amounts of urine, glycosuria (glucose in the urine), and ketosis (an accumulation of ketones in the body).
The pancreas in the non-diabetic, seeing the abnormally high level of glucose, then secretes more insulin, which promotes the absorption of glucose into the liver and into muscle cells, where it is converted to energy and into fat cells for storage. In the liver, glucose is stored as glycogen, which is reconverted back to glucose in response to stress or exercise. The problem begins with there now being too much insulin produced due to the abnormal dumping of glucose into the bloodstream. The insulin excess, then converts all the glucose, resulting in hypoglycemia (an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood) resulting in symptoms including sweating, weakness, hunger, dizziness, trembling, headache, palpitations, confusion, and sometimes double vision. Behavior is often irrational and aggressive and movements are uncoordinated. The symptom of hunger, often resulting from the consumption of 'empty calories', which can then prompt the individual to consume more sugar, starting another cycle. Additionally, this practice produces a lot of stored energy that needs to be dissipated, leaving the body tense.
Proteins, found abundantly in meat, fish, eggs, cheese, peas, beans, and lentils, are used primarily for the construction and repair of body tissues, and to form enzymes, hormones, and other chemical mediators used to control and regulate the body. Proteins are broken down progressively into polypeptides, peptides, and finally amino acids.
Fats (also known as lipids and includes oils) are found in meat, dairy products, and plant foods such as nuts, avocados, olives, etc., also provide energy and some of the materials for cell building and maintenance, especially nerve cells and skin tissue. Fats also carry the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats are digested down to glycerol, glycerides, and fatty acids, by enzymes called lipases which are secreted by the pancreas and intestine.
Minerals are not digested, but rather chelated (combined with amino acids) for the purpose of absorption. Mineral ions, like iron, calcium, and zinc are relatively insoluble and best assimilated when presented from natural sources such as the animal tissues like eggs and dairy foods. Additionally, mineral chelation can only happen in an appropriate acid environment, and therefore, advertisements promoting antacid products with the 'benefit of calcium' are without merit, the acid environment necessary for proper chelation having been quenched by the alkaloids of the antacid. Of course, the antacid manufacturers would rather not tell you this, preferring that you take their product before 'every meal' to prevent acid indigestion (an oxymoron). This practice would be very dangerous and destructive. Even the AMA states: "Antacid drugs should not be taken regularly except under medical supervision as they may suppress the symptoms of a more serious disorder and provoke serious complications."
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