Take care of your digestive system

February 12, 2014 by Solaade Ayo-Aderele 

   

 

There’s hardly anyone who has not had any issues with his digestive system. From heartburn to bloating, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal pain, diarrheoa, reflux or gas, we’ve all been there at one time or the other. The problem is, many of us don’t bother to learn from our mistakes and we keep experiencing the same painful symptoms at frequent intervals.

Visit the neighbourhood pharmacy, and you may discover that next to libido-enhancing drugs, pain relievers and sleep-inducing medications, laxatives and other digestive health medicament are what people make demands for!

Experts say the health of our digestive system will determine our overall health because it is related to the workings of our entire body system.

Consultant Nutritionist, Dr. Hope Dominic, says how your digestive system functions will not only determine which nutrients you retain from your food, it will also determine how much of toxic elements you are able to get out of your body on a daily basis.

Dominic says your digestive health is the ability to digest, absorb and retain essential nutrients in your food; as well as your gut’s power to flush out waste as necessary.

Good, bad bacteria

“Though the human digestive system contains good bacteria that aid its workings, due to unhygienic way of living or through the ingestion of wrong foods, drugs or drinks, dangerous parasites and yeasts can invade the guts and give problems,” the nutritionist warns.

She advises that junk foods wreak untold havoc on digestive health, especially because they lack proper nutritional benefits but would rather aid the invasion of harmful bacteria in the gut. So, stay off junks.

Physicians also warn that illicit use of drugs such as antibiotics, steroids, pain relievers, etc., can damage digestive health by stripping it of its protective linings, thereby exposing it to all sorts of infections.

Sometimes, too, they say, when people have allergies and they are unaware, when they eat the foods they are allergic to, the guts will react and that’s when they become ill.

Family Physician, Dr. Dele Awe, says it’s one reason why it is wrong for doctors to make prescription without first recommending laboratory tests to determine the true cause of any illness.

Intestinal parasites

And, would you know, the presence of parasites such as intestinal worms can make your digestive system run haywire? Awe says roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms live in the gastrointestinal tracts and they can affect their hosts’ health by preventing normal and perfect functioning of the guts.

“In many cases, their presence in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to stunted growths in children, or wasting in adults.

“They can also impair the way vitamins are metabolised in the body, leading to deficiency in necessary vitamins; and their activities in the guts can also lead to iron-deficiency anaemia as well as malnutrition due to protein deficiency,” he warns.

He notes that it’s one of the reasons why regular deworming every three months is enjoined for every member of the family, if possible, at the same time, so that whoever was not dewormed does not re-infect those who were.

Fearful indications

Gastroenterologists note that frequent digestive disorders can be indicative of certain dangerous health problems such as Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency.

Awe describes Crohn’s disease as one that causes inflammation or swelling, and irritation of any part of the digestive tract. “The swelling can result in diarrhoea and other complications if not treated early,” he says.

“Celiac disease can damage the small intestine if left to fester, because it is an auto-immune disorder; while Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency can result in the inability to properly digest foods. The worst part of these disorders is that physicians can sometimes mistake them for other gastrointestinal tract issues. Again, that’s where laboratory tests come in, so as to rightly determine the course of treatment,” Awe says.

Boost your digestive system

Physicians advise that in order to make your digestive tract work efficiently, you must take water at regular intervals — when you wake up in the morning before taking any meal, after exercising, and in-between meals.

“It not only aids digestion, it rids your body of waste, making your urine to be as clear as water,” the doctor says.

Physical exercise is also recommended for boosting the digestive tract and toning your colon.

And, if there’s any reason why you may not eat fatty foods, it’s this: nutritionists say fatty foods are hard to digest and, as such, places an enormous strain on the digestive tract as it tries to mop it up.

Again, eating fibre-rich foods gingers up the digestive tract; while they make passing stool a lot more comfortable. Fibre-rich foods include breads, fruits, nuts, beans, grains and vegetables.

Online personality, Dr. Mehmet Oz, counsels that losing weight would ease some of the pressure in your abdominal area and can help reduce heartburn and other discomfort. So, instead of losing heart, lose weight!

A reproductive endocrinologist, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, advises that when you eat, do so slowly, and chew your food very well.

“The stomach has no teeth, so learn to eat your food very well in order to enable your digestive system do its work in record time,” Ashiru says. He also notes that when you chew for longer period, you won’t overeat, as your brain will be better positioned to inform you that you’ve had enough already.

It turns out that the more food you eat, the more work you saddle your gut with. So, reduce the quantity of food you eat and focus more on quality.