If you want to know whether your gut heath is doing well or not, check your poop every morning.
Two thousand years back, the father of medicine Hippocrates said, ‘all diseases begin in the gut’. Ever wondered, how did he figure this shit out? From his ‘shit’ literally!
Every morning, when you poop, you are also printing your health report card. Your poop is a lot more valuable than you consider; contains millions of bacteria secreted that tell a tale about your gut heath, and you. Gut health (Microbiome) is amongst the most researched and invested globally. After the Human Genome project was over, the next focus (and capital) went to Human Gut Microbiome. And guess what? Started in 2007, it is presenting evidence that is decoding such unravelled mysteries: Humans have 20-30,000 genes. Our Gut bacteria have over 30,000,000 genes! We are nothing but bacteria on legs. The health of these bugs is our health. Healthy gut is happy you. Leaky gut is a diseased you. Our gut plays a super critical role in (1) absorption of nutrients (2) Immunity (3) mood and behaviour (4) disease accumulation and (5) and prevention.
Your gut extends from the mouth to the anus. Inside the mother’s womb, we are in a sterilized environment. As we come out of the vaginal canal, we are colonized by trillions of gut bacteria that reside mostly in the intestine (can’t survive the acidic environment of the stomach).
Feed your gut friends well
Millions of years back, before life existed, we made a unique Jai-Veeru friendship with our gut bacteria. We will give you residence inside us, feed you and in return you take care of our health and well-being. Our gut friends are always hungry: feed them well and they reproduce.
Their food is MAC – Microbiota Accessible Carbohydrate aka Dietary Fiber like green vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds (called Prebiotics). Stomach cannot digest Prebiotics; head straight to the intestine as food for our gut friends. Our gut friends ferment the MAC for absorption. Our gut bacteria also love fermented food (Probiotics) as they contain live bacteria strains, easy to absorb. They hate sugar and processed food because it doesn’t reach them. Post our gut bacteria’s meal they also poop, and their poop is awesome (Postbiotics) for us: Short Chain Fatty Acid, Vitamins and Minerals, and Hormones that defines our mood and signals our brain. If you want to know whether your Gut agreed with your food, check your poop every morning:
- Liquidly, watery, loose = leaky gut, bad news
Hard, constipated, chunky = leaky gut, bad news
READ RELATED: Mental Health: Why Is Your Anxiety Worse When You Wake Up In The Morning?
Soft, sausage-like, long = happy gut, great news
Keep your gut bacteria happy
Treat your gut well, and it will grant you longer, healthier, disease-free life. Here are a few tips:
- Drink less alcohol. Alcohol weakens the gut lining, leaky
- Eat more MAC aka microbiota accessible carbs Fiber, fruits, veggies, nuts. They bypass the stomach and head straight to the gut bacteria.
- Eat more fermented food like dahi, pickle, kefir, kombucha they contain live bacteria that promotes growth of good bacteria, enhances digestion and absorption.
- Reduce stress. Your bacteria also come under stress, releasing inflammatory signals.
- Exercise increases gut bacteria diversity, reduces inflammation (and stress).
- Pop less antibiotics. They annihilate even good bacteria. Be careful.
The article is written by Prashant Desai, Longevity Biohacker and Fitness enthusiast.
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