The underestimated importance of digestion and absorption

The underestimated importance of digestion and absorption

 

Our bodies are composed of trillions of different cell types, each designed to perform a varied set of functions all designed to keep us fit, healthy and alive.

To perform these functions every one of those trillions of cells is nourished (nutrition), by the food and drink we consume from our diets.

In more simple terms, think of this as the fuel and building materials required to allow the factory (cell) to produce its products (health, fitness and wellbeing), being provided by the content of what we eat and drink, every single day.

Therefore, if a diet is lacking in vital quality nutrients, it will result in poor health, fitness and wellbeing, and eventually shut the factory down!

However, it’s not simply a case of the moment we put the food from our plate into our mouths, that the cells now have the tools to do the job.

What is often forgotten or misunderstood, is that the food from our diet must be broken down and reassembled into different structures; to satisfy our cells’ requirements so they can perform their multiple and varied functions.

These nutrients must also be transported from the digestive tract, into the blood stream, so they can eventually become available for use by the specific cell intended.

These vital processes are called digestion and absorption.

Many different diet and lifestyle factors over time, can cause these processes to deteriorate, and so impact the delivery of nutrition to the cells and subsequently the health of the host, YOU.

Some of these may include:

  • Inadequate quality of nutrition, especially a lack of fibre, in your diet
  • Stress
  • Inferior quality or lack of sleep
  • Excessive use of alcohol
  • Long term medication use
  • Recreational drug use
  • Lack of exercise
  • Smoking

Symptoms that may indicate possible digestive dysfunction include:

  • Heartburn or reflux
  • Abdominal bloating
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhoea
  • Persistent flatulence
  • Burping between meals
  • Consistent low energy and motivation

So, if you have these aforementioned symptoms and detrimental dietary and lifestyle factors, then maybe this should give you some ‘food for thought’?

 

Root cause: Digestion

If you gave two people a meal, one containing protein and one carbohydrate, but with the exact same calorie content, each of them would begin to feel hungry at different timescales during and after their meal. 

This is because our appetite is not controlled by counting calories but the hormonal system, which interprets the different chemical structures of our diets and relays this information to the brain to either suppress or increase the desire to eat.

Effect of a high-protein breakfast on the postprandial ghrelin response – PubMed (nih.gov) 

 

 

Even if you gave two people the exact same meal in both calories and macronutrient composition their post meal hunger levels might be slightly different. 

 

So why is this?

Well, although we all share the same physiological basics as a species, each of us is subtly different in terms of, firstly our genes, and secondly by the diets, lifestyle, and environment we have exposed ourselves to throughout our lives, and how this has impacted on our digestive capacity over this period.

Our genes instruct us to produce proteins from the nutrients supplied through our diets, which perform various vital health functions (EG: digestive actions, detoxification, and all aspects of metabolism). 

Slight differences in this code called SNPs dictate if these functions are increased or decreased, meaning we may need more nutrients from food to maintain our health or weight than another person might.

So, this partly explains how one diet type works well for one person but not so well for another, and why some are more prone to certain health conditions than others, if their diet and lifestyle has not complimented any underperforming genes (SNPs).

SNPs: impact on gene function and phenotype – PubMed (nih.gov)

 

However, the other reason is the composition of what is termed the ‘microbiome’.

The microbiome is the total content of microbial species living both inside and on us (bacteria, yeast), which may not sound very appealing, but has a profound influence on all aspects of our host metabolism, digestive function, and health status.

The subject area is vast and way beyond the scope of this article, but if we simply note that the type of bacteria in our gut (digestive tract) influence how well we digest the foods we eat, and that the type of foods we eat and the lifestyle we live, affect the composition of the microbiome in our guts, you can see the mutual interaction between the host (us) and our microbiome and its important relationship with our diet metabolism and health.

Gut microbiota functions: metabolism of nutrients and other food components – PMC (nih.gov)

 

There is also evidence to suggest that sufferers of various past and present eating disorders, and users of chronic restrictive dietary methods, have negatively altered microbiome composition due to their restrictive eating patterns. 

The Microbiome and Eating Disorders – PubMed (nih.gov)

 

So, both the action of restriction and a lack of quality in diet composition (nutrient density and fibre content) negatively affect the microbiome and its ability to assist with host digestive processes and metabolism, therefore affecting our long-term health, fitness, and wellbeing.

The take home message from of all this is that understanding and manipulating how your body digests and uses the nutrients in the food that you eat (thereby optimising your digestion and its resident microbiome) is the key to improved health, energy, fitness, mental wellbeing and long-term weight maintenance and NOT intermittent short term calorie restriction.

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