Juicing Book

Most of us have experienced heartburn at least once as a result of either overeating or eating spicy food. Following the advice of a medical doctor, a pharmacist, or as a result of some advertisement we have read or seen, we take some form of antacid.

As the antacid usually stops the heartburn, most of us are just glad that the burning pain has stopped and don’t stop to think about the fact that there might be different reasons for heartburn, or that there might be long term problems that can happen if we don’t solve the cause of it.

The media shows us graphic pictures of our digestive tract with acid from our stomach coming up and out into our esophagus [food tube] causing the burning sensation. Not once have I heard them warn that long term irritation/burning of the esophagus [food tube] can cause esophageal cancer. Instead we are just told that the antacids will stop heartburn letting us continue to abuse our digestive system whenever we want.

It is important to remember that digestion of our food starts with how well or how poorly we chew our food. When we put too much food into our mouth, mix acid and alkaline foods, eat in a hurry, or are talking while we are eating, we may not chew our food enough to mix it properly with saliva which is an alkaline digestive juice that breaks down starchy foods. Also, if we do not chew the food enough, or have good enough teeth to break the food down into very small pieces, we are increasing the chance that we will have heartburn and/or other problems with our digestive system such as bloating, burping, flatulence [farting], and even constipation.

When we swallow our first bit of food, it reaches the stomach in one minute. That food only stays in the stomach five minutes before it leaves the stomach whether it is completely digested or not. While the food is in the stomach, the lining inside the stomach releases various digestive juices to help break down the fats and proteins in the food, and the muscular stomach wall makes rhythmical contractions which mixes the food with the digestive juices.

If we swallow too much food at one time, if we have mixed acid foods and alkaline foods, or if the food has not been chewed enough, the muscular stomach wall will try harder to mix the food with the digestive juices in the stomach so the food has a better chance of being digested. Unfortunately, the stomach’s increased muscular contraction can lead to increased pressure on the valve [the cardiac sphincter] separating the stomach and the esophagus [food tube]. This can lead to food mixed with digestive juices to be push up through the valve [the cardiac sphincter] into the bottom part of the food tube [esophagus], causing what is called heartburn.

Taking an antacid may stop the burning sensation, but it can also stop the digestive juices from completely digesting the food in the stomach before it passes out of the stomach into the first part of the small intestine [duodenum]. As many nutrients are absorbed from the digested food in the stomach and the first third of the small intestine [duodenum], stopping the digestion of the food means that our body is not getting the fuel that it needs from the food that we are eating so we can have energy, our body can repair itself, and do the work that it needs to do.

If our body is not getting the nutrients that it needs from our food, it goes into starvation mode. This means that, as the body doesn’t know when it will get the nutrients it needs, it stores many of the nutrients that it gets from the food that we are eating in the form of fat. Fat is the body’s emergency energy food supply that is used first if we are ever actually starving.

Also, if an antacid stops the digestive juices from completely digesting the food in the stomach before it passes out of the stomach, the incompletely digested food begins to rot. Having incompletely digested food in your intestines is like leaving a raw piece of meat outside on a hot summer day. The food rots and putrefies causing bloating, discomfort and flatulence [passing gas].

These are the problems that occur when we overeat and or eat foods that can cause heartburn [spicy foods]. Many people like spicy foods and choose to eat them as they complain that many foods are bland or tasteless. Some studies into the foods that are eaten in different parts of the world have found that spices are used for a few reasons: to help preserve the food so that it lasts longer [ex. salt], to kill bacteria or parasites [ex. wasabi, hot peppers], and also to bloat up the stomach of people who have very little food to eat, creating the feeling of being full rather than still hungry.

Although in many cases, heartburn is caused by how and what people eat, it has become so common and has become a chronic problem in North America. Many people are now diagnosed with what is called GERD [gastric esophageal reflux disorder] and they are given a medication which affects the production of digestive juices in the stomach. Is this really a good solution, or is it going to lead to chronic malnutrition and possibly more obesity.

Interestingly, back in the 1930’s the prestigious Mayo Clinic published a report stating that, more than 50% of people who reach 60 years of age, will not be making enough digestive juices [ie. hydrochloric acid] to properly digest their food. As has been shown earlier in this article, if there is not enough digestive juices in the stomach, the muscular stomach wall will try harder to mix the food with the digestive juices in the stomach so the food has a better chance of being digested. Unfortunately, the stomach’s increased muscular contraction can lead to increased pressure on the valve [the cardiac sphincter] separating the stomach and the esophagus [food tube]. This can lead to food mixed with digestive juices to be push up through the valve [the cardiac sphincter] into the bottom part of the food tube [esophagus], causing what is called heartburn.

Therefore, it appears that the common ways of treating heartburn [taking antacids and medications to decrease digestive juices] is actually leading to more and more people having heartburn and having an increased risk of developing GERD [gastric esophageal reflux disorder], and possibly esophageal cancer.

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Have you been wanting to do hatha yoga (stretching) but have found it either too difficult or you are not that flexible? If yes, and even if no, watch Jesse do some pure hatha yoga routines.

Unlike flow yoga, each pose in pure or traditional hatha yoga is held for a few minutes. While holding the pose, you focus the mind on the stretch. When you focus the mind, that's when you find silence.

Jesse is not flexible — never has been and probably never will be flexible like others. But it doesn't matter. In pure hatha yoga, how flexible you are makes no difference. It's all about loving the pose and focussing the mind on the stretch.

If you want to learn pure hatha yoga, now you can by following Jesse on a series of hatha yoga routines.

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