How Does Your Digestion Impact Every Single Aspect of Your Health?

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By Nechama Dina Smith

I wanted to tell you about the foundation of the foundations of Nutritional therapy, and about its far reaching impact into health on many levels. The foundation of the foundations of health is digestion, and it has a deep effect on a person’s endocrine system, immune system, cardiovascular system, detoxification system, as well as nervous system.

Digestion and Your Endocrine System

First, how does your digestion affect your endocrine system? Well, our endocrine system consists of organs and other body parts that produce hormones that help us function. The pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid glands, pancreatic islets, adrenal glands, ovaries/testes, pineal gland, thymus gland and adipose tissue are all hormone producers. Other body areas also produce hormones: the hypothalamus in the brain produces 9 hormones; the skin produces calcitriol, or active vitamin D; the heart produces ANP hormone which helps with blood pressure. The small intestine produces the hormones secretin and CCK; and the liver produces, recycles, or disposes of other hormones. There are steroid hormones that affect reproduction and growth; thyroid hormones that affect metabolism, growth and development and the nervous system; amine hormones like adrenaline and histamine; peptides and protein hormones like insulin, anti diuretic hormones, oxytocin, serotonin and gastrin; and eicosanoid hormones that deal with inflammation. There is a lot at stake here and we want all of these to work optimally. Besides for consuming nutrient dense food that nourishes each of the sources of what the hormones are made of, like healthy fats, proteins and balanced minerals, our bodies also need to digest the nutrients so that each nutrient can be absorbed and assimilated by the body and go to where they are needed and produce those all-encompassing hormones.

An example of why we would need proper digestion to enable the endocrine system to operate properly is this: in our stomach, one job is to cleave peptides, or break them down into individual amino acids. If the stomach is not acting properly and doing this job, the body can’t produce peptide or amine hormones. This can affect adrenaline production, as well as serotonin, oxytocin, and insulin, to name a few vital hormones. If a person’s gallbladder is not functioning well as part of the normal digestive process, it won't break down healthy fats the right way and this can impact the eicosanoid hormones and give inflammation trouble.

So in any of the many potential endocrine troubles, address that important aspect: is your digestion working in the best way possible to allow all the wonderful nutrients you are ingesting to be absorbed and create the incredible hormones that keep our bodies running amazingly?

(See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27379644/ )

Digestion and Your Immune System

Another impact that digestion can have on the body is in regards to the immune system. There are many scientists and doctors who spend their whole lives studying the immune system. It is absolutely phenomenal, the three levels of protection our body has to defend us against invaders. There is the level of physical barriers like skin, mucous membranes, hydrochloric acid and other intestinal secretions that kill pathogens. There is the level of the innate immune system where a bunch of cells are constantly roaming to scout out anything foreign, to mark them out, kill them, and consume them! And then there is the adaptive immune system where antibodies are created so that the next time that invader comes, the antibodies can create a vicious immediate attack so that the person never even feels sick. The immune system protects from anything like a cut or burn to parasites and viruses. Fever and inflammation are examples of what you might see as the body does its work creating new immune system cells to fight and to heal the problem.

The digestive system takes part of and strengthens some important immune activities. One main example would be the hydrochloric acid in our stomachs. The acidity in our stomachs burns through and destroys any pathogens that got in there by way of the food we ate. So having sufficient working hydrochloric acid is a must.

Our liver and gallbladder, auxiliary organs of the digestive system, work on producing complement proteins which help immune cells fight infection and eliminate immune products and waste material. So again they must be working properly and fed the nutrients they need to thrive (like bitter herbs or vegetables).

The small intestine, when healthy and the lining cells are tightly bound together in a tight cellular junction, provide a place for beneficial bacteria to flourish and form a barrier so the wrong things like foreign microbes cannot get through to the bloodstream.

The large intestine, which hosts the gut microbiome responsible for a balanced ecosystem that doesn’t allow harmful bacteria production to overtake the body, also must be fed what it likes in order to produce what we need: nice amounts of delicious fiber.

So here again we saw how working digestion is necessary to keep our immune system in top form, protecting our lives.

