Your digestive system breaks down foods and liquids into their chemical components—carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and the like—that the body can absorb as nutrients and use for energy or to build or repair cells.
Food’s journey through the digestive system begins in the mouth. It passes down the esophagus and into the stomach, where digestion begins. Next stop: the small intestine, which in the average person is more than 20 feet long. The small intestine further breaks down food, absorbs nutrients, and sends them into the bloodstream.
The remaining watery food residue moves into your large intestine, a muscular tube about 4 feet long. As undigested food passes through it, bacteria feed off the remnants. The wall of the large intestine soaks up most of the remaining water. Any undigested food that remains is expelled by a highly efficient disposal system.
Like all complicated machinery, the digestive tract doesn’t always run smoothly. In some people, the problem is genetic. In others, the immune system mistakenly attacks the digestive system, causing various digestive woes. What we eat, and how we eat, can also throw off digestive health.
Keeping your digestive system healthy
There are several ways to keep your digestive system healthy:
- Don’t smoke.
- Keep your weight in the healthy range.
- Eat a balanced, healthy diet.
- Exercise several times a week, if not every day.
- Learn different ways to reduce stress.
- Maintain high numbers of good bacteria.
To maintain high numbers of good bacteria, it is important to feed them with a probiotic. Healthy Trac® is a prebiotic fiber that breaks down into short chain fatty acid which the good bacteria utilize to grow in high numbers. Healthy Trac® stimulates the immune tissue in your digestive tract to help mediate digestive immune issues. For more information on this exciting discovery, go to www.globalbio.com
