Establishing and Maintaining Digestive Health
In his class and book, Conquering Any Disease, Jeff Primack states, “You aren’t what you eat, only what you absorb.” Jeff recommends two foods daily to help establish and maintain digestive health. The first is Papaya. The digestive enzymes in papaya work “better than any other food” for enzymes which can digest undigested food in the intestinal tract. He says papaya is “like drano getting all the old crud out of your intestines, not with fiber, but with protein digesting enzymes.” It can be difficult to get fresh organic papaya in this country. In Panama papayas grow huge. I saw some three feet in length and large enough around I had to ask what they were. They were also deeply colored and delicious. Same is true I Hawaii though I did not see ones as large there. Papaya is optimal when eaten on an empty stomach.
The second food surprised me. Perhaps it will surprise you as well. This food is aged parmesan cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano. Aged cheese goes through a digestive process which rids the cheese of lactose and builds Lactabacilus rahmnosus, “the most studied probiotic with more than 800 scientific studies.” This probiotic survives bile and colonizes the intestinal track. Aging for 36 months has a greater probiotic effect. Jeff recommends 1 to 3 Tablespoons a day of aged parmesan cheese.
“In one compelling study, infants with intestinal problems were given formula with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese aged 36 months. All infants showed rapid release of symptoms!”
Personally, I have been intolerant of even organic cheeses but I have found Parmigiano Reggiano helpful in my diet and I have been delighted to have the ability to eat cheese again. Aged cheeses are easier to digest and I do find that eating Parmigiano Reggiano helps keep my digestion regular. I do look for organic Parmigiano Reggiano and have found it at various health food stores and at Trader Joes.
All references appear on page 188 of Conquering Any Disease, blue cover edition.
