Have you ever considered that the inability to adequately digest food stresses the immune system? I first became aware of the term “digestive leukocytosis” in 1980. In last month’s article, I presented the concept that a healthy immune system depends not only on a healthy diet but also equally, if not more important, adequate absorption of the nutrients in that diet. I also presented the concept that healthcare providers, including dieticians and nutritionists, are not taught how to recognize the specific cause of symptoms arising from inadequate digestion. They recognize symptoms but not the cause. Digestive symptoms are vague and difficult to differentiate from one digestive function to the next as food passes down the gastrointestinal tract.
The picture becomes much clearer once a symptomatic digestive problem progresses to a recognizable disease or pathological process. However, by that time, the immune system has already proven to be unable to protect and maintain normal physiological processes.
Allow me to say the same thing, only differently. No blood tests can identify which macronutrients a patient has problems adequately digesting. Allergy testing is available, of course, but those tests only identify when the immune system is unable to cope with a macronutrient. Certainly, that can invoke a severe, even life-threatening inflammatory response. They represent the extreme end of digestive incompetence, not the minor problems that can arise three times a day when we eat. Other digestive problems can invoke very troubling immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract that are not quite as severe but result from lack of adequate digestion. I only need to mention lactose and gluten intolerance as examples. These are inflammatory immune responses in the jejunum with the potential to progress to recognizable disease processes, such as Crohn’s and Celiac diseases.
"There are no blood tests that can identify which of the macronutrients a patient is having problems adequately digesting"
Still, other digestive problems are less severe than those previously mentioned that provoke immune responses. They are much more common and productive of inconvenient and troubling symptoms while going unrecognized as provoking an immune response. Most frequently, symptoms are covered up by using OTC preparations that temporarily relieve the symptoms but do not restore normal digestive functions.
Last month, we started our discussion of diet and digestion in the mouth with salivary digestive enzymes, chewing, and the addition of cellulase for the digestion of soluble fiber.
Swallowing moves the food into the pharynx and esophagus, which simply provide the pathway through which the ingested food and drink reach the stomach. This is where the immune connection to the digestive process begins. Of course, the pathway is lined with a mucosal membrane to protect tissues from digestive secretions and anything else the body wants to prevent from entering its tissues. The mucosal lining contains aggregated lymphatic follicles with white blood cells ready to engulf unwanted intruders. The next stop is the stomach, where a remarkable process occurs—predigestion before stomach acid can be concentrated (if it can be).
The stomach is flat when it is empty, and it begins to stretch when food enters the upper third of the stomach (cardiac or fundus portion). As more food arrives, the stomach wall stretches further. That stretching motion signals the body to begin forming hydrochloric acid. It will take about 45 minutes for the acid to form and begin its digestive work. This is normal for healthy, young adults. People past the age of 40 generally require more time, and most of those applying for Social Security cannot concentrate enough stomach acid to adequately initiate protein digestion.
"The next stop is the stomach, where a remarkable process occurs— predigestion before stomach acid can be concentrated (if it can be). "
This physiological period lasts a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes and can be referred to as the predigestive stomach. All animals have one—an extra stomach where the enzymes contained in the food eaten begin digesting it. Cows, for example, have four stomach chambers. The first is for their salivary enzymes and any enzymes in the grass and insects they have eaten to begin the digestive process. Humans do not have an extra chamber for this process to occur but do have this physiological “time chamber” where food is stored while hydrochloric acid forms in the middle portion of the stomach. This upper chamber, like the esophagus, has only a mucosal lining and does not release digestive secretions.
During this waiting period, salivary enzymes and any enzymes contained in the ingested food will continue the process begun in the mouth. Studies indicate that at least 40 to 80% of starches (complex carbohydrates) can be digested within 15 minutes. Averages for each food component are 60% starch, 30% protein, and 10% fat. This all occurs before the stomach begins its own digestive process.
Of course, the entire stomach is lined with a protective mucosal lining containing white blood cells housed in aggregated lymphatic follicles. Ulceration is a pathological process, but symptoms can and do arise prior to ulceration characterized by the heat, redness, swelling, pain, and involuntary muscle contractions characteristic of the body’s first line of defense—inflammation.
This is the second article in this series. It is intended for your family members and patients. I invite your comments and questions. Email me at customerservice@ foodenzymeinstitute.com.
Dr. Loomis has an extensive background in enzymes and enzyme supplements. He is the founder and president of the Food Enzyme Institute™. His extensive knowledge of physiology, biochemistry, and enzymology has made him a sought-after speaker and a prolific writer. The Food Enzyme Institute offers seminars to health care practitioners around the country. Dr. Loomis published ENZYMES: The Key to Health in 1999, The Enzyme Advantage: For Healthcare Providers and People Who Care About Their Health in 2015, and The Enzyme Advantage for Women in 2016. Most recently, in 2019, Dr. Loomis published What is Your Nutritional Deficiency?: Find It, Fix It, and Feel Better!. Contact info: 478 Commerce Drive Suite 201, Madison, Wl 53719 [email protected], 800-662-2630.
