Nutrition

On food & supplement absorption, intestinal flora, cancer and immune system

It’s not what you ingest, but what your cells actually absorb

Food & nutrient input = food & nutrients assimilated?

It seems it’s not so much what you ingest that matters, but what you usefully absorb and digest, i.e. effective nutrient supply to your body depends on both your food intake and the quality and effectiveness of your assimilation and digestion. This applies to both food and supplements, and the following is meant to address both with special emphasis on the latter.

(Thankfully, some of our ingested food or supplements is already absorbed into the mucosa of our mouth and esophagus - homeopathic remedies for instance are often placed under the tongue).

If supplements are absorbed, they may do a world of good considering the toxic world we are living in. As examples show, vitamins and minerals taken in supplement form (as opposed to through natural food alone) can trigger or accompany dramatic shifts in health, including the long-term recovery from cancer, curing massive cancer (barley green) and reducing cancer risk by some 30%.

Intestinal flora & absorption of supplements

Dr. Elmar Wienecke, German inventor of the ”Saluto Program” reports the following significant results from his institute’s research into micronutrients, supplements and their effect on human health:

The Saluto Institute measures the supply of micronutrients at the cellular level, i.e. within the cell itself. Customary blood serum tests do not reveal any deficits that might exist on the cellular level in a timely manner, showing such deficits only after distinct deficiency symptoms have already set in. In other words, cellular measurements provide the sole means of showing a lack of nutrients in good time, i.e. before health has been impaired.

Studies done on a group comprising 1500 persons established that the great majority of health problems arises from the individual being undersupplied with micronutrients.

The following test was conducted: A group of students undersupplied with micronutrients were fed those nutrients in high concentrations. Still, after six months’ time their cells were found to not having replenished themselves, the reason being that the students’ eating habits had not improved (thus maintaining a poor intestinal flora).

The digestive tract of people with a poor intestinal flora doesn’t absorb ingested nutrients well. In other words, such a person could pour tons of so-called healthy foods, drinks and supplements down their “gullet” but due to these nutrients being destroyed by a "toxic" interior environment (laden with bacteria, fungi, mucus etc. etc.), the nutrients will or may do them no good at all - they do not survive and arrive where they actually could do the person good.

In fact I have seen claims that these nutrients are actually used by our internal "occupants" for their own benefit and propagation - after all they get "first dibs".

Cleansing and optimizing the intestinal flora

This means that the flora needs to be cleansed and optimized before any additionally supplied nutrients will be usefully absorbed (with the exception of nutrients which are absorbed at the level of the buccal and esophageal mucosa, as mentioned in the introduction).

The intestinal flora can recover a health-promoting bacterial composition through various means including

wholesome eating habits which take advantage of the “20,000 different vital elements found in fruits and vegetables”,
the intake of live probiotics (acidophilus, bifidus, L. casei and others as particularly found in unpasteurised yogurt and cultured vegetables^[1]),
avoidance of toxins (incl. those found in household products such as antibacterial cleaners), drugs, toxic air and food (such as pesticide- and antibiotics-containing produce - and even water),
internal cleansing/detoxification,
proper food combining according to Dr. Hay, Edgar Cayce and others,
effective fasting or juice fasting where required.

And it’s important to thoroughly chew one’s food: digestion (and some assimilation) starts in the mouth, with certain nutrients as mentioned even being absorbed through the inner lining of the mouth and esophagus. For many more surprising details on the various health benefits of proper chewing, see Dr. F.X. Mayr’s in-depth research into the link between dietary habits, thorough chewing, intestinal/digestive function and health & beauty.

Intestinal flora, immune system & cancer

According to numerous researchers, the development of cancer and malignant tumors is linked to an underperforming and inefficiently working immune system. Since the intestines house an extensive part of the human immune system (lymphoid tissue), it would seem paramount to help the faltering immune system by properly cleansing and supporting one’s intestinal flora.

Additionally, the immune system’s functioning and effectiveness is strongly influenced by our thoughts, visualization and emotions.

How do you know which supplements you may need?

