Everything alive must eat to survive. Every creature, including humans, requires nutrients that are provided, either directly or indirectly, by plants. Only the Plant Kingdom has the unique ability to create their own food, literally from the thin air (CO₂ and H₂O), by harnessing solar energy (via photosynthesis), to produce simple sugars and starches. [1]

They also use their root system to capture inorganic elements from their surroundings. They include

6 major elements, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
calcium, sulfur, magnesium, and

6 trace elements: copper, zinc, iron, manganese, molybdenum, boron. [2]

Note: Plants also face the same problems that we do: If the soil they grow in are depleted from any of those 12 elements, they won’t be able to produce (as many of) the nutrients that they were designed to produce, and thus, we won’t absorb as many when we eat. [3]

And, all this is dependant on the assumption that our digestive track is performing at 100%. This is why (A) Shaklee produces high-quality supplements, and (B) is why I regularly update this newsletter.

The rest of us living creatures have evolved amazing mechanisms for dismantling and absorbing our food, so that we can extract their stored energy and vitamins, to create and sustain continuous life from those nutrients.

In humans this process involves a complex interaction between our stomach and intestines (the gastrointestinal, or GI tract) and a collection of organs and glands, which include the liver, gallbladder, and the pancreas. [4]

The Digestive Challenge

The next hurdle we face is that food is complicated. The 3 major components of our food (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) are actually gigantic macro-molecules, which are constructed from hundreds, to tens of thousands of smaller building blocks, bound together by powerful atomic bonds.

Because of these bonds, molecules [for example water (H₂O) or table salt (NaCl)] are incredibly stable in Nature. Even so, our digestive process routinely breaks those bonds to disassemble these complex food molecules, so that we can capture their metallic ions (like calcium) to strengthen our bones, or to concentrate hydrogen ions (H⁺) to create stomach acid, to support the complete chemical digestion of our food. [5]

Our intestines just cannot absorb those giant macronutrients “as is”. They must first be rendered back into their basic component molecules. Our digestive (gastrointestinal [GI] tract) acts like a magical Cuisinart, to provide us with all the building blocks of health, when we eat a balanced and nutritious diet AND our digestive tract is functioning at its peak.

When that process begins to falter, a vicious cycle begins, because poor absorption of nutrients leaves us less able to heal. Digestive disorders, when left unchecked, tend to deteriorate, and may destroy both our health and well-being.

Poor digestion restricts the antioxidants and phytonutrients that we can absorb from our food. We use them to protect our cellular DNA (the blueprint of every cell), so that when we produce new cells, they are as healthy (and perfect) as the original parent cell. Aye, there’s the rub.

Digestive disorders are also rather unpleasant, and are awkward to discuss in “polite society”. This social stigma leaves many people stranded, in pain, suffering from bloating, intestinal discomfort, flatulence, and declining health. Fiest, let’s look closely at what our food is made of, so that we can maintain complete digestion, and to “live long and prosper”.

What Is Food?

The bulk of the organic molecules found in our food (90% of its dry weight) consist of the 3 macro-nutrients: Proteins, Fats, and Carbohydrates. They provide for all the energy needs of the body, while also supplying us with the building blocks for cell repair and maintenance. [6]

The remaining 10% of food contains the equally important micro-nutrients, which include vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water, and indigestible roughage (better known as fiber). Now, let’s take a deep dive into the 3 macronutrients.

Proteins make up about 50% of the dry weight of every cell. Proteins are constructed from hundreds to thousands of smaller units called amino acids (AAs), which are bound together in long chains. The sequence in which these amino acids are stitched together determines each protein’s unique 3-dimensional shape, as well as its specific function within the body. [7] These 20 amino acids combine to form millions of different types of proteins, which may function as an antibody, an enzyme, a structural component, or a messenger to an organ or cell, to command it turn on (or off) a particular function.

Our stomach acid activates an enzyme called pepsin, which unwinds a proteins 3-D shape, so that the bonds between each AA can be broken. Because of their complex structures, proteins take longer than carbohydrates to break down and to fully digest. [1]

Carbohydrates provide for our daily energy needs. “Carbos” are constructed from long chains of simple sugars. Complex starches contain thousands of glucose molecules. The salivary glands in our mouth produce enzymes (called amylases) to start the process of releasing them as simple sugars.

This is the major reason why the Glycemic Index is so important. It’s a measure of how QUICKLY any particular starch will convert back into simple sugars. [8] A FAST rating (anything above a 50 score) is considered “bad”, because it will flood our bloodstream with sugar, straining our pancreas to over-produce insulin. That does NOT mean we can't eat something (like french fries) that have a high glycemic rating: it just requires that we manage portion control by eating smaller quantities so we don't strain our pancreas.

Dietary fats are the most concentrated form of energy storage. There are 2 'essential' fatty acids that must come directly from our diet. [9] They are the Omega-3 and Omega-6 groups. These poly-unsaturated fats differ significantly from the less healthful saturated fats that are found in meats, margarines, and processed foods.

Fats are very important, because they are the central building blocks of our nervous system. [10] By weight, our brain and nerves are almost 60% fat. Fats are also used to produce hormones to regulate bodily functions, like managing blood pressure, blood clotting, immune function, and the inflammatory response.

Every one of our cells is also housed within a double-layered cell membrane that is constructed from fat, containing a matrix of imbedded transport-protein tubes. That is why at least 20% of our caloric intake needs to come from “healthy” fats. They are a major building block

Previous newsletters have gone into detail about the reductions in vitamin and mineral content of mass-produced commercial insecticide-sprayed produce, so let’s review how digestive function begins to break down.

The 3 Levels of Digestive Disorder