Digestion and Your Heart

Now, what about our hearts? Can digestion affect the cardiovascular system? The answer is a resounding yes! First of all, digestion that does a good job of taking apart protein is critical because there are amino acids like taurine and carnitine that are needed by the heart. Also, If the stomach is working properly with its pH balance, it will be able to absorb calcium needed for the heart’s steady contractions and digest B vitamins needed to metabolize homocysteine so the homocysteine doesn’t damage the heart. So digestion has got to work properly with those proteins and calcium and vitamins. In the large intestines, proper bowel flora is also needed to produce the B vitamins. And when the liver and gallbladder function just right, this enables the digestion of healthy fats, which is the heart’s main source of fuel, as well as the fat soluble vitamins.

As part of the general umbrella of cardiovascular health, blood pressure regulation is an important aspect. How does good digestion affect blood pressure? Well, good digestion means we’ve got good gut bacteria. Poor quality of the gut bacteria is linked to high blood pressure and depression. (See article in https://newsroom.heart.org/news/new-research-suggests-gut-bacteria-may-be-linked-to-high-blood-pressure-and-depression.) There is a study that suggests that there are different signature molecules produced by gut bacteria that affect blood pressure, metabolism, hormones, and the nervous system. Not bad for those tiny busy microbes in our guts!

Digestion and Detoxification

When it comes to detoxification, our body’s getting rid of substances that are irritating or harmful to it, proper or improper digestion can have an effect. The reason detoxification is so important is because it is needed to free up vital cellular and organ activities from toxins so those cells and organs can function effectively and seamlessly. Many things can impact our body’s ability to detoxify properly, and digestion is a key one. If a person is not digesting their food well, even wholesome food, the intestines get clogged up and the body’s detoxification pathways are clogged up as well. Another issue related to digestion and detoxification is that for detoxification to work, there are specific amino acids that play roles. In order for proteins to be digested so the amino acids are available, we need a good ratio of hydrochloric acid in the stomach digesting our food. We also need the food to be mechanically chewed enough and chemically broken down by the acids enough so that all the amino acids are separated and free to do their part. Digestion has to work in the fatty acid department too, because if it doesn't, the lymph will be sluggish and therefore congest the liver which is the master organ of detoxification. And finally, the intestinal tract must do its job which includes removing toxins in the bile that goes through the intestines like a river in order for the digestion process to remove them. (See https://chelseaturnerwellness.com/optimal-digestion-is-vital-for-proper-detoxification/)

Digestion and Your Nervous System

So now that we know that digestion is of paramount importance in the activities of the endocrine system, immune system, cardiovascular system, and detoxification, what else can digestion impact? You probably know it already… our nervous system! There are lots of books on the gut brain connection, and for good reason. You've heard of the expression, “gut feeling.” the gut is where 95% of the serotonin in our body is produced. Serotonin is a hormone found in the gut that helps with digestion and also our nervous system. If it is not sufficient, it impacts our mood, as serotonin is our feel happy hormone. You may also have heard that certain specialized curative diets can help heal both autism (an issue with the brain) and Crohn’s, an issue with the intestines. One is called the GAPS diet. GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome, and the diet is based on the premise that a damaged intestine whose cell junctions are not tight and healthy but weak and leaky, and whose bacteria population is imbalanced and lacking in the healthy ones needed in a 10 to 1 ratio towards the unfriendly bacteria, can not only cause Crohn’s and similar diseases, but also be a huge factor in allowing toxins like vaccines to more strongly damage vulnerable children and end up causing autism. As autism rates are rising alarmingly, as well as rates of vaccines and amounts of antibiotics being given (and its official that antibiotics as life saving as they can be also wipe out entire colonies of necessary bacteria), we should seriously look at the gut situation and see if we can start to solve the issues from there. You can heal a leaky gut by tightening and sealing the the intestinal linings with nourishing food chewed well, adding meals that contain healthy bacteria, including bone broths that help physically regrow the lining, avoiding all toxins and refraining from more vaccines till the coast is very clear, and making sure digestion runs smoothly. Once that is accomplished, keep up the work with a specialized diet until you see vast improvements. Other modes of assistance can also be researched and used as well. (Read Gut and Psychology Syndrome, by Dr. Natasha Campbell) But for my article’s point, you should know that good digestion is no simple matter. It is the source of healthy children both physically, emotionally, and mentally.

In Conclusion

Of course, all our health is dependent on our Creator, the Creator of this whole world. And He also created us with intelligence and free choice. So let's use our free choice and choose good food, encourage proper digestion, and do our part in being well enough to contribute to our own lives and the lives of others.