Have you ever experienced butterflies, queasiness, when you are in a stressed situation followed by an unusual number of trips to the washroom? Did you ever realize that there is a scientific reason to explain this? Well, it’s high time you get introduced to the largest immune organ of the body, your “GUT” nicknamed as the “Second Brain” by scientists.
Know your GUT!
- The GUT also referred to as the Gastrointestinal tract, The G.I tract, the digestive system/tract is a group of organs (mainly mouth, stomach, small intestine, large intestine) involved in the process of digestion where the food is digested, nutrients are absorbed and the waste products excreted.
- The Gut harbors about a trillion of micro-organisms that determine the overall health of an individual.
- The good bacteria in the Gut perform important functions like the synthesis of Vit K, Biotin, and certain hormones, absorption of B-complex vitamins, and discarding toxins from the body.
- 70-80% of the body’s immune cells are concentrated in the gut, thus your health status is directly related to your Gut health.
- There are millions of nerve cells located along the gut which produce important chemicals like ‘Serotonin’ that are believed to help regulate mood, appetite, sleep, memory, and satiety, all of which are conducive to your happiness quotient.
Ideally, there is a balance of bacteria in a healthy gut, however, an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria results in many underlying health problems. Symptoms related to poor gut health can be abdominal pain, bloating, acid reflux after meals, flatulence, but also less obvious ones like headaches, fatigue, mood swings, and impaired immunity.
A diet that is predominated by processed and nutritionally deficient foods and lifestyle factors like stress not only disturbs the normal functioning of the Gut but in turn affects mental health as well in the long run.
Pre-biotics, Pro-biotics, and other gut-healthy foods perform the three R functions of Repair, Revive, and Restoring the healthy Gut bacteria. Ingestion of these foods is thus the first line of preventive and treatment modalities in the holistic approach to complete wellbeing! So ‘Embrace the right culture to a happier Gut’!
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