CHEMICAL HEALTH
I have defined chemical health as what goes into our bodies. I have broken this into three major groups — digestion, assimilation, and respiration — and will divide it further later in this book.
Digestion begins as the food enters the digestive tract and is broken down with digestive enzymes — in the mouth first, then in the stomach, where food is further broken down by hydrochloric acid. As the food enters the small intestine, further enzyme activity begins as the pancreas secretes amylase, protease, and lipase so that the starches, proteins, and fats can be fully digested and assimilated — or taken in — by the body. This process is helped by the excretion of bile from the liver and gall bladder. Bile helps emulsify or break down the fat that enters the intestinal tract. It also rids the body of toxic byproducts that were removed by the liver in the phases of liver detoxification. These harmful products leave the body as bile in the fecal matter.
Assimilation occurs next. Once food is digested, the small intestine must assimilate the nutrients from it. This is the key role of the small intestine, and if anything affects its ability to do this function, our level of health will suffer. The intestinal mucosal barrier has selective permeability, which means that it only lets through the substances that are good for the body and keeps out unwanted chemicals, toxins and larger food particles that have not been completely digested. I liken this to a mesh or screen with fine holes that only lets very small digested food components through, like the amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins. If the larger proteins themselves were allowed through this screen, they could potentially cause many allergic and autoimmune reactions, in which the body becomes highly sensitized to certain substances, or even to the body itself. This reaction is not possible when amino acids cross the mesh barrier, because basic nutrient components are not allergenic. Also larger food particles cause a weakening of your immune system because your white blood cells have to eat these non digested food particles entering your blood instead of eating bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, parasites and mold and fungi like candida. It may be helpful to imagine a piece of property on which no houses are permitted to be built; if they are, they will be demolished. However, it would be fine to put bricks, wood, nails, and other building materials on the property.
As I have stated before, we only want what is good for our health crossing this barrier (assimilating) after proper digestion. God made our bodies to deny the bad substances access into our bodies so they could not cross the barrier of selective permeability in the intestinal tract into the circulating blood which reaches every tissue, gland, organ, and cell. The first barrier of access is the intestinal mucosa, then the liver itself, which detoxifies the chemicals that passed through the intestinal barrier, or gut, or those that entered unchecked by our respiration.
Respiration often means the inhalation of chemicals and fumes that immediately enter our blood with no liver check first. Also, chemicals that come in contact with skin can have a similar effect. Anything that your skin touches enters your bloodstream in 20 to 30 seconds. This should make you think twice before touching chemical household products, even soaps and shampoos.
So in looking at the chemical side of our total health = wholeness model, we must remember to be cautious about what goes in our bodies.