QUIT YOUR BELLY ACHING~ Part 1

Quit your Belly-Aching~Simple Solutions that make Sense


Welcome back to Biology 101. For some of us it has been a long time. But in order to begin to rebuild our health naturally we need to get to know ourselves inside and out. So, please, bearwith me as we go back to some basics.
Many of us have spent years taking our hard working body for granted. Never giving a second thought what happens to that hotdog and fries once they slide down.Or who ends up doing all the internal labour.
Your entire digestive system (sometimes referred to as gastrointestinal tract, GI tract or gutt) is about 25-30 feet long, and has two main functions: to absorb nutrients and eliminate wastes.From beginning to end it includes the mouth, throat, stomach, small, large intestine and rectum.
Taken from statistics in 2001, Estimated 40 million people in North America are afflicted with ailments of the gastrointestinal tract. These include ulcers, hepatitis, hernias, heartburn, colitis, irritable bowel disease, diveticulitis and cancers.Gastrointestinal disease is responsible for 30% of cancer deaths, 25% of operations, 10% of the total sick days that adults are ill from work and $17 billion in direct health care costs.
The bowel is the part of the digestive tract consisting of small and large intestine. It is this hard working, unsung hero that will get our attention. According to some estimates, about 70 million Americans suffer from bowel problems. But of course, (because of the privacy of this area) these statistics cover only those people whose problems are severe enough to cause them to consult a medical doctor.
80% of nutrient absorption takes place in small intestine, not the stomach as typically thought. Your intestinal walls contain over four million little hair-like microvillus. It is their job to absorb nutrients. Due to vast number of microvilla, the total effective area for absorption is more than 2,200 square feet.
This means if something is not quite right with your small intestine (or colon as it is also referred to), all that nice health giving natural food you have started eating is not getting used to your best advantage.
The colon is also the sewer of the body. It is through this system that all the waste and pollutants are eliminated. What happens in your basement when your sewer gets clogged? Imagining that, can you guess what happens to the rest of the body when the colon cannot work properly?
In North America, we have witnessed a frightening escalation in the rise of colon illness. North America now represents the highest per capita rate of digestive tract deaths in the world. Over 40% of the Americans diagnosed with the colon and rectal cancer die each year. (That’s 165 deaths a day). There are now over 100,000 colostomies preformed each year (275 a day) and the sale of adult diapers to those under the senior age has gone thru the roof.
Antacid and digestive medicines are currently the largest selling prescription drugs of all time, stealing the number one slot from antidepressant drugs.
North Americans spend $400 million annually on laxatives alone. Not only that but poor colon health has been related directly or indirectly to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, varicose veins, diabetes, gall stones, kidney stones, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, allergies and obesity for starters.
According to the Royal Society of Medicine in Great Britian, “more than 65 different health problems are caused by a toxic colon”
All that taken in, is it possible that if we just care for our colon a little better these statistics may go down? Does it not make sense that if there are some practical, nutritional ways to improve digestive health we should do them?
Next time we start a look at some simple solutions that make sense for your best digestive health.