of the digestive system, starting from mouth to rectum are traceable to stress and modern lifestyle. A stressful erratic life style with suppressed negative emotions, unexpressed fears and wrong habits of eating, sleeping, drinking, smoking etc., over long periods, can permanently disturb the balance resulting in common ailments like repeated mouth ulcers, hyperacidity, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis etc.

How do we digest the food that we consume?

Many people have only the vaguest idea of the size, shape position and function of the stomach and the other digestive organs.

To extract nutrients from the food we eat we need to digest it. First the food has to be changed into a liquid or semi-liquid form. Then, complex substances such as fats and proteins have to be broken down into smaller chemical units that can be absorbed through the walls of the intestine into the bloodstream. The process of digestion begins in the mouth, where the teeth and tongue chop large pieces of food into smaller ones. The salivary glands release saliva into the mouth to mix with the food. Saliva makes it easier to move food round to chew, and it also contains an enzyme called salivary amylase that starts to digest carbohydrates such as sugars and starches. Saliva is slightly acid and, when you are not eating, it goes on being produced and helps to keep your mouth and teeth clean and stop developing plaques on your teeth. People who have conditions in which salivary production is reduced often experience dry mouth, difficulty in swallowing and increased tooth decay. Once the food is chewed and softened in the mouth, the tongue pushes it to the back of the