Having a good gut is vital for overall health. When the gut is impaired, it means your body is not digesting the food properly. When your body does not digest food as it should, it cannot extract and absorb the nutrients it needs. Improper digestion can build a chain-reaction of imbalances in the body, which can generate or worsen many seemingly unrelated health issues.
Why enzymes are important
The body normally produces digestive enzymes and their major role is to break down the food and absorb the subsequent nutrients well.
Here are some of the health issues caused by unhealthy digestive tract:
More Stress
When there is too much stress and it is too constant for your body to handle, your body tends to slow down and decrease its production of digestive enzymes. Therefore, you are likely to become nutrient-deficient, which will cause more stress-related symptoms like fatigue, menstrual irregularities, and sleep issues.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
When food is not fully digested, it causes an imbalance in gut bacteria (“microbiome”) an overgrowing of bacteria produces gas, leading to classic symptoms of IBS – bloating, gas, diarrhea, and cramping.
Chronic Fatigue and Migraines
Gut disturbances can also cause inflammation and send inflammatory signals throughout your body that leads to headaches, anxiety, migraines, low mood as well as muscle and joint pain.
Impaired digestion also causes deficiencies in nutrients such as iron and B vitamins which are known to be related to pain and fibromyalgia.
Autoimmunity
Poor digestion can lead to imbalanced gut bacteria that can trigger autoimmunity causing serious health conditions such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
How you can improve your gut health
Stick to Fresh Foods
Processed foods may cause digestive tract problems and for some people, particular foods trigger gas and constipation. Choose wholesome foods –fruits, vegetables, meats, the ones with healthy fats, and avoid products that contain additives.
Eat Slowly
As digestion starts in the mouth, take time to properly chew your food and avoid rushed meals. Stress can negatively affect your digestive system. Eat slowly and enjoy your food.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep allows our body to rest, recharge and recover. When you do not have enough sleep, you also do not have enough energy for digestion to function as normal as it should. Inadequate sleep also causes food cravings leading to unhealthy food choices and overeating. This contributes to weight gain and obesity which is linked to digestive diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophageal cancer, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Keep moving
Having a good exercise routine is good for your heart and helps you maintain a regular gastrointestinal system. An active lifestyle not only supports a healthy body weight but also helps you to reduce and manage stress.
Support your gut
Start with your gut by nourishing your body with diets that support a healthy digestive tract. Fiber rich foods, like broccoli, beans, apples, and whole grains, act as a fuel for good gut bacteria that fight inflammation and chronic disease. It also helps to keep the food moving through your digestive system.
Add prebiotics to your diet to enhance nutrient absorption to strengthen your immune system. Prebiotic foods help support your good gut bacteria. Good sources of prebiotics are bananas, onion, spinach, oats, and asparagus. These good live bacteria can also be found in yogurt and fermented food like kimchi.
Enzymes are also as important as prebiotics. These break down protein, fat and carbohydrates and nutrients to easily be absorbed and traversed to all other cells in your body. Chemical digestion will not function well without the aid of digestive enzymes.
Many natural sources of digestive enzymes such as pineapples, banana, avocados and papaya can improve your digestion. Drinking fruit enzymes can help boost the digestive system and have significant improvement in overall health.
The Common Good in I’M Hotel Makati offers delicious and healthy ready-to-drink fruit enzymes in 4 flavors: Green Apple Carrots, Green Mango Ginger, Orange Green Apple, and Pineapple Basil. Order now for a refreshing and energizing week ahead. Just call (+632) 77557888 local 232 or message us on Viber / Whatsapp at +63 9173098472. The Common Good Healthy Fruit Enzyme Drinks are available for take-out and delivery (with additional fee).
Start your fruit enzyme regime and give your gut the support it needs for your body to come back into balance.
References:
- Why Enzymes are Important healthline.com
- 10 Common Digestive Disorders healthgrades.com
- Gut Health: Signs and Symptoms healthline.com
- Fecal metagenomic profiles in subgroups of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com
- The Dynamic Interplay between the Gut Microbiota and Autoimmune Diseases hindawi.com
- The microbiome and autoimmunity: a paradigm from the gut–liver axis nature.com
- A core gut microbiome in obese and lean twins ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Factors affecting the composition of the gut microbiota, and its modulation ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Use of probiotics in gastrointestinal disorders: what to recommend? ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Dose-response effect of Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 on whole gut transit time and functional gastrointestinal symptoms in adults tandfonline.com
- Effects of Psychological, Environmental and Physical Stressors on the Gut Microbiota ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
