What happens When Food Is Not Digested? Lactose, Maltose, Sucrose

The dairy debate: To eat dairy or not that is the question. Many people make the argument against dairy, many make the argument for it. As a nutritional consultant I have seen raw dairy products serve as a powerful and healing food for some people, and cause problems for others.

One thing of primary importance is that dairy should be consumed in its RAW state. Heating dairy through pasteurization denatures this pure food, destroys enzyme activity, alters and destroys amino acids and can produce volatile carcinogens to form.

Raw dairy on the other hand is loaded with nutrients, enzymes, viable amino acids and can be a very healing food.

Problems When People Can’t Digest Dairy

Despite being a much more nutritious food, some people have a difficult time digesting some raw dairy products like raw milk. This may be due in part to a food allergy or sensitivity. This can also be due to a condition called “Leaky Gut”, or more appropriately “Villous Atrophy”. The tiny hair-like fibers of the small intestine called the micro-villi secrete important enzymes for the final stage of the digestion of carbohydrates into glucose. This includes the enzymes lactase (for lactose), maltase (for grains-based maltose) and sucrase (for simple sugars).

If the villi or micro-villi are atrophied, they are unable to produce the necessary enzymes. Milk sugar (as well as the maltose in grains and simple sugars) will not be properly digested or assimilated. This can result in big problems.

What Happens When Food Is Not Digested?

If undigested food particles are too large to pass through the mucosal barrier and into the bloodstream, these particles will putrefy in the intestines, and could be absorbed into the blood. If some of these food particles are large enough to cross into the blood, then because they have not been properly digested, the immune cells attack them. This is where the volatile immune reactions take place: the release of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins, histamines and cytokines.

What can result from poorly digested food are food intolerances, autointoxication (severe bowel toxicity), inflammation, fibromyalgia, joint and arthritic pain, skin issues, dermatitis, psoriasis, migraines, foul body odor, IBS, gastritis, colitis, Crohn’s disease and several other conditions.

Getting the picture? Do you see how important proper digestion is, as well as the importance of enzymes and the various stages of the digestive process? All health begins in the gut. Almost all dis-ease involves the gut.