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Pillar 1 - Absorption
Absorption is the ability to bring into the body the essential nutrients necessary to promote and maintain life, health and wellbeing. It is critical for all the other pillars because it provides the building blocks and the fuel without which the body cannot function.
The body is very unique because it is constantly breaking down and regenerating. This requires an ongoing supply of raw material. It is also in constant motion which requires a constant change to an ongoing supply of fuel. The source for all of this is what we eat, drink and breathe: air, water and food. It includes proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins, probiotics (friendly bacteria), carotenoids and bioflavanoids. Any major deficiency of this basic raw material of life will interfere with the ability of the body to maintain health at every level physical and psychological.
Pillar II - Processing
Nutrients are not used directly but are converted 100’s of times to address specific needs of the body. They have to be broken down, recombined in many different forms, and distributed exactly where needed in the body. These processes include many other substances including amino acids, enzymes, hydrochloric acid, bile, blood, lymph, hormones, neurotransmitters and multiple secretions, substances and tissues needed all throughout the body.
This uniquely complex work would take the equivalent of several chemical plants to produce and the complete energy and functional grid of a metropolis to distribute. Every part of the body is involved in that amazing process but it is more directly guided and managed by the following organs and glands:
- The liver, sometimes called the brain of the body, does much chemical processing
- The stomach predigests the food
- The small intestine breaks down food further and absorbs it
- The large intestine reabsorbs fluids and produces key vitamins
- The pancreas is involved in production of enzymes essential to digestion of food and production of Insulin, essential for production of cellular energy
- The blood circulation brings nutrients to tissues and cells
- The lungs absorb oxygen necessary to sustain life
- The endocrine system provides many regulatory functions of the body and supports key and vital functions
- The neurological system provides communication throughout the body
Pillar III - Elimination
In the process of metabolizing what we eat, drink and breathe, the body releases toxins that need to be processed and moved out of the body. The main organs involved in this process are the liver, digestive tract, large intestine, kidneys, lymphatic system, cells, lungs and skin. Any serious dysfunction in detoxification and drainage will turn the body into a toxic waste station unable to effectively absorb, transform and transport nutrients. It will result in inflammation, progressive degeneration and potentially serious dysfunctions and diseases.
Pillar IV - Protection
The body is constantly being challenged internally through oxidative stress and externally through pathogens. The main organs of protection are the digestive tract, the lungs, the skin (designed to prevent penetration), the liver and the lymphatic and immune systems (designed to fight off invaders or to eliminate abnormal cell formation). We usually breakdown this pillar into three functions; filtration - evaluating the effectiveness of the outer defenses, penetration - indicating a breach has occurred, and immune function - identifying the effectiveness of the inner defenses. |
