No

by Marc Rios

Created on: July 30, 2007

The increasing level of obesity in America is a legitimate cause for concern. There are many who are desperate to lose weight and have tried in vein to reclaim their health. Procedures like gastric bypass have come along that seemingly promise to be that miracle solution that many have prayed for. But is it really a solution to obesity and more importantly is it safe? Let's answer that by first exploring some of the causes of obesity and then asking if gastric bypass addresses them.

Some of the primary causes of obesity include a clogged colon, undigested food in the small intestine, a sluggish liver and unstable blood sugar levels. In the United States we consume a large quantity of processed food most of which is completely devoid of the enzymes needed to properly digest it. Much of the produce that is grown today is mineral and even vitamin deficient due to lack of crop rotation, not replenishing the soil and picking foods before they are ripe. Combine this with the insane amount of pesticides, herbicides, food additives, artificial flavors and coloring and synthetic preservatives that we consume in our food and it is easy to see how we are overloading not only our digestive systems but our immune systems.

Now let's explore what a gastric bypass does. It surgically alters the stomach making it smaller to prevent a person from eating too much. This "pouch" is directed to the middle part of the small intestine bypassing the duodenum at the upper portion of the small intestine. The idea being to prevent a person from eating too much and too shorten the time food is in the intestinal tract. There are several problems with this, the first being in the stomach itself. When food enters the stomach gastric acids are secreted to breakdown the food and the food is kneaded around. In order for the gastric juices to properly work the food must come into contact with the walls of the stomach. One of the primary reasons why you should never eat till your stomach is filled to capacity is that the stomach must stretch to accommodate the extra food making it more difficult too knead the food around. Too much food may also lead to fermentation in the stomach depending on the digestive requirements of the various foods consumed. When food reaches the duodenum the pancreas secretes enzymes to facilitate digestion. These enzymes only function in the duodenum. When food enters the small intestine the nutrients are absorbed by its walls. The most significant part of this stage of digestion is that the nutrients in the food are absorbed at specific areas of the small intestine.

Another part of the digestive process is peristalsis. When food enters our stomach the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract begin to contract to move food through it. These bowel contractions serve not only to move through the GI tract for food to be absorbed but also to be eliminated through the colon. Proper movement of food ensures that the GI tract remains clean. Human beings have the digestive tract of a herbivore meaning that the length of our intestine ensures maximum assimilation of what we eat. By clogging our intestines the way we do we allow poisons to not only accumulate but slowly leak into our system.

A gastric bypass artificially alters the human digestive system to function in a way that is inconsistent with our physiology. In no way does this procedure address any cause of obesity. The human body is a complex organism that has multiple systems operating together in a beautiful harmony. Holistic doctors who recognize this have been able to successfully treat not only obesity but many disorders that are considered incurable by orthodox Western medicine. Obesity is an easily treatable not to mention preventable disease. By improving our digestive systems, detoxifying our bodies, learning how to eat properly, applying the proper use of herbs, vitamins and minerals, we can easily conquer our weight problems. The most important thing to helping yourself is to believe that you can help yourself beat it. If you don't believe that you can lose the weight no medical therapy or doctor will be able to help you. The sad fact is that in the modern world we believe that we are technologically advanced that we are both learned and wise. We put too much confidence in doctors as if they are infallible and our technology. As a culture we have a deeply ingrained shame of our bodies and a cultural prejudice which intrinsically links our bodies and our sexuality. We need to spend more time improving our health so that we can enhance the quality of our lives and less time preventing others from improving theirs because of our own fears.

Learn more about this author, Marc Rios.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.