ayurveda snake health symbol
ayurveda mixing bowl health symbol

The Biological System

Before suggesting any diets to remedy defects in the biological system, I will describe the manner in which it functions and the way in which it can be impacted psychologically.

The biological system is a process of ingestion, digestion, assimilation and elimination. Fundamentally the body is like a tube: nutrition enters through the mouth, travels via the oesophagus into the stomach, from the stomach through the pylorus into the duodenum, and from the duodenum, through the jejunum and the ileum to the iliocaecal valve. From there the remaining solids pass into the colon and exit via the rectum. This process is the job of the body tube.

We need therefore to ensure that this body tube and its organs are capable of ingesting efficiently. Food needs to be well chewed to facilitate digestion by the body. When food is inappropriately mixed or taken at irregular intervals, or if you are highly stressed, the system is unable to properly digest it.

Pre-digestion takes place between the mouth and the pylorus, the last part of the stomach. Actual digestion occurs between the pylorus, duodenum and jejunum. In the duodenum the pancreatic juices and gall bladder juices are added. The stomach is totally acidic. The acidity of the stomach has to be converted and the pH has to be balanced to a normal level of around 7.0. Thereafter digestion starts to take place.

Food is assimilated through the villi of the small intestines. The villi are numerous little hairs through which the fructose and glucose are assimilated. it is here that fats are changed to lipase, protinase and amino acids, and starches changed to glucose.

All foods, excluding vitamins, minerals and trace elements, have the capability of being converted into glucose - fuel for the body. The nutrients are assembled in the small intestines, from where they are transported by the hepatic vein to the liver. The liver purifies the nutrients. An excess of sugar in the blood is converted into glycogen and deposited. In this way the body maintains its balance.

Glucose is released via the liver into the vena cava, from where the blood and the nutrients are transported to the lungs. The lungs oxygenate the blood, which then goes directly to the heart. The heart in turn pumps the blood through the aorta and on to the kidneys. This process is both simple and yet miraculous. It functions automatically and continuously without conscious intervention.

ayurveda mixing bowl health symbol

Back to the Diet List

cherry tree