Understanding Gut Health and Wellness Impact

Welcome to the gut. To the top, these squishy stuffs are your stomach and the liver. These long snake-like parts to your left and right are your colons. Right behind you is the small intestine, and right below you is the rectum. Here, the gut breaks down the food and drinks you swallow, absorbs the nutrients, and parcels it to the rest of the body.

Take in food, absorb the nutrients, and send it all around. Its function seems important, and we need to maintain good gut health, right? But over the past few years, research has shown that what the gut is capable of has transcended mere digestion.

The gut has been two-timing with its own digestive system, with the body part most far from it. The brain!

Just like a coming-of-age movie where the hero finds out the love of his life was here all along, we’ve come to realise that the gut and the brain come together a lot and have a very healthy relationship, communicating a lot. This is what we call the gut-brain axis!

Ever had a ‘gut feeling’? That’s exactly what this communication is!

Remember when you saw that one person that gave you butterflies in your stomach? That’s literally your brain and gut admiring your crush together!

Your brain communicates with your entire body through nerves, but it seems that it has a special, almost telepathic connection with your gut. And people don’t believe in soulmates. Your brain actually talks to your gut more than any other part of the body and your gut has the most nerve cells in your body outside your brain. So, they’re both bound to have their own special connection!

The brain and the gut seem to do very different things, so why do they need constant communication? It’s like when you see a goalkeeper and a striker discuss tactics even though they operate on completely different ends of the pitch. But there seems to be more than what we know from the surface.

Research still goes on to this day about the brain-gut axis, but studies have proven some important reasons as to why this exists:

Neural Communication: Their direct connection does make sense. The stomach needs to send messages to the brain. How else are we going to know if we’re hungry or if we’ve stuffed ourselves at a friend’s barbeque?

Immune System: Believe it or not, the gut actually plays a vital role in knowing if any pathogen has entered the body. If there are any unwelcome guests, the gut sends a direct message to the brain to rally the troops and kill the invader.

Hormone Influence: You know the guilt we feel when we eat an entire bucket of chicken? Or the boost we get when we drink a cup of coffee? That’s the gut sending an immediate signal to the brain about what we just ate and how it feels about it. If only our gut felt good after eating a Choco lava cake…

So, now we’ve learned that the gut-brain axis is essential for maintaining digestive health, regulating appetite and metabolism, managing stress and emotional well-being, and coordinating immune responses. The gut assists and the brain scores.

The gut has over 200 species of bacteria, viruses, and fungi, all working hard to keep our body healthy. Scientists like to call this a microbiome. So, it’s paramount that we treat it well. Let’s take a look at some ways we can maintain a healthy gut:

Healthy Food: The no-brainer on this list, and many others, food goes directly into your gut for it to get digested and the nutrients to get absorbed. The minute you eat fatty, fried, and oily food, the gut slows down its process making you feel full and bloated for a long time. A study by Johns Hopkins Medical suggests eating fruits and vegetables, as they provide the fibre to build good bacteria and a healthy microbiome.

Kofuku Tip - Eat probiotics like yoghurt, curd, and Yakult. This simple hack can increase good bacteria in your gut multifold. You can also talk about it with people with similar experiences before to explore your options.

Get It Movin’: The more you move, the more your body moves, especially your colon. This helps it release the waste much easier and makes the gut focus on more important things. Exercising has also proven to help irritable bowel syndrome, so your gut can send more important messages to the brain!

Slow and Steady: Just like the tortoise that won the race, remember to chew your food slowly and thoroughly, to ease the digestion process. Eat smaller and more frequent meals to keep the GI tract healthy. Try to not gobble your food like Goldilocks.

Keepin’ it Moist: Water, earth’s elixir helps to break down food, making it easier to digest and absorb nutrients. Try to get in at least two litres of water a day.

Tone Down the Meds: Antibiotics can be great when you’re sick. They kill the bad bacteria but also kill the good ones quite often. Who knew medicines could be so woke? Antibiotics can help you, but try not to take them too often. You aren’t House M.D.

The gut-brain axis is super important to our functioning. Whatever our gut feels, our brain responds. Call it a gut feeling, eh?

Keeping this powerhouse duo in sync ensures our overall well-being. When we maintain good gut health through proper diet, exercise, and hydration, we are also supporting our mental and emotional health. The communication between the gut and brain helps regulate our moods, manage stress, and even bolster our immune system.

So, the next time you get butterflies in your stomach or feel a pang of hunger, remember, it’s just your gut and brain having a little heart-to-heart. Treat your gut well with healthy foods, probiotics, and mindful eating, and your brain will thank you for it. Embrace the gut-brain connection for a healthier, happier you!