The gut, also known as the digestive tract, is not just a mechanism for processing food, but is a vital part of the body’s immune system and significantly influences your physical and mental health.
Primarily, the gut is comprised of trillions of bacteria called the gut microbiota. These bacteria, the majority of which are beneficial, are vital to the body’s functions.
They aid in breaking down food into nutrients, help the immune system fight harmful bacteria, and influence the body’s insulin resistance. They even affect your mood and mental health outcomes.
Microbiota are part of most of our gastrointestinal system. Foods can harm the microbiota or support them.
Avoid processed and sugary foods
Processed foods have transfats that prolong shelf life and this harms the gut lining. The flexible cellwall hosting myriad of cell receptors and channels becomes rigid. Cells thereby fail to function optimally and this function depends on the type of cell.
High sugar foods will lead to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). This in turn leads to bacteria fermenting food and production of excessive gas. This also affects the absorption capacity and will lead to nutritional deficiency.
Prefer home-cooked meals
When we cook at home, the oil to be used and all the ingredients are under our control. When a cooking oil is overheated and reused ( as in restaurants), food cooked will be unhealthy for our gut microbiota. We can avoid artificial sweeteners, food preservatives and colorants,
Avoid eating in a hurry or in a standing position
It is advised to sit and chew your food slowly.”When we are calm, we activate the parasympathetic system and vagus nerve which controls the gastro-intestinal tract movement and function is a prasympathetic nerve.
If we are in a hurry, then the overdriven sympathetic nervous system leads to inadequate absorption of vital nutrients in food.
Move after you eat
Sleeping immediately after we eat is not good for digestive function. Walking for just 10 to 15 minutes has been shown to aid digestion and optimal absorption. Sitting for long hours during work is not good for one’s digestive health.
Prefer whole foods
Whole foods like whole grains, vegetables, fruits , nuts and seeds are to be consumed every day instead of processed and artificial foods. The more variety of vegetables and fruits that we eat, the more enriched our gut microbiota will be.
Source: India Today
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