Know your Gut

All diseases begin in your gut – Hippocrates. What exactly your gut is? What it does and why its so important to have a healthy gut? Do you know your gut is connected to your brain and actually drives your feelings also? Have you ever wondered why on earth gut has a feeling? If interested in seeing the world of gut,  just read on.

The gut (gastrointestinal tract) is the long tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the back passage (anus)

 

The mouth is the first part of the gut (gastrointestinal tract). When we eat, food passes down the gullet (oesophagus), into the stomach, and then into the small intestine. The small intestine is the place where food is digested and absorbed into the bloodstream. Then the food moves to large intestine. The large intestine absorbs water and contains food that has not been digested, such as fibre. Stools (faeces) are stored in the rectum and pushed out through the back passage (anus) when you go to the toilet.

Your body actually contains trillions of bacteria. Most of these bacteria are located in your intestines. These are called gut bacteria or your ‘Microbiome’. In fact you are more of bacteria than human..! To your surprise you have more bacterial cells that human cells. It is estimated that in a 154-pound (70-kg) man, there are around 40 trillion bacterial cells and only 30 trillion human cells. Gut health actually mean diversity and equilibrium of these bacteria. Your microbiome contains good as well as bad bacteria. Good Bacteria fight inflammation, while the bad one promotes it. When the gut is healthy, these two types keep each other in check and with larger diversity of good bacteria (there are more than 1000 variety of bacteria in your gut microbiome). But when that delicate balance gets skewed, inflammatory bacteria can take over—and they can produce metabolites that pass through the lining of the gut and into the bloodstream, spreading the inflammation to other parts of the body.

Earlier it was thought that gut transports food from the mouth to the stomach, converts it into absorbable nutrients and stored energy, and excrete waste back out of the body. But new discoveries are showing that that your gut plays a much larger role than mere digestion. Its key role are 1) immunity 2) emotional stress/mental wellbeing 3) digestion of fibre which is important for heart health and help prevent some cancerous cells, diabetes & obesity. 

You will be surprised to know that more than 80% of your immune system is in your gut. Gut affects your endocrine system that is regulation of hormone. 95% of serotonin (an important neuro transmitter) is produced and stored in gut..!  Your brain is connected to your gut through vagus nerve. So your gut and your brain affects each other. Unhealthy or leaky gut can cause chronic inflammation in body causing many metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

What keeps your gut healthy? Well eat plenty of and variety of veggies/ whole grains. Add pre and probiotics to your diet. Garlic and onion are considered good for gut. Have fermented food to increase the diversity of microbiome.

Add fibrous food in your diet. Many types of bacteria actually live on fibre. Our body can not metabolise fibre but these are very important for your gut health. Sleeping well and a stress free mind is very important for your gut. Avoid anti-biotics, sugar and processed food and toxins if you want to keep your gut diverse, healthy and happy..!