035. The Key To Health, Strength, Size And Longevity
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The #1 Process That Determines Everything
You’ve heard us discuss training, history, nutrition, supplementation amongst other topics so far. For example: Vegetarianism VS Meat eating.
Heck, you even heard Arnold recommend we all eat less meat, or better yet, stop eating meat all together.
There’s been very little mention of the one thing that influences literally everything. It’s definitely a lot less sexy than sets, reps, blitzing and blasting, yet some dare to say it affects how much muscle you put on more than all the training in the world.
I bet you’re at least a little curious to find out what it is.
Drum roll please!
Ok, ok. Here it is. I’m writing about none other than digestion. It is where everything begins AND ends.
Go ahead, click the play icon to get the scoop.
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Hosts: Randy Roach and Tamas Acs
Episode #35
The Key To Health, Strength, Size And Longevity
In This Episode:
Basic sequence of digestion from mouth to anus
Role of bacteria in digestion
Role of bacteria in disease
Proper food combining
Hazards of antibiotics and anti-acids
Episode Summary and Updates:
Tamas chose to follow their milk episode (#34) with a show on digestion
He opened the show by referring to the stomach as a second brain
He gave a simplified path of food from the mouth, past the pharynx, down the esophagus, into the stomach, then through the three segments of the small intestine, passing on to the ascending, transfers, and descending segments of the large intestine, then to the rectum and out the anus
Tamas conceded that digestion is most likely the least sexy subject as most do not like to discuss their poop
One’s stool is indicative of one’s health
Randy stated how digestion is still an expanding area of research especially with the real and vital role of bacteria
He made mention of the often argument over whether we are true vegetarian or carnivore or a combination of both
Most carnivores have a HCl that is 10 times more acidic than humans
Human digestion begins in the mouth with mastication and an alkaline environment suited for carbohydrate breakdown with enzymes such as amylase
The masticated food passes down the esophagus as a bolus
The stomach, however, is a much more acidic environment suited for protein breakdown with an aggressive churning working synergistically with HCl, pepsinogen and pepsin
Food can remain in the stomach from 45 minutes up to several hours depending on volume and content
The bolus has been broken down into a liquid called chime that is now very acidic
The chime enters the first section of the small intestine called the duodenum
The gall bladder secretes bile into the duodenum which begins to re-alkalinize the chime, neutralize the stomach enzymes, and emulsify the fats so that they can be more efficiently digested within the watery medium of the duodenum
Fats are hydrophobic meaning they don’t mix with water and this is why oil sits on top of water and cream rises to the top of milk
Bile will disperse the fat into the enzyme containing watery medium for digestion
The pancreas is stimulated to release an array of enzymes for further breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats
The pancreas also releases large amounts of sodium bicarbonate to further increase the alkalinity of the duodenum contents
Bacteria participates in the digestion of food along with the pancreatic enzymes
Digestion continues on as the food is past onto the next two much longer segments of the small intestine called the jejunum and ileum
Much of the water and indigestible foodstuffs pass into the large intestine where most of the water and minerals are re-absorbed
Bacteria plays a role in both digestion along the GI tract and manufacture of certain vitamins and amino acids
Randy again stated the importance of digestion and how most people are not at all in tune with their body and how it reacts to foods
Both the profile of the stool and how one feels are strong indicators of digestive efficiency
Randy and Tamas reiterated how most people also are not aware of the activity of the large intestine in reabsorption of water and minerals and especially further digestion and manufacturing of nutrients via bacterial activity
Some researchers believe that the brain receives some of this later digestion
Again, research is expanding significantly in the field of bacteria and how it plays a major role in our immune system and digestion
We literally eat the waste products of bacterial digestion of our food
This field is really opening up and the realization that the medical over-use of antibiotics has greatly injured our intestinal ecosystems
In actuality, we are from a genetic perspective primarily germs as the number of genes contained in the germs living symbiotically in our bodies greatly outnumbers the genes of our human genome
Everyone’s digestion can vary according to their own physiology and the health of their GI tract
Food combining can be very important in efficient digestion
Randy mentioned the works and travels of Dr. Weston A. Price who studied indigenous, primitive cultures who all had staple foods
These cultures did not have access to foods worldwide, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days per year
They ate what was indigenous and seasonal to them
Western cultures, with access to all foods, eat too much and too many different foods at one time
Antacids and laxatives are top sellers in the industrialized regions of the world
