Simple Digestion

Over a period of time I believe our thought process becomes complicated and cluttered, probably that’s one of the reasons it becomes so difficult for us to understand (sometimes) simple things. To understand this lets do one simple exercise. Just mentally note down what all comes to mind when u hear the word “Air”. Take five seconds to think before you continue. Well, a lot of you would might have thought about the composition of the air as in x% CO2, y% O2 etc., some of you would might have recalled the latest WHO result of the most polluted city, some of you would might have thought about some Anime or TV series and some of you would might have thought about your latest experience out side air. All of you are correct but tell me how will you explain a 3 year old when he or she asks, “What is air”? It’s tough, because the question is too simple for our complex thought process.

The intention behind this piece is not to make you learn about how to think simply but rather explain you one process in a very simple manner. Its the process of combustion.To understand it lets assume a barbecue or a camp fire. We need fuel ( Coal or wood), a catalyst (diesel or gas), fire and air. Now everyone knows how to ignite a fire so I will not explain that. Rather let’s understand some of the things we take care while preparing for the fire.

1. We make sure that the fuel is not wet.
2. We make sure that the barbecue and the ground is dry.
3. Wood and coal are in small pieces and one single large piece.
4. We keep enough space between all different coal pieces and wood blocks to have sufficient air between them.
5. We do not jam pack the barbecue.

If any of the above conditions exists, we will have a bad time. We will struggle to ignite the fire, will have too much smoke, will be too tiring and will not have a great time. That’s something we would like to avoid. Once we are done with the camp or barbecue we clean it up and throw the waste.

Well the entire process of our digestion is similar to that. Now imagine our stomach as a barbecue or the camp fire site. Our food is the fuel and the acids in our stomach are the catalyst. So to have a proper digestion

1. We need small pieces of fuel so that it burns(digests) easily. “That’s why we are asked to chew properly”.
2. We need to have some air in the stomach. ” That’s the reason we should never fill our complete stomach”.
3. We need a very little amount of water to make the process smooth “That’s why never drink too much water while eating. It will have same effect as burning a wet coal or wood.”

As a thumb rule ” divide your stomach into 4 parts and fill two and a half parts with food, half part with water and remaining one part with air”.

It takes approximately 2-2.5 hours for our entire food to get digested and that’s a correct time to drink a glass or two of water as it will wash off any residue of the food stuck or left in our stomach and intestines. This simple explanation will help you understand half of the scientific things written in the digestion related articles.

Many of you might be dealing with weight issues, digestive issues such as irritating bowel movements or excessive gas, and issues of belching and bloating. Apart from the regular precautions please remember how we digest and always try to maintain the balance and follow the thumb rule.