Stomach pain: Where does it come from?

Raw fruits and vegetables carry their own enzymes and will begin digesting themselves. However, denatured foods have no live enzymes and can remain in the upper portion of the stomach for up to eight hours or until new food pushes it down.

by Dr. Jane Hendricks — 

There are two primary types of stomach pain. There is nausea, reflux and burning, which is usually felt in the upper GI. And there is cramping, which comes from the lower intestines. This occurs when the stomach and the first portion of your small intestine become irritated, due to over-acidity created by the fermentation of undigested food.

Unfortunately, most people are told that their stomach is producing too much hydrochloric acid and are given antacids, which shut down the acid production. Sadly enough, the opposite usually is true. They have too little hydrochloric acid, so the undigested food sits in their digestive tract for hours or days, releasing toxic acids during the process of putrefaction and decay.

Let’s look at the stomach in relation to the movement of food through the digestive tract. In the upper part of the stomach, there are no digestive enzymes. Yet the Standard American Diet (SAD) is largely composed of adulterated food. When proteins are denatured by heat or processing, our digestive enzymes cannot break them down.

Raw fruits and vegetables carry their own enzymes and will begin digesting themselves. However, denatured foods have no live enzymes and can remain in the upper portion of the stomach for up to eight hours or until new food pushes it down. In any case, the food moves down to the lower portion of the stomach where digestion is completed by the gastric enzymes. Because of its digestion challenges, adulterated food puts an enormous burden on the stomach cells.

Undigested food in the intestines can result in cramping, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Damaged intestines can leak foreign proteins into the blood, stimulating the immune system. This leads to myriad immune system imbalances, such as allergies, arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia and cancer.

The good news is that you can change your health by changing your diet. You need not take a bunch of drugs and supplements. With education and good food, your body will take care of the rest.

Dr. Jane Hendricks is a naturopathic physician who, instead of treating your disease and symptoms, teaches you to nourish, balance and cleanse your way to optimal health. She has hosted a radio show, and is the author of Feed Your Body, Energize Your Life. 602-957-0876, or www.communityofhigherliving.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 26, Number 3, June/July 2007.