Digestion for Beginners
Rebuilding Digestion Through Whole30, Bile Flow, and Circadian Alignment
by Micah Coffey
Listen to Audiobook
Four sections must play in tune.
Stomach Acid - The Opening Crescendo
Hydrochloric lightning at pH 1.5 unravels proteins and sterilizes pathogens. Low acid leaves proteins half-chewed and minerals un-ionized. The bloat, burps, and reflux you blame on "too much spice"? Usually mis-timed deficiency.
Bicarbonate - The Fire Extinguisher
The pancreas douses acidic chyme with alkaline cloud around pH 8, protecting delicate villi and setting the stage for enzymes. Sodium, potassium, chloride, and zinc are the raw materials.
Bile - The Dish-Soap Brass Section
Bile acids emulsify fats into microscopic micelles. But bile is more than soap - its acids talk to gut bugs and tell the liver how to burn vs store fat. No bile flow, no fat-soluble vitamin absorption.
Enzymes - The Precision Strings
Pancreatic and brush-border enzymes snip starches, fats, and proteins. They work on razor-thin margins of temperature and pH, arriving only if earlier cues fire on time.
Forty years of low-fat fads sludged our bile.
The gallbladder took the hint: no orders coming in, so production slowed. Bile concentrated, thickened, and finally refused to exit without a court order. Add hormonal birth control, chronic dehydration, and mineral-stripped processed foods - and we've got sludge thick enough to spread on crackers.
Signs Bile Is Sludged
- Oil slick in the toilet - un-emulsified fat
- Clay-colored stools - no bile pigments made the trip
- Urgent sprint after greasy food - bile arrived late
- Right-side stitch under ribs - gallbladder distress
The fix: A Whole30 plate - salmon draped in ghee beside bitter arugula - commands bile to show up. Natural fats provide purpose; bitter greens squeeze the gallbladder like a stress ball.
Half the world hosts an acid assassin.
H. pylori isn't your average bad bug - it's a biochemical saboteur. With one squirt of urease enzyme, it converts urea into ammonia, raising pH just enough to dodge acid's kill-zone.
The Silent Sabotage
Extra burps after pizza. Metallic taste on waking. Proteins arriving half-digested. Minerals locked in food matrix. We blame fatigue on adrenals, hair loss on hormones - never suspecting the micro-sized saboteur.
Natural Eviction Notices
Mastic gum pops H. pylori cell walls. Bismuth forms toxic lattice on bacterial membranes. DGL dislodges biofilms. S. boulardii and L. reuteri compete for adhesion sites. Zinc carnosine patches mucosal healing.
Reigniting the Furnace
As the assassin retreats, retrain parietal cells to breathe fire. Betaine HCl acts like jumper cables. Apple cider vinegar, ginger tea, and mindful chewing signal "acid on."
Sunlight is the city's power grid.
Morning rays flip the circadian breakers that tell the liver when to craft bile acids and the pancreas when to release enzymes. Ten minutes outside within an hour of waking synchronizes those systems better than any supplement.
Morning UV-B upregulates this enzyme that caps bile-acid production. Sunlight tells the factory to open early.
Within an hour of waking synchronizes digestive systems better than any sunrise-in-a-bottle supplement.
The 30-day rehearsal hall.
Whole30 isn't magic - it simply hushes the daily fire alarms long enough to hear what digestion has been trying to say. No gut-clogging grains, no dairy casein, no processed-snack additives.
Week 1 - Clear the Stage
Purge seed oils, sugary condiments, protein bars. Stock pastured eggs, wild seafood, grass-fed beef, root veggies, leafy bitters.
Week 2 - Ignite & Emulsify
Add digestive bitters before meals. Include healthy fat at each plate to recruit bile. Introduce chilled resistant-starch sides.
Week 3 - Diversify the Playlist
Five colors daily. Rotate protein sources. Micro-dose ferments - 1 Tbsp sauerkraut brine with lunch.
Week 4 - Fine-Tune
5-min walk after each meal. Sunset hygiene: screens off 60 min pre-bed. Prep your reintro list from symptom journal.
Master this month. Own the experiment.
Food, light, and micronutrients outrank hacks and hashtags. The body's data is the most honest coach we'll ever hire.