Most of us having been studying since our schooldays that how important is our stomach or our gut in the entire human system. It’s like a fuel tank storing fuel for the health & sustenance of the human body. Without the stomach/gut the other organs in our human body also would not function properly. That’s why the gut is known as the 2nd brain or even the real brain. Let’s understand why it’s so. All that we eat passes from the mouth moves to the stomach & from there to large and small intestines. Here, via the process of digestion food is broken into smaller particles by the digestive enzymes present in the intestine. From the intestines, the food is then transported to the liver by the blood for its conversion into functional form like fats into lipids, sugar into glucose & proteins into amino acids.
These are subsequently circulated throughout the entire body and utilized by the other organs for their respective functions. So, what we eat influences our brain, hormones, our thoughts, feelings, heart, kidney, liver, etc. only to name a few. It regulates the level of toxins present in our body. This level determines the toxicity of the entire body and projects itself through several diseases as trivial as headache and as serious as cancer.
There is also very good coordination between the gut and the mind. Some people even believe a person’s behaviour depends upon the health of the gut. It’s very important to understand that there is a continuous bidirectional communication between our gastrointestinal (GI) tract and our brain. The bacteria in our stomach communicate with the emotional and cognitive centres in the brain. It should also important to note that atleast 70% of the neurotransmitters like serotonin are made in the gut and then sent to the brain through the vagus nerve. So, we can conclude that whatever goes into our stomach determines our mood and well-being. So, whenever next time we eat junk food or street side food like burger, pizza, patties, etc., we should note that you might start to feel dull, sleepy & less energetic. And this would lead to unproductivity in the 2nd half of our workday. And if we continue to follow this lifestyle we might end up suffering from serious weight gain, which starts to affect us psychologically and thus leading to low self-esteem.
On the contrary, if we eat healthy and exercise regularly, many mood uplifting hormones like endorphins, serotonin, etc. are secreted in our body, most importantly in our stomach. This makes us feel very good throughout the day. And we should continue to do this until this kind of healthy eating becomes our habit. Instead of being addictive to junk food we should ensure we are addicted to healthy food. This will lead us to a positive lifestyle.
We have to give importance to our physical & mental well-being & having a good gut is a very important step towards one’s improved physical & mental well-being. Just for our understanding Gut flora & microbiota is the complex group of microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of most mammals especially humans. In humans, microbiota in the gut are in the largest number & variety when compared to the other areas of the body. The gut flora is formed in early childhood i.e. between 1-2 year of age. By this time, the intestinal mucosal barrier and the intestinal epithelium that it secretes advances to the extent that it is both supportive & tolerant of the gut flora. It also acts as a wall of protection regulating the food that enters the bloodstream to be distributed to all the organs of the human body.
This intestinal wall blocks all the harmful substances while allowing only food & water to pass through. Whenever there is bacterial imbalance in the gut, i.e. when the bad bacteria outnumbers the good bacterial in the gut, this is the juncture at which the intestine gives way to toxins & other harmful elements which gives way to phenomenon called as ‘leaky gut’. When there is leakage in the gut, harmful elements enter the bloodstream and trigger rampant inflammation & reaction from the immune system. Now, common symptoms of leaky gut are digestive issues, food sensitivity, fatigue, bloating to name a few. In some cases, it can even further lead to skin, issues, hair issues & even mental health issues.
Chronic Leaky gut can also be traced to other more severe conditions like migraines, PCOS, depression, anxiety, mood swings, early or premature ageing, cystic acne, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel disease, chronic fatigue & thyroid abnormalities, etc. Let us try and find out what exactly cause the leaky gut & how best to avoid it. There are certain foods that we have to avoid to keep our intestine clean just like completely avoiding smoking, alcohol, tobacco, etc. These foods kill the good bacterial in the stomach and provoke substantial growth of bad bacteria. We shall find out what are the bad categories of foods we should avoid & instead what are the good foods that we should consume for a healthy gut.
Foods to Avoid | Healthy alternatives |
Milk and milk products | Almond milk |
Antibiotics, analgesics, other medications | Probiotic supplements |
Wheat/maida/any flour or bread containing gluten | Soaked or sprouted brown rice, wheat with fibre (khapali gehu), homemade jowar, bajra, ragi, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, any other local variety of millet |
Hydrogenated (vegetable oil) | Organic cold-pressed (ghani) groundnut oil/coconut oil/homemade ghee (cow) |
Refined sugar | Organic jaggery/raw manuka honey/fresh green stevia leaves |
Processed/genetically modified foods | Natural and organic foods |
Few additional points to be noted are as given below:-
1. We should be aware that analgesics, antibiotics kill most of our gut flora.
2. Having buttermilk regularly is very helpful. Also, yoghurt and full fat curd consumption is very helpful as all these promote the growth of good health supporting bacteria.
Also, listed herewith below are food & Supplements that support gut health:
1. Bone Broth or collagen supplements: These foods help in preventing leaky gut & gut inflammation.
2. L- glutamine supplement: This is an amino acid that helps in the faster healing of the gut. You can easily order the best L-glutamine supplements online on Amazon.
3. Fermented foods: buttermilk, yoghurt, curd, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, probiotic supplements, etc. help in maintaining our gut flora levels.
4. Spices & Herbs: turmeric, Liquorice, triphala, ashwagandha, ginger, basil and neem extract are very good for the gut.
5. Regular or intermittent fasting: helps in giving rest to our gut which in turn aids gut healing by itself. This is one of the most effective ways of healing our leaky gut.
6. Zinc and magnesium citrate supplement: Both these components increase the water content in the stomach and hasten gut healing.
7. Omega 3 and omega 9: These are obtained from flax seeds and avocados; flax seeds are rich in omega 3 fatty acids while avocados are rich in omega 9 fatty acids. Both these together help in maintaining a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut.
8. Coconut oil & Ghee: If we are facing acne issues or any gut issues, its high time to stop all those oils and just use ghee and coconut oil. Coconut oil has excellent anti-microbial properties that aid the killing of the bad bacteria in our gut and also increasing the good bacteria.
We shall see more on the best healthy foods to consume in the next blog post.
- by James J.
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