HLife | Healthy Living Redefined

Image by Jesse Wight

If we say “digestive system”, you probably think: stomach.  We get it.  It’s definitely way cuter to say “belly”, “tummy”, or even “gut” than to say “intestine” or “esophagus”. But to think of your tummy when you think digestion is a completely incomplete picture, and we’re gonna amplify that perspective for you a little bit here at HLife.

First, let me explain why you should care about understanding how your digestive system works.  Of all the daily activities you do that affect your health, eating/drinking is the most critical one.  Breathing is important – can’t live without it for very long at all – but inhaling and exhaling are automatic processes that you do without any effort, not even a  thought.  Sleeping is important, but you do that once, maybe twice a day (nap time!) and it normally doesn’t require much thinking other than “hey, I think it’s time for bed.”

Eating is very different. It is frequent – you eat several times a day, and drink several times in between (water, hopefully.)  It is a voluntary process – you eat what you decide to, when you decide.  It requires effort on your part – you must either cook the meal yourself or the meal must be provided for you somehow – and then you have to actually ingest the food and chew it. All of this – what, when, where, and how you eat – are all THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL.

For those of you with weight loss on your mind, process this:  How many times do you exercise?  Three to five times a week, if you’re dedicated.  How many times do you eat?  Three to five times a day.  Which one do you think affects you weight more?  Exactly.

We mentioned what, when, where, and how you eat.  But we haven’t mentioned why.  Why (my favorite question, incidentally,) is one of the most important words because it is both the most overlooked and the most crucial piece of information you can have to service your health.  You can eat for fun, for social reasons, because you’re sad, because you’re happy, because you have an addiction, because you have a disorder, to please someone, to appease another, and many other reasons.  But the true reason for eating is this: All organisms need chemical energy (food) for growth, physiological processes, maintenance and repair, regulation, and reproduction. In other words, why should you eat? Because the proper development of your body, keeping all of its organs and systems working well, fixing things that go wrong, restoring balance when you’re off-balance, ensuring the continuation of your species, and everything that it otherwise takes to keep you alive and kicking all largely depends on the food you eat.

Follow this: You are made up of organ systems, which are made up of organs, which are made up of tissues, which are made up of cells.  In other words, you’re made up of cells.  And what do cells depend on to do their job of keeping you alive and well? Food and water. In other words, let’s get real: When you eat, you’re not feeding yourselves, YOU’RE FEEDING YOUR CELLS.  And this truth is what you have to remember when you’re going to make a food choice.  Questions like “what does my body need?” and “Did I provide my body with the right balance of amino acids, enzymes, good fats, water, and nutrients?” need to replace others like “what do I feel like eating?”  We’re not saying don’t enjoy your meal.  In fact, to us, the most nutritious, balanced meals are the most delicious, as you can see from our HKitchen recipes. What we’re saying is this:  Think about what you want AND need to eat.  In other words, take care of your cells.  They are depending on you to make the right choices – and you’re depending on them to keep you alive.

The digestive system is composed of all passage ways and organs involved from the moment a piece of food enters your body to the moment it exits – the mouth, the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, and anus.  The entire process involves ingestion (putting the actual food into your mouth), digestion (breaking food down into particles small enough for the body to absorb), absorption (the uptake of small nutrient molecules by the body) and excretion (getting rid of what the body doesn’t need.)

In The Digestive System Part 2, we’ll go into these parts and processes in more detail, so that you can actually know what is going on in your body and do what we at HLife love for you to do: Take control of your life by making informed decisions.

Source: Biology by Campbell and Reece