Dr. Doug Graham (80-10-10 raw vegan)

[KichigaiNeko]

Forgot to mention

My latest adventures in oral bacteria/ fungi/ viruses

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hairy_tongue

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/b...iry-tongue

Yes I practice good oral hygiene, but the latest medication my Medico has me on causes hypo-salivation. So this is why I call you to task over bacteria not being present in the oral cavity. Otherwise, why brush our teeth twice a day?

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Digestion means the chemical processes applied to extract nutrients from food - HCl (stomach acid) is part of this process. This process includes things that require bacteria, and those that don't. So if you killed all the bacteria in your small intestine, food would still be digested and some energy and nutrients would still be absorbed, but humans of course require bacteria to do some of the digestive work for proper nutrition and energy absorption. Most of the digestion in the stomach occurs due to the HCl and not the relatively few bacteria that live in there. Whereas the digestion that happens in the small intestine is done with enzymes and bacteria.

Alcohol for instance is absorbed through the stomach, and is the only food or nutrient substance I know of that doesn't make it to the small intestine at all. If you eat a food that contains alcohol (e.g. yeast) the food will be digested and alcohol will be extracted and put into your blood for energy without any problem without bacteria. The stomach acid kills the yeast. Your liver will then convert the ethanol molecule into glucose that your other cells can use.

Thing is Daniel, you are missing the "chemical processes" that oral bacteria / fungi/ viruses employ in the first digestive processes of our food. Your food is incapable of being "digested sans the micro flora of the intestinal tract" is my thinking; and to have the GI in a sterile situation is untenable and unrealistic.

Something akin to the first Eukaryote "enslaving" the first mitochondria we are in a symbiotic/ interdependent relationship with Bacteria/ Fungi/ Viruses .

As for the stomach... there are a multitude of bacteria and fungi that survive the pH levels. Such as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora
http://www.livescience.com/515-bacteria-...llies.html
HELICOBACTER PYLORI- http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10....o.54.1.615

We are virtually a walking talking compost heap!

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This process includes things that require bacteria, and those that don't.

Ahh
You seem to be referring to the Krebs Cycle here. Never could regurgitate the precise sequence to satisfy my examiners and hence Bio-chemistry was the only subject I failed to pass to acquire my certification.

http://www.ict4us.com/r.kuijt/images/en_krebs.jpg

http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/VL/GG..._cycle.jpg