Basic principles of healthy digestion: what helps keep your stomach healthy

Doctors say that healthy digestion is the key to the normal functioning of the whole organism.On the contrary, problems with the stomach and intestines can affect a person's cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems, immunity and even psycho-emotional state.Whether this is actually the case, why the health of the digestive tract is so important, how to eat properly and whether it is necessary to "help" the intestines with medication - we will tell you in detail in our article.

In fact, for the body is important not only the health of the stomach and intestines, because the digestive system is also the oral cavity, esophagus, liver, gallbladder and pancreas. If at least one organ 'fails' - all the others suffer immediately.

For example, missing teeth in the mouth lead to poor chewing and digestion of food - which means the stomach won't absorb nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Sooner or later, such a person will develop hypovitaminosis and anemia, leading to poor health, reduced immunity and serious health problems.

In addition, the digestive system is directly connected to the brain. Doctors call this connection the 'gut-brain axis': a person's psycho-emotional state depends on the health of the gut - and vice versa.

Surprisingly, the activity of the endocrine system also depends on the state of the "digestive" organ, namely, the pancreas. It belongs to not only exocrine but also endocrine secretory glands - it secretes digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase, protease) and, at the same time, the hormone insulin, which is necessary for the assimilation of glucose by cells. When the pancreas is damaged, a person can develop diabetes mellitus.

And, of course, there is a very close relationship between gut health and immunity. In the ileum (a section of the small intestine) there are a large number of Peyer's plaques. These are clumps of lymphoid tissue (follicles) that are responsible for 'gut immunity'. They are also found at the beginning of the colon and even in the appendix. Peyer's plaques help to "capture" antigens of harmful microorganisms in the gut and produce the antibodies they need - i.e. neutralize.

Bowel health: where to start?

You can find a lot of digestive health advice on the internet, but not all of it is helpful, and some is downright harmful. Usually, a healthy gastrointestinal tract doesn't require any extra "recovery" - it's enough to have a proper diet and a balanced diet.

But getting to know the main symptoms of problems with your stomach and bowels doesn't hurt, as it's easier to cope with any illness at an early stage than to treat the consequences. Signs of gastrointestinal diseases:

• sensation of lump in the throat;
• heartburn;
• belching of air, sour, rotten or eaten food;
• a feeling of heaviness in the upper abdomen;
• discomfort behind the breastbone;
• nausea and vomiting;
• abdominal bloating;
• excessive gas;
• abdominal pain;
• changes in stool consistency and/or defecation frequency;
• constipation or diarrhea;
• mucus, undigested food, blood or other impurities in the stool;
• changes in stool color (e.g., black "tarry" stools in cases of gastrointestinal bleeding).

If any of the above symptoms bother you frequently - it is necessary to consult a gastroenterologist. If there is blood in the feces, tarry stools, vomiting "coffee grounds", especially in combination with lack of appetite, weight loss or abdominal pain, constipation/diarrhea - you need to run to the doctor as soon as possible. These symptoms are called "red flags " in medicine - they indicate serious health problems and require immediate examination.

In general, gastrointestinal problems are functional and organic. The former usually occur due to a violation of the gastrointestinal tract (for example, its motility), and the latter are associated with diseases of the digestive system (inflammation, ulcers, tumors). And if with organic diseases can not cope without serious medication, and sometimes even surgery, in functional disorders can often be done with "little blood" - diet, normalization of diet, treatment of comorbidities (eg, depression, anxiety disorder), as well as special "gut drugs" - probiotics and prebiotics.

Common functional disorders include:

• Postprandial distress syndrome (early satiety and feeling full even when eating a normal portion);
• epigastric pain syndrome (pain in the pancreatic region that does not recede or expand)
• irritable bowel syndrome (abdominal pain combined with diarrhea and/or constipation, changes in the shape of the stool).

In functional disorders, examination of the digestive system does not usually reveal serious abnormalities, but the symptoms (pain, changes in stools) can be very vivid and can cause a person a lot of distress.

How to maintain bowel health?

A healthy diet is extremely important for normal digestion. Of course, the diet must be balanced - that is, it must contain the right amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates. But in order for the digestive tract to function properly, you must not forget fiber - a "must have" for the health of the gastrointestinal tract and the whole body.

What is fiber? It's a special type of carbohydrate found in plant foods - it's not digested or absorbed by the small intestine. Virtually unchanged, fiber enters the large intestine, where it is digested by bacteria. With the help of special enzymes, micro-organisms break down dietary fiber (not all of it!) and thus obtain energy for growth and reproduction.

Fibers are of two types:

• soluble (bacteria in the large intestine are able to cope with them) - they slow digestion and absorption of sugar (glucose). Oatmeal, legumes, citrus fruits and apples are rich in this useful substance;
• insoluble - improves intestinal motility and stool regularity, so is indispensable in constipation. Doctors call insoluble fiber an excellent means of "regular digestion" and recommend eating more bran, vegetables and whole-grain products in cases of reduced intestinal motility. However, it's important not to overdo it - excess insoluble fiber can stimulate peristalsis so much that you'll need to visit a gastroenterologist with complaints of bloating and abdominal pain.

