SlavaOn
Jedi Master
Hi.
I had to explain that question and its importance, since I only knew about it from a lecture of the Russian physiologist Rinad Minvaleev recently. Never before I read more simple explanation of how digestion works from a modern medical scientist, that is supported by traditions that are thousands of years old.
There are several of his lectures on youTube, but they are all in Russian. This one covers the physiology of digestion and this is where he touched on the subject. I hope I am not misrepresenting any facts.
Here is a brief synopsis:
He explained how the proteins, fats and carbohydrates are being digested. The <solid> food requires H20 in order to be broken apart and digested. Water is the main required reagent that drives the digestion process. Ferments are catalysts that increase the rate of digestion. There are 3 kinds of ferments aka digestive enzymes: proteinase (to digest proteins), lypase (to digest fats) and amylase (to digest carbohydrates).
There are several major parts of digestive system where different foods are digested in different ways.
- in the stomach ONLY proteins are being digested with the help of HCl, water and proteinase
- in the duodenum the proteins are finished digesting and lipids and carbohydrates are started to be digested, assisted by the enzymes from the pancreas and the bile from the liver
- in the small intestines (jejunum and ileum) - ending of digestion, no more enzymes being added (except a small amount of amylase). The absorption of the amino acids and other digested elements
- in the large intestines fermenting bacteria break indigestible plant materials (plants' cell walls). It is called symbiotic digestion; Large intestines are separated from small intestines by a sphincter that prevents the content of large intestines to travel to small intestines. This is where vitamins are synthesized. This is where plant proteins are extracted, digested and absorbed. This process allows vegetarians (cows, for example) to get enough amino acids from plants' proteins, to build their muscle tissues.
Now, to the traditions of healthy eating and how the physiology of digestion explains it.
People were doing religious fasts for a long time. Christian's Easter and Jewish Passover are ending "the great fast". The Passover is commemorating the Exodus of Jews from Egypt. On the night before Exodus, all the dough, prepared to bake bread in the morning, didn't rise. The bacteria failed to digest the dough and the bread made from it became matzo. That happened on the full moon. Thus, Passover is always celebrated on the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox by eating matzo bread... So, the conclusion is not to eat meat when the fermenting bacteria are strongest (i.e. fast) and eat more meat when the fermenting bacteria are weakest
The mechanism behind it is still not understood by science. Why from Full to New moon (when it is in waning phase), the fermenting bacteria loose its strength and, instead, the bacteria that rot are prevailing.
I had to explain that question and its importance, since I only knew about it from a lecture of the Russian physiologist Rinad Minvaleev recently. Never before I read more simple explanation of how digestion works from a modern medical scientist, that is supported by traditions that are thousands of years old.
There are several of his lectures on youTube, but they are all in Russian. This one covers the physiology of digestion and this is where he touched on the subject. I hope I am not misrepresenting any facts.
Here is a brief synopsis:
He explained how the proteins, fats and carbohydrates are being digested. The <solid> food requires H20 in order to be broken apart and digested. Water is the main required reagent that drives the digestion process. Ferments are catalysts that increase the rate of digestion. There are 3 kinds of ferments aka digestive enzymes: proteinase (to digest proteins), lypase (to digest fats) and amylase (to digest carbohydrates).
There are several major parts of digestive system where different foods are digested in different ways.
- in the stomach ONLY proteins are being digested with the help of HCl, water and proteinase
- in the duodenum the proteins are finished digesting and lipids and carbohydrates are started to be digested, assisted by the enzymes from the pancreas and the bile from the liver
- in the small intestines (jejunum and ileum) - ending of digestion, no more enzymes being added (except a small amount of amylase). The absorption of the amino acids and other digested elements
- in the large intestines fermenting bacteria break indigestible plant materials (plants' cell walls). It is called symbiotic digestion; Large intestines are separated from small intestines by a sphincter that prevents the content of large intestines to travel to small intestines. This is where vitamins are synthesized. This is where plant proteins are extracted, digested and absorbed. This process allows vegetarians (cows, for example) to get enough amino acids from plants' proteins, to build their muscle tissues.
Now, to the traditions of healthy eating and how the physiology of digestion explains it.
People were doing religious fasts for a long time. Christian's Easter and Jewish Passover are ending "the great fast". The Passover is commemorating the Exodus of Jews from Egypt. On the night before Exodus, all the dough, prepared to bake bread in the morning, didn't rise. The bacteria failed to digest the dough and the bread made from it became matzo. That happened on the full moon. Thus, Passover is always celebrated on the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox by eating matzo bread... So, the conclusion is not to eat meat when the fermenting bacteria are strongest (i.e. fast) and eat more meat when the fermenting bacteria are weakest
The mechanism behind it is still not understood by science. Why from Full to New moon (when it is in waning phase), the fermenting bacteria loose its strength and, instead, the bacteria that rot are prevailing.