Keys to Optimum Digestion

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KEYS TO OPTIMUM DIGESTION

 

Digestion is key to a healthy life for it is through the process of digestion

that our bodies absorb those nutrients that sustain our lives.

 

Yet too many people suffer from indigestion because of sedentary lifestyles,

shallow breathing, eating too many depleted and processed foods or

uncomplimentary food combinations, or eating on the go.

 

To many of us, when the digestive process doesn't work right, it is a nuisance

at best: we feel sluggish, tired and moody, until the problem becomes serious.

 

Without proper digestion, the body cannot maintain adequate nutrition for its

cells, or properly eliminate and detoxify.

 

Undigested or reabsorbed food molecules can cause irritation in the intestines,

weaken the immune system and stimulate allergic responses.

 

Fortunately, there are herbal remedies which help prevent heartburn, and those

that stimulate bile flow. You can also choose from enzymes which help break down

food and herbal formulations rich in fiber which help clear and detoxify the

bowels. If improving your digestion is the last thing on your 'to do' list,

think again, and read on.

 

 

 

THE BENEFITS OF BITTER HERBS

Herbal Medicine Research Report: Volume 2 No. 2

1999

 

 

Suzanne Diamond, B.Sc., M.Sc. (Botany)

 

Herbs traditionally used as 'bitters', such as dandelion leaves and root,

artichoke leaves and flowers, milk thistle seed, Belgian endive, or chicory and

wild lettuce, act to cleanse and rejuvenate the liver and stimulate bile flow

for flushing the gallbladder and liver.

 

Our ancestors knew the importance of regularly using a 'bitter', but modern

society has forgotten this - and cultivated lettuce has been bred to remove all

the bitterness.

 

When 'bitters' are tasted in the mouth, they stimulate the body to secrete

saliva and bile and this aids digestion tremendously and reduces the likelihood

of gallstone formation.

 

Because bile breaks down fats and bitters stimulate the conversion of

cholesterol into bile acids and increase bile solubility, the more bitters in

the diet, the more bile the body produces and the faster fat digestion works,

cutting cholesterol naturally.

 

Clinical trials done on artichoke leaf juice and extract for lowering

cholesterol have shown dramatic results within only 6-12 weeks. Several

conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs are based on bile acid metabolism.

 

Bitters also stimulate appetite while at the same time cleansing the body of

poisons and toxins and relieving a common condition known as liver congestion,

associated with poor eyesight, skin problems and many other diseases.

 

Bitters can immediately improve the health of many individuals whose diet, high

in animal products and sugar, is far too acidified and whose systems are clogged

with bad fats.

 

Our society's current diet focusses on sweet, sour and salty and has neglected

the very important bitter or alkaline compounds.

 

This fact is recognized by all long-standing, traditional schools of medicine

such as those from Europe, China and India. Bitters also strengthen and tone and

are great for spring cleaning the liver, the body's filtration system.

 

One example of a traditionally used bitter is Blessed Thistle. The following

paragraphs describe this wonderful bitter that was used by our ancestors.

 

Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus L.)

 

Composition

The primary active ingredient of blessed thistle is a bitter tasting compound

called cnicin, a sesquiterpene lactone. The seed contains several lignans that

are phytoestrogen precursors for the key mammalian lignans: enterolactone and

enterodiol which are present in humans and animals1. Cnicin aids digestion and

has considerable antitumor, cytotoxic, antimicrobial and phytotoxic activity2,3.

 

Mechanism of action

1) Choleretic and hypolipidemic action: Through its bitter properties, blessed

thistle increases the flow of gastric juices relieving dyspepsia, indigestion

and headaches associated with liver congestion4.

 

British and German Pharmacopoeias recognize that 'bitters', including blessed

thistle, stimulate bile flow and cleanse the liver.

 

Bitter compounds and commercial anti-cholesterolemic drugs such as

cholestyramine and colestipol promote bile acid excretion and conversion of

cholesterol to bile acids5.

 

In Europe " bitter vegetable drugs " are considered medicinal agents and used to

stimulate appetite, aid digestion, and promote health6. Studies confirm that

bitters increase gastric juice and bile acid secretions by increasing the flow

of saliva through stimulation of specific receptors on the mucous membrane

lining of the mouth7.

 

2) Tonifying: Traditionally in most countries, including England, Germany,

Russia, China, India and Africa, bitters are used to strengthen and tonify the

body8.

 

Certain bitter compounds found in the leaves, stems and barks of many plants

such as the oligomeric proanthocyanidins concentrated in pine bark and grape

seed, have been shown to improve blood circulation by binding to the membranes

of blood vessels and capillaries, repairing collagen and elastin and preventing

their degradation by enzymes and free radicals, thereby strengthening the

vascular system9.

 

3) Antibiotic activity: Blessed thistle extracts have anti-bacterial activity.

Research on blessed thistle herb has demonstrated antibiotic properties for: 1)

cnicin10, 2) the essential oil which includes n-paraffin (C-9 - C-13), aromatic

aldehydes (cinnamaldehyde, benzaldehyde, cuminaldehyde) and monoterpenes

(citronellol, fenchone, p-cymene and others), and 3) the polyacetylenes

contained in the herb.

The essential oil has bacteriostatic action against Staphylococcus aureus, S.

faecalis, but not E. coli.

 

 

References:

 

1. Stitch etal. Occurrence of lignans, enterolactone and enterodiol in man and

animal species. Nature. 1980; 287: 238.

 

2. Duke J; Handbook of Biologically Active Phytochemicals and their Activities.

Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 1991: 32.

 

3. Rodriguez etal. Biological activities of sesquiterpene lactones.

Phytochemistry. 1976; 15: 1573-1580.

 

4. Bradley PRe; British Herbal Compendium. Volume 1, A handbook of scientific

information on widely used plant drugs. Holy Thistle. Bournemouth, Dorset:

British Herbal Medicine Association; 1992.

 

5. Hardman eae; Goodman and Gilmans " The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics.

9th ed. McGraw-Hill Health Professions Division; 1996.

 

6. Weiss RF; Herbal Medicine. Translated from the 6th German edition of Lehrbuch

der Phytotherapie by A.R. Meuss, FIL, MITI. Beaconsfield, Bucks, England:

Beaconsfield Publishers, Ltd.; 1988.

 

7. Schneider G, Lachner I. A contribution to analytics and pharmacology of

cnicin. Planta Medica. 1987; 53: 247.

 

8. European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy; Wormwood, Dandelion,

Gentian. Execter, U.K.: ESCOP Secretariat Argyle House; 1997.

 

9. Facino ea. Free radical scavenging action and anti-enzyme activities of

procyanidines from Vitis vinifera. Arzneim-Foprusch. Drug Res. 1994; 44:

592-601.

 

10. Vanhaelen-Fastre R, Vanhaelen M. Antibiotic and cytotoxic activity of cnicin

and of its hydrolysis products. Chemical structure - biological activity

relationship. Planta Medica. 1976; 29: 179-189.

 

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_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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