It seems that a lot of people experience indigestion. At least if television advertising is any guide, Americans feel crappy after they eat terrible food all the time. I say terrible because if you watch the adds, they always show chili dogs, pizza, fried food and all things ball game as the inciting factor in why you might need Tums or similar products. Thus, totally negating the fact that feeling poorly after you eat is NOT normal.
Food is not there to satisfy our unmet emotional needs and it is not necessary to overindulge just to verify that you have had a good time even if it presently seems to be the American way. Food should represent celebration of the beauty and diversity of life on our planet. Food should nourish you physically, be part of community and celebration but not at the expense of your health.
The digestive system is your second brain, it has as much impact on mood, energy levels, immune system health and hormonal balance as any other body system. The old saying “you are what you eat” could not be more true. Everything you put into your body has to be broken down into its elemental components. This is a complex and not fully understood process involving adequate stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, brush boarder enzymes in the intestines, hundreds of strains of bacteria, and muscle movements just to name the basics. If even one of these systems does not work, the entire process breaks down.
So, what happens then? If you don’t have enough stomach acid, you will never break the bonds in the proteins that you eat in order to free up the essential amino acids (the building blocks of all life), if you have low stomach acid, the pancreas does not get all the signals it needs to send enzymes to the Duodenum and consequently, you will not have the chemical mediators needed to break down fats or carbohydrates as they should be. Once this has happened, the food that passes into the small intestine cannot be absorbed and nutrients cannot be gathered from what is there and instead of continuing to be digested, the food starts to rot. Yes, rot because much like a well turned and tended compost pile, you can create beautiful soil that can then be used to produce beautiful plants or you can produce mold, putrid masses and sludge. So, back to the antacid.
Antacids shut off stomach acid production because the conventional medical world has incorrectly assumed that if our stomach hurts we have too much acid. Chronic use, causes a virtual gut paralysis. The longer this goes on, the less functional our digestive system gets. And since our brain activity is directly linked to our gut health (60-80% of your serotonin is made in your gut, not your brain), you are shutting down your brain. This even to the most uninformed person must sound like a bad idea. So, what do you do?
First, quit the antacids, they are poison. Second, get off of all acid blocking drugs (with supervision of course) and third, start adding probiotic rich fermented foods to your diet every day. The easiest is Kombucha. Kombucha has been used by humans since the time of Confucius. It is fermented black tea that when consumed provides the body with essential probiotics, B vitamins, and helps to energize and normalize body function. It takes a while for some to get used to the taste but its effervescent clean flavor grows on you over time. If you do overindulge or eat those undesirable foods, consume a few ounces of this long lived health drink to balance you out. Remember, anything that stops your digestive system, stops your brain.
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