Digestion & our microbiomes

Our GIT (Gastro-Intestinal Tract) starts from our mouths and runs right through our body to our bottom, also known as the digestive system, our Gut is the section below the stomach-the intestines. It is a pretty clever system and includes the oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gall bladder, small & large intestines. It is also connected to the brain in many different ways, the gut-brain axis has been studied extensively & the Vagus nerve is one of the largest nerves in the body which runs from the brain to the belly, therefore affecting the nervous system. Think about those ‘butterflies’ in your stomach or a ‘gut feeling’. Yep all connected.

Anyway back to the original topic…

We are in charge of what goes into our bodies through what we eat & therefore how we decide to eat & what we decide to eat is something that we have control over.

Digestion begins in the brain where our hunger hormone (ghrelin) tells us our stomach is empty and we need food and so we start the search for nourishment, when we see, think about or smell food it’s a great idea to take a few deep breaths to set off the ‘parasympathetic’ nervous system-the rest & digest part. Therefore inducing calm, lowering heart rate & blood pressure ready for the task of healthy digestion. The other part of the nervous system is ‘sympathetic’ - fight or flight, ideally we want this part to switch off a bit.

The mouth will start to produce saliva which contains enzymes to help the onset of breaking down the starches & fats in the food we eat. Also smoothing the way into the oesophagus.

Chewing our food is a massive help for our digestive system as it is this breaking down of the larger tougher pieces of food which makes it easier for the GIT to process & absorb nutrients.

Once in the stomach, acids & enzymes get to work, it’s really important to let this happen without rushing around, as the stomach has some powerful muscles working here & ideally needs to be undisturbed. From here the food is pushed into the small intestine where most of the nutrients in our food is absorbed for use by the rest of the body, and the left overs are taken into the large intestine as waste. I think we all know what happens next.

So what about the microbiome?

The microbiome is essentially bacteria & microorganisms outside & inside our bodies, they are found all over but the main research has been done on the skin microbiome & the gut microbiome.

To sum up why the gut is so important, the estimation is that we have 100 trillion microbes and the majority are in our gut!

Some microbes are beneficial & some are potentially harmful and can be pathogenic-meaning could lead to illness or disease. But in a healthy individual they coexist & live harmoniously.

Some things which can upset the balance are infections, changes in diet and antibiotics usage over a long term.

There are quite a few signs of imbalances in the microbiome found in the gut, they can be gastro-intestinal discomfort, fatigue, IBS, weight gain, autoimmune disease & skin conditions like eczema. Allergies, mood disorders & migraine can also be connected. So you can see why it is so important to keep the gut as healthy & happy as possible.

Some things which you may have heard of & have been used to help rebalance and rebuild the gut microbiome are:

Prebiotics-these are usually fibre rich foods and they feed the good bacteria-a few examples are;

• Garlic

• Onions

• Leeks

• Bananas

• Asparagus

• Artichoke

• Oats

• Barley

• Apples

• Flaxseeds

Probiotics-these are usually fermented foods which contain live bacteria-a few examples are;

• Live Yoghurt

• Sauerkraut

• Kimchi

• Kombucha

• Kefir (dairy & nondairy)

• Unpasteurised pickles

Plant Based Foods.

Another hot topic, connected to a host of health benefits is the importance of plant based foods. There are so many reasons to eat plant based, as well as providing a greater diversity of micronutrients & bacteria for the gut microbiome, there are also benefits of optimal vitamins & minerals, less saturated fat, more fibre & the list goes on. It certainly doesn’t mean you have to be vegetarian or vegan but having more plant based foods included in the diet could have huge benefits to our health & wellbeing.

Foods could include;

• vegetables

• fruits

• nuts

• seeds

• whole grains

• oils

• legumes

• beans

Plus, each type of food usually has different varieties, so again each one giving more diversity. For example how many of us buy the same type of apple or tomato?

Let’s get mixing it up…red, green & yellow peppers anyone?