Gut health is the balance of trillions of microorganisms that live in our digestive tract. These bacteria, yeasts, and viruses are collectively called gut flora or gut microbiome, and maintaining the right balance of these microorganisms is vital for optimum physical and mental health and immunity.
Maintaining a healthy gut health is important because “All the food we consume is ultimately broken down in the digestive tract to a simple form that can be absorbed by the bloodstream and be delivered as nutrients to our body.
Dr. Alexander Yip, Associate Consultant, Medicine, Alexandra Hospital suggests the following ways to improve gut health:
1. A healthy diet
“You are what you eat” stands true for the bacterial makeup of your gut, but so do a lot of other factors including the nature of your birth, being breastfed, the environment you were exposed to growing up and medications. There is data to show that diets, not specific food alone will change the gut. So eating a diverse diet rich in whole foods can lead to a diverse microbiota, which is beneficial for your health.
2. Common myths about gut health debunked
Myth 1: Bacteria is bad
Bacteria is often associated as a negative thing. However, our bodies contain both good and bad bacteria. The good bacteria, microbiomes, help regulate your metabolism, process foods and protect the body against infection.
Myth 2: Probiotics are the best for gut health
While probiotics can certainly benefit the gut they aren't a cure-all. Instead a consistent healthy and diverse diet, together with lifestyle is key. Instead of supplements, try filling up on probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods instead. And if you are happy with the way your digestive system is running, you do not actually need a probiotic supplement.
Myth 3: Daily pooping is normal, and optimal
Gastroenterologists quip that anything in the range of three times daily to three times weekly is normal, assuming the faeces is not too loose or hard. That is, regularity doesn't mean defecation should happen daily, but rather, that it should happen consistently. Frequency only becomes a concern when it changes suddenly, in either direction.
3. Lifestyle changes to improve gut health
Imbalances in your gut microbiome can disrupt your digestion, health and wellbeing. This is known as dysbiosis and a growing body of evidence is showing that your lifestyle could be a major influence.
Exercise: Less physically active people tend to have a less diverse microbiome than those who are more active. Exercise, even at a low dose but consistently has been shown to increases the abundance of health-promoting bacteria and enriches the diversity of the microbiome. Cardio workouts, aka aerobic exercise, are best. This includes activities like jogging, walking, cycling, dancing, and swimming.
Stress: While normal stress is part of life, prolonged experience of stress can lead to many forms of mental and physical health diseases. Stress has been linked to reduction in both abundance and diversity of beneficial bacteria in the gut. It is important to adopt stress management techniques such as mindfulness, meditation or exercise.
This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.
