Explanation why we gain weight!
The small intestine is the most important part of our digestive track, but nobody cares!
By Manuel Luciano da Silva, Medical Doctor
Everyone knows the beginning and the end of our digestive track. The first part is the mouth and the final is the anus. But the majority of the humanity does not know – and does not care – which are the other parts and their vital physiological functions in our digestion.
Among so many books about Human Anatomy we considerer the best one the Atlas entitled “The Human Body” published by the Japanese Professor Chihico Yokochi and edited by he University Park Press, Chamber Building Baltimore, Maryland, 21202, U. S. A. Presenting magnificent color photographs it describes in an original manner the various parts of our digestive track. Here is how the Japanese anatomist describes the digestive track:
(1) First he tell us that the length of our digestive tube from the mouth to the anus is SEVEN TIMES the HEIGHT of the person.
(2) Second our small intestine is FIVE times the HEIGHT of the individual.
Compare the length of the small intestine with the height on the right
Small Intestine
Why did Mother Nature give us a small intestine FIVE TIMES our HEIGHT?
What are the functions of such a lengthy intestine?
Before we go any further we must criticize the name of “small intestine”. It should be called the “LONGEST INTESTINE”.
Professor Yokochi describes the digestive track in three parts:
(A) The duodenum is the first part of the small (the longest) intestine. It is called duodenum because it has a length of 12 fingers. Duodenum in Latin means twelve fingers or inches. It starts at the exit valve of the stomach which is called pylorus meaning in Latin “doorman”. The duodenum has the shape of a “chouriço” in the form of the letter C.
(B) The jejunum, which follows, means “fasting”. Why? Because in the Antiquity it was observed that in cadavers this part of the intestines was always empty. It has an average FIFTEEN feet in length.
(C) The ileum is the terminal part of the small intestine and its name means “terminal part”. The ileum has TEN feet, making with the jejunum a total of TWENTY FIVE FEET in length of small intestine.
The miracle of Jejunum
Jejunum is the most miraculous part of the small intestine! It is the most humble and unselfish. All the foods that we eat have an abundance of bacterias, but most of these are destroyed by the hydrochloric acid of the stomach. The jejunum is the part of the intestine that has the least amount of bacterias, the one that is least subjected to tumors and the one that produces less number of “firecrackers “ compared with the large bowel…
All other parts of the gastrointestinal track are subjected to more malignant tumors, such as in the mouth, esophagus, stomach and large bowel or colon.
It is in the jejunum that most essential metabolic actions take place, such as the enzymatic reactions the pancreatic juices, and also the ones produced by the cells on the small intestinal mucosa, which with the help of the emulsifying or mixture of the bile salts, cause the microscopic particles of the various foods to be able to pass through the walls of the jejunum and be absorbed to enter into the general circulation.
Tennis court inside our belly
It is in the mucosa of the our small intestine that the secrets of our digestion take place. For us to be able to understand the entire mechanism of this phenomenon we have to analyze in minute detail the microscopic anatomy of the internal mucosa of the jejunum.
If our small intestine has a length of 25 feet it is like having a hose of 25 feet inside our belly as if to water the vegetables, the trees and the grass in our yard. The average lumen or empty space inside of the jejunum is about 3 cm to 3.5 centimeters in diameter and in the ileum is 2.5 centimeters. The mucosa, or the inside carpet of the jejunum, is composed of many folds covered with millions “finger like” microscopic structures called vili.
These “fingers” have the length of .5 to 1.5 millimeters. The Jejunum possesses about FOUR MILLIONS of these “fingers” or villi. It is through these “fingers” or villi that the microscopic food particles such as proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins and minerals are absorbed to be able to enter the general circulation. These villi have very small nerves, arteries, and veins and also especial canals called lymphatics to transport the fats.
Even more curious is to note that each “finger “ is covered with many more millions of very small “fingers” even more microscopic. All these millions of “fingers” contribute to create a total area of absorption inside of the jejunum equal to a tennis court inside our belly!
It is this phenomenal area of the jejunum that the meticulous selection of microscopic absorption of the different food particles takes place. But most important, it is at this level that the “fingers" determined the VELOCITY with which each type of food is absorbed to enter into the blood stream.
Mucosa of the Jejunum with villi or "fingers" for absorption of the food
Small "fingers" Very small "fingers" Even smaller smaller
Small intestine is like a highway
So we can better understand the voyage that our foods have to take inside of our digestive tube, we are going to compare it to a highway. Thus, like cars, our foods when they are microscopic particles they have to pay a toll in order to be able to pass through the mucosa of the jejunum to be absorbed and proceed in their voyage into the blood and lymphatic circulations.
We should note that are two types of tolls for absorption:
(A) Rapid or “green” which means that the REFINED foods do not stop at the toll both to enter into the circulation.
(B) Slow entrance for foods that are not refined and their absorption is therefore slow.
It is the speed of absorption of the foods at the level of the jejunum mucosa that determines the secret of our health !!!
This means that the smaller the food particles are the faster they enter into our circulation and this is BAD for our health!
Why refined foods are bad for our health?
The best examples of refined foods are refined flour and potatoes. The more refined flour is, the worst it is for our health, because the faster its particles can enter into our circulation. The same happens with the pulp of the potatoes because Mother Nature made its pulp very refined.
What is the meaning of this? This means that refined breads, (and all the foods that are made with refined flour) , as with potatoes and water melons all can enter into our circulation very fast and within the first hour of our meal, the blood sugar level go to above the normal values. This elevated sugar level calls for an increase of insulin production to reduce the sugar excess. But the insulin does not burn the sugar.
What the insulin does is transform the excess sugar into fats, and these fats will be deposited in the “warehouses” of our body such as our buttocks, around our waste line and our breasts. This is the reason why we gain weight by eating refined foods.
Medical message for us not to gain weight
It is very simple. Do not eat refined foods because they will be absorbed at high speed at the level of the small intestine causing an elevation or blood sugar.
Avoid all refined foods or then mix them with foods that have a slow absorption, such as vegetables, fruits and or foods rich in fiber. This way you will not gain weight and will not suffer from constipation. You will feel much better and will live a longer and a healthier life. Good luck.
If you want to see a list of good foods that are not refined, read this article.
