By the understanding of right methods of assimilation and elimination will come the healing of disease connected with bodily tissue, the stomach and bowels and the male and female organs of generation.
Alice Bailey
The digestive system begins with the mouth and ends with the rectum, some thirty-six feet later! It has been described as a tube passing through the body, as a sort of factory where food is processed and made available for the body to use. This description indicates how narrow our awareness of our bodies often is today. In fact, the digestive system is one of the major interfaces between our inner world and the outer, with a total surface that is some hundred times larger than our skin, with a complexity of reactions that are still beyond our understanding. For instance, the number of living microbes that inhabit the digestive system equals the total number of cells in the body, but how exactly the mixture of these microbes influences our well-being, and how our state of health influences their condition, is still largely unresearched.
The digestive system is richly supplied with nerves, a whole network of integrated control that works in conjunction with a wide array of hormones, both local and systemic. This has been described as a web of enteric brains. Enteric means to do with the gut and in this context means the local nervous system of the digestive system. This gut level intelligence can usually run the digestive system quite adequately. The degree of interaction and synergy between the various parts of the digestive tract is quite astounding and the more research done by the physiologists, the more is revealed.
As we are what we eat, our health and vitality depends to a large degree on how well our digestive system functions in providing the building blocks for our physical body. It is not just a matter of what substance we put into our mouth, but also essentially one of what is properly processed so that it can be assimilated and used by the body, as we are really what we assimilate.
If there is a functional problem in the digestion, then no matter what is being eaten it will not be properly absorbed, and deficiency is experienced. An example of a functional, as opposed to an organic, problem in this system would be tension during irregular and rushed meals, leading to indigestion. The food will enter an unprepared gut too fast and eventually cause malabsorption and so the discomfort. The fault can lie either in the eating habits, the content or amount of digestive juices or in a dysfunction of the intestinal walls, so that the food is not properly absorbed through the lining of the gut. These problems can give rise to a whole range of diseases. It must be stressed that this refers to functional problems, where the system does not work as well as it could, not to organic conditions caused by injury or a structural abnormality of the organs and tissues involved.
An excellent example of the complex functioning of the digestive process is the action of the digestive bitter herbs. It is often said jokingly that the nastier the medicine the better it is for you. In the case of bitters this is so! It has been found that the taste of bitterness on the tongue will stimulate, via reflex circuits in the brain, the secretions and activity of the oesophagus, the secretions of the stomach, duodenum and gall-bladder, and stimulate the production of insulin by the pancreas. All this from a nasty taste in the mouth!
Besides its. function of assimilation, an equally important activity of the digestive system is elimination. Not all the food that is eaten is absorbed. Some is not digestible and needs to be disposed of. The body also produces a lot of metabolic waste products that it has to eliminate, partly through the digestive system. The condition of the bowels and the state of their content will fundamentally affect the rest of the body. The focus of naturopaths on the bowels is understandable, and the nature of the food we eat is of great importance.
In addition to the physiological influences that affect the functioning and health of the digestive system, there is a constant interplay between the state of mind and digestion. Emotions profoundly influence both the functioning and structure of tissue in the stomach and intestines. There is an immediate response to anger, anxiety, fear and all form of stress and worry. To approach the healing of digestive problems in a holistic way, an appreciation of these psychological influences must be included.
Most of the digestive problems that commonly occur are easily avoidable by changes of lifestyle and habits. Some clear guidelines to follow in preventing problems include our attitudes towards alcohol, tobacco, stress and diet.
It is clear that excess alcohol acts as a major irritant on the walls of the intestine and is a specific threat to the liver. It should ideally be kept to a minimum. Tobacco presents a similar problem. It has been proven that nicotine slows the healing of gastric ulcers and may promote the development of duodenal ulcers. The tar that gets swallowed acts as an irritant. DON’T SMOKE!
Stress and anxiety are major contributors to illness and impede the healing process. Their effect is particularly strong on the digestive system via the influence of the autonomic nervous system. Such states of stress and anxiety should be actively reduced. Create peace and stillness within yourself. The stress is unnecessary. Change your job. BE AT PEACE!
The diet should be as mixed, natural and as high in roughage as possible. It should contain fruit, vegetables and natural cereals in preference to starches, sugar and highly refined flour. Artificial chemical additives should be avoided. The specific details of diet should be determined individually according to personal needs and philosophical approach.
Herbs for the digestive system
There are a multitude of plant remedies that have a use in the treatment of digestive disorders. This is not surprising if herbs are viewed as food—as vegetables. Most herbs are taken by mouth and therefore absorbed through the digestive system where their healing powers will start to be effective immediately.
Rather than give an endless list of digestive herbs, they will be reviewed by their actions with a few outstanding examples given. A more exhaustive list of herbs is given in the chapter on actions.
Actions can be broadly grouped into those that stimulate various parts of the system to increase or better activity—the digestive stimulants—and those that relax the tissue or reduce any overactivity in the system—the digestive relaxants.
Stimulants
Bitters
While having a large range of other properties and chemical constituents, the bitter herbs all have in common an intensely bitter taste. This bitterness promotes appetite and in a complex way aids digestion. As I explained earlier, this action is entirely via the taste buds and a reflex action in the brain. If these herbs are given in capsule form and cannot be tasted, their digestive properties do not come into play. Out of the many bitters, the most valuable ones are Barberry, Centaury, Gentian Root, Golden Seal, White Horehound and Wormwood.