Why fermenting bacterias are active during waxing Moon and not active during waning Moon?

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.
 
"...not to eat meat when the fermenting bacteria are strongest (i.e. fast) and eat more meat when the fermenting bacteria are weakest"
Plants fragments rot and cause problem, not meat. Meat doesn't rot in intestines. You don't eat more meat or less, you eat as much as you need
 
(...) 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, (...)
Well, IMHO you should read (or listen to) another scientific source of infos.
This one covers the physiology of digestion and this is where he touched on the subject. I hope I am not misrepresenting any facts.
Well, I think that you (or he) DO misrepresent some facts.
Ferments are catalysts that increase the rate of digestion.
It's better to call these catalysing molecules : enzymes.
(Ferments may be misunderstood as the micro-organisms producing enzymes, or even fermented foods).
There are 3 kinds of ferments aka digestive enzymes: proteinase (to digest proteins), lypase (to digest fats) and amylase (to digest carbohydrates).
The first two are right, but the third is too restrictive : amylase is an enzyme specialised into breaking starch (amylum in Latin, from Old Greek, amidon in French).

Carbohydrates are composed of one, two, a few or a lot of the simple sugar "bricks". These are called :
- monosaccharides (mono = 1) : glucose, fructose, galactose, etc.
- disaccharides (di = 2) : sucrose (combined glucose + fructose), lactose (combined glucose + galactose, milk sugar), maltose (two combined glucose, generated from starch), etc.
- oligosaccharides (oligo = a few, 3 to 10)
- polysaccharides (poly = a lot, dozens or hundreds) : glycogen (stored in liver and muscles), starch (which we can digest a bit, in potatoes, walnuts, grains, etc.), cellulose (which we cannot digest, but cows, sheeps, etc. can, in leaves, etc.), etc.

Consequently, there exists enzymes to break :
- disaccharides in monosaccharides (for instance : sucrase for sucrose, lactase for lactose, maltase for maltose)
- oligo- and polysaccharides into simpler elements (either di-, tri-, etc.-saccharides like maltose) : amylases
for starch, glycogenolase for glycogen, etc.
There are several major parts of digestive system where different foods are digested in different ways.
You forgot that directly in the mouth, saliva contains enzymes, among them amylase and lipase, to help digest starch and fat (which are quite complex molecules, so they're long to be digested, and it's better to begin ASAP, which is in the mouth).
- in the stomach ONLY proteins are being digested with the help of HCl, water and proteinase
Amylase and lipase from saliva might continue working here (but it may depends on the stomach pH) - well, if they're not themselves broken by proteinase, because enzymes are proteins ! (I have to check that.)
- 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
Plus the saliva ones, if they survived.
- 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
.
* that is : cellulose.
Large intestines are separated from small intestines by a sphincter that prevents the content of large intestines to travel to small intestines.
Yes, if it's working correctly.
(If not : [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_intestinal_bacterial_overgrowth]Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO.)
This is where vitamins are synthesized. This is where plant proteins are extracted, digested and absorbed.
Plants proteins ? We need to check that.
This process allows vegetarians (cows, for example)
Wow, no ! Vegetarianism is an ideology, so only humans are vegetarians.
Animals feeding on plants are called herbivore (noun, or herbivorous, adj.), or phytophage (noun, or phytophagous or phytophagic, adj.).
to get enough amino acids from plants' proteins, to build their muscle tissues.
Cows (and sheeps, but not horses for instance) have 4 stomachs (or, more precisely, one stomach and 3 quasi-stomachs), to help them digest cellulose-rich herbs or tree leaves (cellulose is hard to break).

Now, to the traditions of healthy eating and how the physiology of digestion explains it.
Well, religious traditions (including eating habits) have sometimes a scientific explanation, but more generally not.
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...
Hum, because once the bread didn't "raise" (so became matzo), one should repeat that each year since ?

I'm pretty sure that yeast can make the dough raise, any day of the month, including during full moons (depending on room temperature, of course). Why don't you try, each day (or each other day), if you're interested ? That's an easy "scientific" experiment !

Here in France, you can go to a bakery, and buy bread each day of the year, full moon or not.
For sure, most of them now use chemical baking powder (in French : levure) rather than yeast (leaven ; in French : levain), but even the traditional ones, using yeast, sell bread each day, full moon or not. If not, they would lose clients !
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
That might be a real advice for people wanting to eat bread mainly, and meat a bit when bread is not sufficient.
I don't think it's useful for most of us on this forum, with what we know about bread, grains, etc.
The mechanism behind it is still not understood by science.
But is the basic fact (bread yeast not working on full moon, or certain days) already recognized by science ? Before wanting to explain it...
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.
Fermenting / rotting bacteria where ? In a bread dough, or in the human large intestine ?

In bread dough : before asking such a question, please verify the basic fact !

(And in the large intestine, it depends on your diet : if you're on a carnivore diet, with no or little vegetal fibers to digest, there will be more "rotting" bacteria ; if you're on a plant-based diet, with lots of fibers, maybe also starch, there will be more "fermenting" bacteria, particularly those which transform vegetal fibers into short-chain fatty acids, SCFAs).
 
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