Digestive Tips

 

These are a few little thought provoking facts to help prevent/ease discomfort and show your digestive system some love! Hopefully they prove useful. Some are quite obvious but it’s only when you sit back and consider the impact that small changes and fluctuations in patterns, routines and behaviours can make that it really hits home!

 

Here’s a few “Did you knows?”…

·         The wall of the stomach secretes 400-800ml of gastric juice at each meal.

·         Alcohol and certain drugs like aspirin are absorbed in the stomach hence the rapid appearance of alcohol in the blood after drinking it and the quick relief of headaches once you take aspirin.

·         An ideal transit time…i.e. from ingestion to excretion, is between 18 – 24hours. People have different perceptions of what’s “normal” but in reality anything more than three days without a bowel movement is considered constipation.

·         70% of the body’s immune system dwells in the digestive tract owing to the impact of undigested food molecules causing autoimmune reactions and consequential diseases.

·         The average adult is host to 1-2kg of friendly gut bacteria; the bacteria outnumber the total number of cells in the entire human body many times over!

·         The bacteria in the gut can be knocked out of balance for many different reasons, including: getting older, taking antibiotics, illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease or following an episode of food poisoning (gastroenteritis) or gut surgery.

·         In the last few years, scientists have discovered that there’s a strong connection between your mind and your gut. For example, more than 70% of people with digestive discomfort say they feel emotionally affected. And 90% of those with irritable bowel syndrome suffer mental effects, too. Caring about your gut means caring about your mind! Your gut flora knows more about your brain than you do.

·         Vitamin A helps maintain the integrity of the digestive tract; Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Dark Green Leafy Vegetables, Cantaloupe Melon and Dried Apricots are good sources of Vitamin A!

·         Diets high in saturated or hydrogenated fats suppress immunity and clog up the lymphatic vessels.

·         Eating fermented foods will help feed the good bacteria in your gut improving digestion and preventing infection. Foods to eat include miso, tempeh, sauerkraut and raw pickles! Sugar actually feeds the bad bacteria, like adding fuel to a flame so a reduction in intake is best advised!

·         Taking supplements is unlikely to be the answer to your problems; the digestive system and whole process is complex and taking a supplement, particularly in tablet form is unlikely to be absorbed in same manner as nutrients found in your food.

You really are what you eat! We have the ability to control the way our body behaves, responds, fights, and functions through what we choose to eat.

So what can you do to keep your gut in balance?

 

·         Eating regularly, with smaller, more frequent meals.

·         Ensure there are Gut-Friendly foods in your diet (whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, low-fat meat and fish, good fats and oils, and fermented dairy products).

·         Aim for 5 - 7 portions of fruit and vegetables a day – keep them varied.

·         Don’t rush eating, chew your food slowly and well.

·         And don’t forget to drink up: stick to water however, and stay away from caffeinated, sugary, and alcoholic drinks.

·         Practice a healthy lifestyle: exercise regularly and abstain from smoking.

·         Eat fish 2 -3 times per week.

·         Maintain a healthy body weight