Eating healthy food is just the first step in achieving health benefits through diet. After ingestion, whatever you ate will first undergo several biological processes before they contribute to your well-being. These biological processes include breaking down food and their eventual absorption by the body through the small intestines.
There are several factors that make the digestive system of one person better than another person’s. There are also ways for you to influence these factors to help your body in absorbing food nutrients, particularly vitamins. But first, here are the basics.
Vitamin Types and their Absorption
Digestion begins at the mouth. After you mechanically breakdown your food, it gets swallowed and passes through the esophagus and travels to the stomach. The stomach then further breaks down food through enzymes and gut bacteria. Food then passes through the small intestines where most of the actual nutrients absorption happens. The next station is the large intestines, the colon, and finally the anus.
Water-soluble Vitamins
Vitamins C and B are among water soluble vitamins. They have active transporters or molecules that carry broken down vitamins through the jejunum (Vitamin C) or ileum (B vitamins) into the bloodstream. Water-soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine and so they need daily replacement in the body.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins
On the other hand, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K can be stored in the body’s fats. Fat-breaking bile from the liver is needed in this process.
Improving Vitamin Absorption
Helping the body to absorb vitamins more efficiently can be achieved by targeting the food break-down process and optimizing the health of the gut.
Chewing Food Well
You can break down food more efficiently by chewing them well. The more that food is broken down mechanically, the easier it will be to break it down chemically in the next stages.
Juices and Purees
Processing foods in a mixer and making them into juices, purees or smoothies will also make them more easily absorbed by the body. Generally, liquids will be easier to process in the gut as they are already broken down homogenously.
Probiotics
Having good gut bacteria also helps in the chemical breakdown of foodstuff in the stomach. To help maintain a healthy community of gut bacteria, take yogurt with live bacteria or other probiotics.
High-fiber Diets to Clean Your Intestines
The intestines do a lot of work when digesting food and absorbing nutrients. It is important to keep the organs in prime health by flushing out toxic debris and substances that can get stuck in them. Eating high-fiber diets can do the job. The digestive system cannot process fibers and so they sweep through the gut and bring digestive debris along with them as they go out through the excretory system.
Avoid Alcohol (Love Your Liver)
It was mentioned earlier how the liver helps in absorption, particularly for fat-soluble vitamins. To care for your liver, avoid alcohol intake and drinks lots of water especially if you are into flavored drinks or medications. Water can help flush out toxins in the liver to keep it in good health.
Eating healthy and taking supplements alone do not ensure the best vitamin absorptions. You need to eat properly and observe healthy eating practices as well in order to ensure that your body indeed benefits from the healthy food that
