Don't Ignore Your Pancreas

In today's modern world, degenerative diseases are rapidly becoming
"epidemics." Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, hypo and
hyper-thyroid and all the other thyroid diseases, ADD, ADHD, OCD - well,
you get the picture. As an environmental toxicologist, if similar
pandemic events occur in nature, like the Burr Oak plague, the Jack Pine
worm infestation, or the sudden, mysterious disappearance of the Golden
Tree Frog, environmental scientists search until they identify the
culprit, remove it, and then restore the natural environment so it can
begin restoring balance again.

But humans don't think to do this with their own bodies. Modern
consumers are so far off track, primarily because of the chemicals in
our foods and the dependence on medications to mask the symptoms those
chemicals create. The root of disease prevention is becoming historic
fantasy. Return to the basics of cause and effect when diagnosed with a
disease, and see if you can find that cause and, then, eliminate it.

Take the pancreas, for example. A handy little gland/organ, and a darn
vital key to the root of many disease syndromes.

The pancreas produces pancreatic digestive juices and produces insulin
and other hormones critical for proper digestion. Actually, the pancreas
produces the body's most important enzymes created to digest foods and
to break down starch. Every good nutritionist knows that digestion is
one of the most important components to good health. If you are not
digesting efficiently, your body and health will inevitably suffer.

The digestive system breaks up and digests the food we eat. After two or
more hours inside the stomach, partly digested food moves into the
duodenum, the first part of the small intestine right after the stomach.
When the food reaches the duodenum, the pancreas releases its digestive
juices, which flow down the pancreatic duct and mix with the food. The
juices contain enzymes that help break down the food into very small
fragments. These fragments are absorbed into the body through the small
bowel.

The pancreas is quite high up in your abdomen and lies across your body
where your ribs meet at the bottom of your breastbone, just behind your
stomach. It is connected to the small intestine at the duodenum. The
pancreas contains enzyme-producing cells that secrete two hormones,
insulin and glucagon. Insulin and glucagon are secreted directly from
your pancreas into your bloodstream, and together, they regulate the
level of glucose (sugar) in your blood. Insulin lowers your blood sugar
and glucagon slowly increases it if it falls too low. If the insulin
secreting cells do not work properly, diabetes occurs.

Let me repeat that last sentence: If the insulin secreting cells in your
pancreas do not work properly, diabetes occurs. So that means if your
pancreas is not working properly, diabetes, and MS too, can appear as a
result.

So why aren't you encouraged to nourish your pancreas through diet and
digestive enzymes in order to prevent disease? Something as simple as
supplementing with pancreatic enzymes might prevent diabetes, and will
certainly help control many diseases.

So - don't ignore your pancreas!

Pancreatic production of insulin, somatostatin, gastrin, and glucagon
plays an important role in maintaining the sugar and salt balances in
your body. Problems with the production or regulation of these hormones
can manifest into issues with blood sugar and fluid/salt imbalances. The
pancreas also helps neutralize chyme, which helps break down proteins,
fats and starch. Chyme is a thick semi fluid mass of partly digested
food that is passed from the stomach to the duodenum. If the pancreas is
not working properly to neutralize chyme and to break down proteins,
fats and starch, starvation...and diabetes...and MS....may occur.

More than 90% of the total cell mass in your pancreas is responsible for
producing digestive enzymes. The enzymes are secreted into the
intestines to help digest (break down) the food you eat. These enzymes
break apart the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in your food into much
smaller molecules so the intestines can absorb them more efficiently.

The size of your pancreas is similar to a banana that has been stepped
on; it has a slight curve to it, and it's about the same length, width,
and thickness of a small banana. The pancreatic duct runs through the
middle of your pancreas and shoots the digestive enzymes made in the
pancreatic cells into the duodenum in order to mix with food as it comes
out of your stomach.

Your pancreas is such an important contribution to human health! The
importance of the pancreas and the digestive enzymes it supplies the
body, plus insulin and glucagons, have been disregarded.

So - don't ignore your pancreas!

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, Type I or II, then pump up
your pancreas to avoid the progression of your diabetes. MS has been
proven in laboratory studies to be a response to high protein levels in
the bloodstream and in the brain. Digestive enzymes produced in your
pancreas can help lower these blood protein levels. Alzheimer's has been
shown in laboratory studies to be a result of high insulin levels in the
brain. Digestive enzymes produced in your pancreas can help lower these
blood/brain levels.

There are three classes of digestive enzymes: proteolytic enzymes needed
to digest protein, lipases needed to digest fat, and amylases needed to
digest carbohydrates.

Proteolytic enzymes are some of the fastest "switching on" and
"switching off" regulatory mechanisms in the physiology of the human
body. These enzymes are involved in a multitude of physiological
reactions from simple digestion of food proteins to highly regulated
cascades, such as the blood-clotting cascade.

Lipase is an enzyme manufactured in the pancreas that is used by the
body to break down dietary fats into an absorbable form.

Amylase is most prominent in pancreatic juices, and breaks starch down
by breaking apart large, insoluble starch molecules into soluble
starches. This typically yields dextrin, maltose or maltotriose after
certain chemical reactions have taken place.

Here is a brief list of the pancreatic endocrine hormones and their
purposes:

Insulin regulates blood glucose (sugar) in the normal range by forcing
your cells to absorb and use glucose normally. Thus, insulin decreases
blood sugar levels.

Glucagon balances insulin by regulating blood glucose (sugar); opposite
of insulin. Glucagon forces the cells to release (and sometimes produce)
glucose, increasing blood sugar levels.

Gastrin assists digestion in the stomach through stimulating the acid
producing cells of the stomach to produce digestive acids. Gastrin is
secreted as a direct response to the amount of food in the stomach and
intestines.

Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) helps control water secretion and
absorption in the intestine. VIP causes the intestinal cells to secrete
water and salts into the intestines.

The endocrine hormones originating in the pancreas play vital roles in
digestion and body function. When the pancreas cannot function properly
due to genetics or a bad diet, /including diet sweeteners/, pancreatic
diseases such as diabetes and MS typically result. So, support your
pancreas by supplementing with digestive enzymes after each meal,
especially a meal high in protein. If you successfully target the root
of your health issues, you may find you can avoid, and at the very least
you can control, diabetes, MS, and other diseases that have their roots
within your pancreas.

Look at it this way: for a smashed banana, your pancreas is a vital
organ you should never take for granted. Never ignore your pancreas and
help your pancreas prevent disease!