Many digestive issues are easily remedied by simplifying meals
Randy used an example of a multiple course meal complicated further by drinking ice cold milk
He referred to his own food combining as performance eating because he likes to eat and not feel any distress or sluggishness afterwards
He then gave an example when he over- eats on a weekend evening with typically carbohydrate foods and then feels very lethargic
Most people over-eat complicated mixtures at every meal
Tamas advised with tips on relaxing before one eats and how stress itself can compromise digestion
Randy mentioned how early 20th century bodybuilders, Al Treloar and Adolph Northquest advised on not eating when stressed
Randy also recalled in Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors, Volume II writing on Dr. William Beaumont back in the 1820s and early 1830s when he observed and experimented on an 18 year old Canadian fur trader, Alexis St. Martin who had sustained a musket wound which left an opening leading right into his stomach
Dr. Beaumont conducted experiments by lowering various food items into St. Martin’s stomach and observing digestion times
It was around that time that they were learning that human digestion was not conducted mechanically alone but also through a biochemical process
Randy mentioned Richard Tucker who was a subject in his second volume who was reading on the works of Beaumont and Weston Price at a very young age in the 1960s
Tamas brought up how digestion can effect mood and one’s thought process
He asked Randy about some individuals he knew who only ate once per day
Randy spoke on Ori Hofmekler’s book, The Warrior Diet, and how Ori promoted a regimen of eating through a four hour window late in the day
Randy also knew two people who ate only once a day as they found they functioned much better physically and mentally eating in this fashion
Randy and Tamas discussed Serge Nubret and whether he supposedly ate just once per day
Randy thought that Serge may have practiced this at some time, but was known to eat enormous quantities of food that could not possibly be eaten at one sitting or even in a short window of time
Pete Grymkowski ate large amounts of food in a window roughly of six hours back in the later 1970s when doing his heavy training and drug use
A bottom line message was that if you are relying on a lot of anti-acids to manage your meals then you are doing more harm then good
Randy gave examples of what foods mix well for him and what do not
Milk and eggs do not sit well with him even when consumed raw but he knows many who do well with that combination
Meat and eggs mix well for Randy
Randy mentioned how the Natural Hygienists such as Harvey and Marilyn Diamond practiced food combining in the 1980 with their Fit for Life book series
The Natural Hygienists recommended not combining proteins with starches, eating fruits alone and combining vegetables with starches
Bob Hoffman back in the late 1930s in his book, Better Nutrition was also talking about proper food combining, but stating it was more of an individual process
Randy agreed and again reiterated how one must observe how they feel and what they ate not just hours before, but often what was consumed the day previous
Tamas reiterated how certain foods are the primary target of digestion in different parts of the body
Randy mentioned how he will notice a bloating and sluggishness with bad combinations and will be on the toilet the next day
Tamas again stated that it is much more important to observe and correct as oppose to reaching for anti-acids which simply disrupt and compromise the GI tract
Randy did acknowledge how the gluten content of wheat is up 25% from wheat grain of 50 years past and we are experiencing almost epidemic cases of celiac, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, enteritis, diverticulitis and colitis which are all varying forms of degenerative bowel disease
Our bowels are getting beaten up from garbage food when combined in a manner that is both hard to digest and toxic to our systems
We are calorically overfed but still nutritionally starved
Tamas warned how people are shifting too quickly to antibiotics and compromising their GI tracts and not allowing themselves to heal naturally and thoroughly
Randy gave one of the theories of how bacteria and virus are used in consuming and diluting toxic tissues in the body
Bacteria as discussed earlier plays a role in our digestion and that includes consuming toxic tissues that have become diseased through ingestion of toxic chemicals.
The byproducts of bacteria consuming this toxic tissue create what we identify as symptoms that we attack with antibiotics which kill the bacteria that was just doing its job
It is the equivalent of shooting the firemen who are putting out the fire and creating smoke
The smoke stops, but the fire was never put out totally and will erupt again very soon
This is similar in the body when antibiotics kill the bacteria before it is finished consuming the toxic tissue so the process will begin once again in the near future
Many do not have the patience and are often fearful of letting a flue or cold run its course naturally
Many medical practitioners are now realizing the danger of over using antibiotics
Updates
Randy is going on Superhuman Radio on Wed at 12:30 PM EST with Lee Thompson to talk mor on the NPC/IFBB lawsuit filed by Lee. The show can be heard at www.superhumanradio.com
Randy also told Tamas that his modifications to his HAMMER Strength Steep Incline is complete and workds great
He has another project on the books
