Endocrine System
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The Pancreas, Liver and Gall Bladder
7.10 The small intestine produces only a few digestive enzymes. Other digestive enzymes are supplied by the pancreas and the liver. These organs communicate with each other through hormonal messages that coordinate their enzyme secretions. The pancreas secretes enzymes that are active in the digestion of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The liver secretes a greenish fluid, called bile. Bile enables large molecules of fat to be broken down. The gall bladder, a small, muscular, green sac attached to the liver, stores excess bile until it is needed. The pancreas and the liver has other functions as well. The liver is vital in regulating metabolism. Toxins, such as drugs and alcohol, are broken down by the liver. Liver also filters damaged red blood cells, debris and pathogens from the bloodstream. Pancreas produces insulin, which is vital in regulating blood-sugar levels.
The Oesophagus ( Foodpipe)
7.11 The oesophagus also called gullet is about 25 cm long muscular tube, which carries food from the mouth to the stomach. The muscles of oesophagus produce wave-like contractions to push the food down to the stomach. The surface of the oesophagus is moist and slippery due to the mucus produced by the glands in the walls of the oesophagus. Sometimes we choke while eating food. This happens when food enters the windpipe instead of the foodpipe. The openings of the windpipe as well as the foodpipe in the mouth lie close to each other, and so there are chances of food going the wrong way. This could happen when we talk while eating or if we jump around while eating. But if by chance food enters the windpipe, it can be brought back to the throat by coughing and then swallowing properly. However, in normal circumstances, when a person swallows, the epiglottis (special protective flap) closes the opening to the windpipe preventing foods or liquids from entering the lungs.
Indigestion (Dyspepsia) and its Complications
7.12 Indigestion is a common disorder producing nausea, belching, gas bloating, heartburn and abdominal cramps brought on by eating food. Indigestion is mostly due to faulty drinking and eating habits; eating too quickly, overeating, or eating junk foods like refined/starchy, fried, fat-rich and spicy foods, smoking and drinking too much alcohol and caffeine. If food is not completely digested it has the capacity to leak into the intestines (gut) wall and then further into the bloodstream. Once this happens, the body may recognise these incompletely digested foods as foreign. As a result, the body may react to these foods by mobilising the immune or some other defence system. These reactions may be designed to neutralise a foreign food, but may also provoke one or more of a wide range of the following complications and symptoms of “food intolerance”.
7.13 Complications – (i) Abdominal Bloating; (ii) Lethargy, particularly within an hour or two of eating; (iii) Mental fogginess and low mood; (iv) Mucus or catarrh in the throat, nose or sinuses; (v) Childhood problems such as colic, glue ear, ear infections and recurrent tonsillitis; (vi) Fluid retention; (vii) Eczema; (viii) Headaches and migraines (ix) Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS); (x) Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s Disease; (xi) Gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).
