The key components of the digestive process are stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and bile.
Stomach acid (hydrochloric acid)
Helps break down food (mostly protein) that enters your stomach. Stomach churns your food so that it can be more easily broken down by your digestive enzymes which the pancreas secretes.
Things that can go wrong
Some people report or believe that their body isn’t producing enough stomach acid to break down their foods. Adequate stomach acid seems to help food move from the stomach to the small intestine where the pancreas secretes its enzymes.
Acid reflux
Occurs when acid backs up into the esophagus. Research shows this happens when a valve called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) doesn’t close. The pharmaceutical industry seems to think that acid reflux is an issue of too much acid but there is a growing number of patients and holistic minded health practitioners that have clinically witnessed the opposite.
These individuals found that the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) stays open only if one’s stomach acid doesn’t get acidic enough (hits a low enough pH level). Once stomach acid hits a low enough pH level, the valve closes which will prevent reflux.
Note: Acid reflux can also be a symptom of SIBO.
Stomach feels full for a long time
Natural Solutions
Before and after eating, take something that makes your stomach more acidic like apple cider vinegar or lime juice. This will activate digestive processes that don’t kick in until your stomach hits a certain pH.
Digestive enzymes
Digestive enzymes are responsible for breaking down your food into an absorbable state. There are three main digestive enzymes. Amylase, Proteases, and lipase. Amylase helps breakdown carbs (starches), proteases break down protein into amino acids, and lipase breaks down fats.
Things that can go wrong
Pancreatic insufficiency – pancreas doesn’t secrete enough enzymes
There are times when the pancreas doesn’t secrete enough enzymes to break down food you’ve eaten. If you feel bloated or like your body hasn’t digested its food every to most times you eat, it’s possible your pancreas/body isn’t secreting enough enzymes. Note: If you are eating a lot then some fullness is to be expected.
Natural solutions
Non-animal based enzymes
- Due to food technology advancements, there are ways to produce enzymes that can be consumed in pill form. These enzymes actually come from growing bacteria and funguses that secrete enzymes while they mature. Enzyme producers know how to extract these enzymes and put them into pill form.
- Some fruits like kiwi, pineapple, and papayas contain protein enzymes in them but they may not be strong enough to help you digest your foods.
Product recommendation: Digest gold from Enzymedica
Animal based enzymes
Science has found a way to extract the enzymes from the pancreas in animals. The enzyme makeup in pig pancreas is the most similar to human enzymes so enzymes from pigs are the most common form of animal enzyme products.
Interestingly, eating the pancreas organ of say, pigs, provides the body with enzymes to break down the food.
We have found animal based enzymes to be more powerful than non-animal based enzymes but this only matters for people who have a diagnosed enzyme deficiency. Most people will probably be fine with a non-animal based enzyme.
Product recommendations: Pancreas from allergy research.
Bile
Bile is a substance secreted by the liver that helps break down fats into a form that lets the digestive enzyme, lipase, do its work.
Things that can go wrong
Low bile
Low bile typically occurs when the liver doesn’t produce enough bile to help breakdown the fat you eat. One symptom of this is having very light colored stools.
Natural solutions
Increase stomach pH before/after eating. See the stomach acid solution above.
If that doesn’t work and you still light colored stools, look into digestive bitters. Digestive bitters help “turn on” and optimize the digestive process. They “Digestive bitters can be consumed in tonic form (alcohol or vinegar based) or via tea.
Digestive bitter tea
Those sensitive to alcohol can try tea. We really like yellow dock for improving bile flow.
Digestive bitter tonic
We recommend Underberg bitters or the original bitters from Urban Moonshine. To learn how digestive bitters improve bile creation see this.
Bile supplements
Some people recommend bile supplements but we don’t (at this time). Bile has a high pH so bile supplements change stomach acid pH. Too much bile can also lead to diarrhea.
Useful digestion diagrams