According to Dr. Wienecke, the most effective method consists in measurements at the cellular level. Redoing the test half a year later establishes whether the supplements have had an effect and are working. If no improvements are recorded, it may be due to dosage or as discussed in the foregoing, an unhealthy intestinal flora (which should be addressed in the first place anyway).

If you don’t want to go to the expense of having yourself tested, see Finding the right modalities, foods and remedies for you for alternative suggestions. Also read Metabolic Typing to see why “[d]ifferent metabolic types react differently to the same nutrient”.

A recommended supplement?

For the above-listed reasons, I generally do not recommend any single supplement by itself since I think this could mean propagating a half-truth (though I am impressed by the featured testimonial attributing the cure of massive cancer to barley green even if I think that the placebo effect [power of belief] coupled with an indomitable will to live played a major part in this “terminal” cancer healing; even more impressive are supplements such as the Apán healing mushroom and several others as listed in my 22 Greatest Hits).

Instead, I encourage you to do further research and follow your own feelings regarding the question which modalities to include as part of your personal “healing journey”. Overall and generally speaking, optimising one’s diet and cleaning one’s body, mind, spirit and environment seem the least expensive while most thorough and natural approach to healing cancer and other disease.

See Healing Cancer Naturally and Causes of Cancer, and for details Budwig Diet, Energetics, Nutrition, Detoxification, Emotions, Mind, Spirituality, Greatest Hits, Light and Nature Heals. Also compare Research corroborates: a wholesome diet is more healing than taking isolated supplements.

The only easily available and cost-efffective “supplements” I could wholeheartedly recommend perhaps to most everyone is clean seaweed, wild herbs such as nettles, dandelion and St. John's wort, and increasing clean water and/or fresh organic juice intake: the latter helps to flush out toxins and to “alkalize” the body while the former should help in replenishing mineral/trace element stocks in a natural and balanced way.

(And not just in cases where money is an issue: before trying and relying on any fancy and expensive supplements, I'd do these few things which can do miracles of healing by themselves.)

Compare On Natural & Commercial Glyconutrients, Cancer, & the Need for Supplements.

Some interesting comments on supplement absorption excerpted from www.mercola.com

“Hydrochloric Acid: If you do not have a sufficient amount of hydrochloric acid secreted by your stomach then it will be very difficult to ionize mineral supplements to absorb them properly. There is a hydrochloric acid reflex present on the lowest rib approximately one inch lateral to the midline. If this area on the rib is tender to palpation there is a strong likelihood the person is deficient in hydrochloric acid and would benefit from supplementation.

This is especially common in individuals over 50 years old, and also in individuals with food allergies. One to six capsules or more of Betaine hydrochloride is generally taken with the first bite of every meal for proper digestive support. The Betaine can be discontinued once the reflex point is non-tender to deep palpation.”

More on consequences of insufficient digestion of normal food

A similar mechanism applies to the digestion of normal food: Improper digestion due to low stomach acid apparently is one of the contributing factors in food matter putrefying in our digestive system, i.e. becoming the breeding ground of bacteria, fungi and parasites instead of serving to nourish our cells.

For instance “hydrochloric-acid secretion from the stomach, pancreatic enzymes, and bile all inhibit the overgrowth of Candida [yeast or fungus] and prevent its penetration into the absorptive surfaces of the small intestine. Decreased secretion of any of these important digestive components can lead to overgrowth of Candida in the gastrointestinal tract.” (Healthnotes.com)

Compare The Fungal/Mycotoxin Causation of Human Illness (particularly CANCER). Similarly, overeating may create the same effects since the digestive capacity (enzymes, hydrochloric acid etc.) can not keep up with the amounts of food ingested.

Herbalist Maria Treben's advice for digestive disorders

Among other herbs, outstanding Austrian herbalist Maria Treben particularly advises the use of calamus root (prepared in a specific way) for various digestive complaints. More about Maria Treben and her work at Maria Treben's "miracle" herbal cancer cures and Swedish Bitters Healing Testimonials.

... and for the best, easiest, and least expensive ways I know to heal cancer

after studying the subject for some twenty years, click here.

Footnotes

1 In addition to helping our gut flora, cultured vegetables and dairy have also been found to have powerful cancer-fighting properties, see Lactic-acid-fermented food treatment for cancer.