Re: Yet another embarrasing question

[Guest guest]

>I wasn't sure if the fact that I am not digesting the food renders some of the

calories, and nutrients, non-assimilated by my body. Thanks for your help

Absolutely ... you aren't digesting it. THAT is a big problem.

As to how to fix it, you first need to know what the

problem is. Top two culprits I know anything about are:

1. Low stomach acid and lack of enzymes.

2. IgA food reactions (usually gluten, casien, soy, corn, eggs, yeast)

that destroy the villi in the upper intestine, and also tend

to damage the enzyme producing organs (liver, pancreas, gall bladder).

In either case, the food is semi-digested and very irritating

(even more so if you are having an immune reaction to it)

so the body " rushes " it through. The bacterial mix in the

bowel gets destroyed too, partly because the food has

too many nutrients (and because we don't eat enough

probiotic foods to begin with).

This gets confusing because #2 can cause #1 and vice versa.

Once the villi are damaged though, they can take up to 2 years

to heal. You can get a blood test for #2 as regards gluten,

and the other tests from www.finerhealth.com.

As for #1, taking HCL/enzyme supplements with foods helps.

The book " why stomach acid is good for you " goes into WHY

in great detail. You should read it anyway, since it describes

digestion in great detail.

Eating more digestible foods help too ... esp. pre-digested

foods like kefir (which contain lots of enzymes too) and kimchi.

Of course if you are taking acid-blockers like Prilosec or eating

Tums then the cause for low stomach acid is easy.

-- Heidi