Is your GUT Healthy?
Pharmacists often meet many customers with digestive issues and although there are many OTC medicines that we can prescribe, it is good to know how we can prevent or maintain a healthy gut.
Gut health benefits beyond the gut. It affects immune health, affects our moods, our emotions, helps in fat metabolism, slimmer, helps in managing our blood sugar, etc.
Our gut is actually a defence mechanism with tis acidic environment and there are good bacteria in there that can help. Our Gut or digestive system can cause a lot of uncomfortable symptoms when it’s not in its best shape . The most common complaints are Indigestion, bloating, diarrhea.
Causes
These bacteria inside our gut become unbalanced, and this very commonly happens especially:
1. After taking a course of antibiotics
2. Stressful, high impact life
3. Diet – food poisoning
To ensure our gut is in tip-top healthy condition
1. Take a balanced diet, particularly food that are high in fiber – grains, fruits and vegetables.
2. Stay hydrated
3. Manage our stress well
4. Get moving – exercise, do not be couch potato!
5. Take a probiotic supplement
A balanced diet is so important,not only does it help with gut health, it is for overall health and good weight management too. Exercise,we can never emphasize enough the benefits of exercise.
Taking probiotics
Generally, all probiotics have benefits for our digestive system, irrespective of brands out there.
When the bacteria inside our digestive tract becomes unbalanced and haywire, taking a probiotic replaces the good bacteria that is already lost inside our digestive tract.
We know that when we take probiotic supplements, we are taking good bacteria that is alive. To ensure that viability of this bacteria, we need to keep them away from HEAT and MOISTURE. This kills the bacteria really quickly.
Some of the conditions that might be helped by increasing the amount of probiotics in your body (through food or supplements) include: Diarrhea, Constipation,Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD),Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),Yeast infections, Lactose intolerance, Eczema (atopic dermatitis) and Upper respiratory infections (ear infections, common cold, sinusitis).
Foods rich in probiotics
You can increase the amount of good microbes in your body through foods, drinks and supplements. Fermented foods in particular (yogurt and pickles, for example) are home to a host of good bacteria that benefit your body. There are also fermented drinks like kombucha (fermented tea) or kefir (fermented dairy drink) that introduce extra probiotics into your diet.
Probiotic supplements may be combined with a prebiotic. Prebiotics are complex carbohydrates that feed the microorganisms in your gut. Basically, prebiotics are the “food source” for the good bacteria. They help feed the good bacteria and keep it healthy. Prebiotics include inulin, pectin and resistant starches.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this is not meant to replace medical diagnosis and readers are advised to seek medical guidance where necessary
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