Nutrition 101: The importance of gut health
If you're keen on eating healthy, it's just as necessary to be mindful about your gut health.
Registered nutritionist-dietician Coach Timothy Ting explains the importance of this concept in an exclusive interview with GMANetwork.com.
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He describes, “Gut health is the function and the balance of the small bacteria of the many parts of the stomach system, the gastro-intestinal system. 'Pag tiningnan kasi 'yung tiyan ng tao and 'yung small intestine and 'yung large intestine, usually they are populated by bacteria. Now gut health just describes the interactions nung bacteria na 'yun with the system.
Coach Tim further emphasizes that it is important to pay attention to how well your body is absorbing the nutrients that it needs.
He continues, saying, “A healthy gut allows you to break down food to the simplest form para it can enter the bloodstream and deliver the nutrients that you need to perform your daily functions and even repair your body every day. And that is only possible kapag healthy 'yung digestive system mo. Kapag hindi kasi healthy 'yung digestive system, what happens is that you might get certain discomforts or illnesses relating to the gut like bloating, diarrhea, ulcer, 'yun, things like that.”
Despite this relatively new concept, you can work on improving your gut health through simple ways.
1. Eat food with prebiotics and probiotics.
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A fundamental step in taking care of your gut health is by taking in prebiotics and probiotics.
Coach Tim explains, “'Pag sinabing prebiotics, these are the foods that are not digestible by us pero they are digestible by the bacteria inside our gut.”
“You can get prebiotics by eating usually 'yung mga fibrous items that are found in unprocessed food like 'yung bananas, apples, brown rice, oatmeal, 'yan. When you eat that kasi your body will eat the carbs pero 'yung fiber na kasama niya, these are called soluble fiber, naiiwan sa large intestine to serve us food for the probiotics.
“Probiotics help populate the gut kasi sila 'yung taga-digest ng mga item na hindi natin ma-digest. Kapag hindi ma-digest 'yun, 'yun 'yung nagli-lead to bloating, gassing, etc. But the probiotics present in your gut will help you fend off unwanted bacteria. Indirectly, it leads to immunity rin.”
2. Avoid charring meals.
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Meats already contain bacteria that are harmful for your health, and cooking them well can help in killing these microbes. However, overcooking and charring your meals may hurt your gut health too.
Coach Tim expounds on this, saying, “You might want to avoid charring your meals, kung mahilig kayo sa sa mga barbecue-barbecue. Charring produces a certain compound and that compound might kill your gut bacteria as well.”
3. Avoid excess caffeine, alcohol, fatty foods.
Nutrionist-dieticians like Coach Tim have always been advocating about eating and drinking in moderation and controlling your food portions for a healthier lifestyle. This is also true in taking care of your gut health.
Particularly, he advises not to overindulge in caffeine, alcohol, and fatty foods.
He says, “These food items might interfere with your gut bacteria by interfering with the stomach part of the digestive process. So if you have feelings na may ubo na hindi matanggal, something stuck in your throat, that might be GERD. 'Yung hyperacidity na 'yun might be linked to too much of the offending foods like alcohol, caffeine and fatty foods kaya bumabalik din, nagba-backlog.”
4. Exercise.
Living healthy is multi-faceted, and as always emphasized, nutrition and physical activity go hand in hand. Exercising benefits your gut, too.
Coach Tim illustrates, “The way you process food down to your stomach is by something called peristalsis. So basically it's motility. So parang nagwe-wave, wave, wave 'yung stomach mo until ma-push 'yung food towards the latter end ng digestive system.
“With exercise, as you move, your intestines kind of up-regulate that process and bumibilis din 'yung pag-move nung food na 'yun. So, nakakatulong siya sa pag-digest ng food.”
5. Get adequate sleep.
According to Coach Tim, gut health is also influenced by the nervous system. Thus, keeping your gut healthy also requires you to catch enough Z's. For one, the production of hormones signals our body for specific functions and activities.
He explains, “The gut is related to the brain. So pag pangit 'yung tulog, usually that's when bloating, diarrhea or constipation arises din. So we have no idea what the internal mechanisms are but what we know lang is it's related to your nervous system. May nerves kasi that connect to your gut and tell you, 'Uy, it's time for your daily routine.' 'Uy, it's time na for lunch.'”
6. Limit the use of antibiotics
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As earlier mentioned, our guts have good bacteria that help in the digestion and nutrient absorption when we eat. This is important to remember so as not to abuse taking in antibiotics or self-medicating.
Coach Tim states, “Gut bacteria is bacteria, and antibiotics are what you take to clear out any form of bacteria. You might want to limit the use of antibiotics especially for conditions na hindi naman nagbe-benefit with antibiotics din.
“For example you have a stomach flu which may be viral or bacterial. So pag viral siya, of course it's a virus, it's not a bacteria so the antibiotics won't have an effect. It may even make your stomach flu worse kasi you cleared out the good bacteria as well.”
He stresses further, “So if ever you're gonna do antibiotics, make sure that consult with a doctor first.”
A healthy gut plays a vital role in your overall health. So if you're after losing weight or keeping a sound mind and body, take a cue from Coach Tim or any registered nutritionist-dietician to begin your positive lifestyle change.
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