Digestion is the act of breaking down food into its component nutrients which are absorbed by the body and used for growth, repair and development. The digestive system in the human body is the most spread out system. Every organ in the digestive system has a role to play in digesting food such that it benefits the body and maintains a smooth functioning.
The digestive system is also the one system that is prone to all sorts of infections. There can be a variety of disorders of the gastric system ranging from the mild (constipation, heartburn) to severe (ulcers, colon cancer).
Apart from disorders caused due to infections or organ damage, something as seemingly innocuous poor digestion can also give rise to a lot of difficulties.
Poor digestion can have several consequences on the human body.
One effect that poor digestion has on the body is increasing its susceptibility to allergies. This is because due to poor digestion unprocessed food products, chemicals and even toxins may permeate the intestinal lining and enter the blood stream. This can give rise to a wide range of reactions from the immune system. The food ingested may be something that the person has eaten earlier without a reaction. However because there is poor digestion, the immune system is probably over active.
Poor digestion puts a lot of strain on the immune system. In fact it can also lead to autoimmune disorders where the immune system starts mistaking and attacking tissue cells of the body itself instead of bacteria or toxins. With this condition, the liver comes under the maximum stress.
Poor digestion may also give rise to inflammation of the lining of the gastric system which again is an immune reaction. This will definitely alter functioning of the digestive system.
Because of the delicate environment in the gastric tract poor digestion often leads to an over growth of bacteria and yeast. This can often go unchecked and worsen poor digestion into something worse.
Apart from these, poor digestion can give rise to conditions that are experienced commonly by people. Poor digestion can affect the speed of the entire process, either slowing it down or speeding it up. When the digestion is slowed down, constipation is often the result because the intestine has more time to absorb the water, leading to more hard and compacted stool. Poor digestion can speed up the process, leading to diarrhoea because the body doesn’t have enough time to absorb the water from the food. In this case, even nutrients are not absorbed.
Thus poor digestion can lead to fatigue, tiredness, a feeling of bloating, gassiness, nausea, etc.
Overall poor digestion can be very uncomfortable. Thus one should take good care of the digestive system since it is directly linked to good health and well being.