How The Digestive System Works

I Love Your Guts (Photo credit: Hey Paul Studios)

The digestive system, also known as your guts, is a series of several parts. In addition to accessory organs like the gallbladder and liver, you have your stomach, small intestine, large intestine and pancreas. Each part of the path, from your mouth to your colon, is responsible for some part of the digestive process. And it’s a complicated process.

Your body needs to add fluid and enzymes to break food down, then extract the nutrients. Fluid is constantly being added and removed from the system to facilitate the processes. Bacteria, bile, and water are all players in the digestive process, as are enzymes. If any of these elements are out of balance, your digestion is affected. Bacteria can grow out of control, and they can die too. Your enzymes may be deficient.

You may have too much or not enough fluid. The fluid balance is often the difference between constipation and diarrhea or absorption and malabsorption. So fluid balance is important for proper functioning. What you put into your stomach can have an effect on fluid balance. 

 For example, if you eat salty foods then your body has to pull fluid from your cells to help balance the ratio in your gut. This can cause dehydration and ultimately it can lead to constipation and digestive problems. 

 Eating a low fiber and high fat diet can cause problems too. Fiber essentially pushes material through your gut. If the waste becomes stuck in your digestive system it can injure the delicate lining of your gut. This not only causes pain and discomfort, it can also cause an immune response and food sensitivities. Diverticulitis is one example of food particles becoming trapped in the lining of the intestines and causing severe pain and damage. 

Your gut has a lot of tasks to manage and each task is responsible for keeping you healthy – both physically and mentally. When you have good gut health, you’re better able to manage any challenges that come your way and you’re less likely to become ill. Because your gut health is so important, the remainder of this report is dedicated to providing you with steps to build and maintain good gut health.

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