KEYS TO OPTIMUM DIGESTION

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KEYS TO OPTIMUM DIGESTION JoAnn Guest Jan 22, 2005 23:17 PST

 

 

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 focuses 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 activity.

 

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 congestion.

 

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 acids.

 

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

used to stimulate appetite, aid digestion, and promote health.

 

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 mouth.

 

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

Germany, Russia, China, India and Africa, bitters are used to strengthen

and tonify the body.

 

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 system.

 

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

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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