Since the body has great difficulty in handling ‘levorotatory’ (left turning) lactic acid, mindful yoghurt manufacturers use bacteria that produce more ‘dextrorotatory’ (right turning) lactic acids. Do check the label on the cup of yoghurt to ensure it reads ‘mainly dextrorotatory’ lactic acid.

Bacteria do more than just break down our food. They also produce completely new substances, especially when allowed to ferment, eg: cabbage is less rich in vitamins than the sauerkraut it can be turned into those extra vitamins are made by bacteria. Bacteria and fungi are responsible for the taste, creamy consistency and holes in cheese. Bologna sausage and salami are often made with starter cultures of bacteria (mainly ‘staphylococcus’) that makes it so tasty. Wine, vodka are the end products of yeast acting on the raw juice.

Our Gut bacteria can affect our appetite. Bacteria can produce particles that are small enough to make it through the coating of the blood vessels, into the brain. Examples include Tyrosine and Tryptophan. These two amino acids are converted into Dopamine and Serotonin in the cells of the brain. Dopamine is associated with the brain’s reward system and Serotonin makes us feel contented and sleepy, its lack causes depression. 95 percent of the serotonin we produce is manufactured by the cells of our gut. The gut bacteria thus reward us when we send them a decent quantity of the food they desire. It makes us feel pleasant and whets our appetite for the next meal. They do this not only directly by means of the substances they produce but also by cranking up the body’s production of certain transmitters. Our satiety signals transmitted increase considerably when we eat the food our bacteria prefer, and what our bacteria prefer is food that reaches the large intestine undigested. Surprisingly enough, those foods do not include pasta and white bread which are easily digested in the small intestine.

When the body needs food, rising levels of the hormone Ghrelin, produced in the upper stomach and pancreas, signal the brain and trigger a desire to eat. At the end of a meal, specialized endocrine cells in the wall of the small intestine release other hormones (like cholesterol, glycogen-like petide-1, and oxyntomodulin) that signal satisfaction. In obese people these signaling networks malfunction, leaving them perpetually hungry. Ghrelin drives the urge to eat. Stretch receptors in the stomach signal when to stop and a whole lot of hormones released in each of the three regions of the small intestine act on our food digestion and absorption. In the first few inches of the small intestine, the duodenum, which connects directly to the stomach, the partially digested food is blended with bile from the liver, helping in the digestion of fat. Then the 8-foot long midsection, the jejunum, where vital sugars, amino acids, vitamins and small proteins are dissolved and finally the ileum, which secretes incretins (See ‘Glossary and Explanation of Terms’) and absorbs more nutrients before emptying into the large intestine for further digestion and then elimination.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7