Foods helpful for digestion also include:

• Nuts and seeds (flax and chia, walnuts, almonds) - rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids;
• avocados - a source of fiber and healthy fats;
• "probiotic" products - kefir and yoghurt, which contain the bacteria needed to "repair" the gut.

Probiotics and prebiotics

Most people have heard these words and many think they mean the same thing. But despite the sound similarity, probiotics are fundamentally different from prebiotics. Let's break down the who's who.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that can benefit the human body when administered in adequate amounts. They include various strains of lactobacilli (Lactobacillus) and bifidobacteria (Bifidobacterium), as well as yeastsaccharomyces(Saccharomyces boulardii). Probiotics are indispensable for restoring the intestinal microflora and normalizing immunity.

Prebiotics are substances that are not digested in the human gut, but have a favorable effect on the beneficial bacteria themselves (maintain the balance of the microflora). The most popular prebiotics are inulin, lactulose, breast milk oligosaccharides, oligofructose.

There are also products that combine probiotics (bacteria) and prebiotics (e.g. fructooligosaccharides, inulin) - these are called synbiotics. They effectively restore the intestinal microflora balance, normalize digestion and support the immune system. Popular synbiotics are Lactiale, Symbiolact Compositum, Probiotic with Prebiotic Mason Natural.

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How to heal the gut and improve digestion?

As mentioned above, proper diet and eating habits are important for a healthy gut. If you eat 1-2 times a day in large portions or, on the contrary, 4-5 times a day, but snack "unhealthy" - digestive problems will not wait.

To make the intestines work "like clockwork", food should be taken accordingly: plus or minus at the same time and in moderate portions. It is also important not to forget the drinking regime, as water and digestion are inextricably linked. Fluids facilitate the breakdown of food and speed its transit through the gastrointestinal tract.

Note: it used to be a popular opinion that drinking water during or after a meal 'dilutes' gastric juices and worsens digestion. But now doctors call this another "pseudo-medical" myth.

But sometimes it happens that a person eats properly, drinks plenty of fluids, is active, but digestive problems do not disappear. It is often seen after intestinal infections or other illnesses, when you have to take a lot of medication. In most cases, the culprit is antibiotics. Although indispensable in almost any bacterial disease, antibiotics can be a real curse for the intestinal microflora - restoring it after such treatment is long and difficult.

However, relatively 'harmless' drugs can also upset the balance of the gut microflora - for example, heartburn remedies (proton pump inhibitors). If you take them for a long time or uncontrollably, the acidity of the gastric juice decreases and bacteria begin to grow and multiply rapidly in the gut. This condition is called bacterial overgrowth syndrome (Bacterial overgrowth syndrome - SIBRS). Its most common manifestation is abdominal bloating and flatulence, but chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and other symptoms may also occur.

To confirm the diagnosis, a culture of the contents of the small intestine is performed. But don't confuse this with an uninformative fecal bacteriologic examination for "dysbacteriosis" - if SIBR is suspected, the material is sampled endoscopically (directly from the intestine).

How to restore gut microflora balance?

To restore the gut microflora, the same probiotics (e.g. Biogaya, Linex, Lacium) and prebiotics (Lactulose, Inulin and others) that we have written about previously are used.

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Probiotics are often used for diarrhea, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea - to treat and prevent it. They increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut and "displace" harmful ones, as well as affect the gastrointestinal ecosystem by stimulating immune mechanisms in the mucosa. In addition, probiotics are also prescribed in other diseases - functional gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and even necrotizing enterocolitis (more often for its prevention in premature babies).

Prebiotics are used in constipation, hepatic encephalopathy (lactulopathy), some allergic diseases. There have also been experimental studies showing a decrease in the incidence of colon cancer with the use of "prebiotic" remedies.

In SIBR, surprisingly, the mainstay of treatment is antibiotics - they destroy harmful bacteria and normalize the gut microbiota; a fat-dominated diet is also effective. But the use of probiotics and prebiotics in this disease is currently only being studied.

Preventing gastrointestinal diseases

The best prevention of GI diseases is proper nutrition and avoiding bad habits.

Nicotine and tobacco tar irritate the lining of the stomach and can cause gastritis or even peptic ulcers. Ethyl alcohol damages the liver and pancreas, leading to serious (and sometimes fatal) diseases - cirrhosis and pancreatic cirrhosis. Alcohol abuse causes vomiting, which can rupture the mucous membranes of the esophagus and stomach. This complication is called Mallory-Weiss syndrome. In addition, ethyl alcohol sometimes causes the development of bacterial overgrowth syndrome (Bacterial Overgrowth Syndrome (BIBS) and is generally not good for the body.

The Internet often discusses whether it is necessary to perform any tests for early detection of gastrointestinal diseases. In young people, if there are no complaints, there is no need for preventive examination. But with age increases the risk of intestinal cancer, so after 40-50 years of age (according to various recommendations) doctors strongly recommend to perform diagnostic colonoscopy (examination of the intestines with the help of an endoscope) every 5 years.

The Liki24.co.uk team wishes you a healthy digestion and excellent health!