Bloating, diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, cramps, and nausea—do you recognize any of these symptoms? These can be signs that your gut is out of balance. But why does this happen?
What do our intestines look like?
First, it's important to understand the structure and function of the intestines. Our food travels from the stomach into the small intestine, which can be divided into the upper part and the duodenum. Then it moves through the jejunum and the ileum. After this, the small intestine transitions into the large intestine, eventually leading to the rectum.
Our intestine is internally lined with folded mucous membrane, and these folds consist of tiny projections called intestinal villi. Our intestines also contain gut bacteria, also known as our gut flora. We have 'good' and 'bad' gut bacteria that need to live together in harmony. Our gut flora protects us against harmful substances, preventing these bad invaders from entering our bodies. It is important that our gut flora is not disturbed. If it is, our 'bad' bacteria gain the upper hand, which can lead to all sorts of complaints such as flatulence, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, cramps, and so on. The gut flora can be disturbed by factors such as an incorrect/unhealthy diet, stress, antibiotic use, infection or illness, and alcohol consumption.
Tips to optimize your gut flora
- Avoid refined sugars: 'bad' fungi and bacteria love sugars, which allows them to multiply easily. So, reduce your sugar intake in your diet.
- Fibers, fibers, and more fibers: mainly found in fruits and vegetables. For a healthy gut flora, it is important to eat at least 500 grams of fruits/vegetables per day. Fibers are also very important for good digestion. Eating enough fiber can, for example, reduce constipation or diarrhea.
- Eat varied: for a healthy gut flora, variety is very important. Try not to put the same fruits/vegetables on the table every week. Eat the colors of the rainbow and vary as much as possible.
- Eat more fermented vegetables: fermented vegetables are a source of probiotic gut bacteria. You can think of sauerkraut, kefir, natto, kombucha, kimchi, or ferment your own fruits and vegetables, for example, pickled red onion. What about this healthy nasi with kimchi.
- Optimize your stress: stress plays an important role in gut complaints. For example, eating too hastily because you don't have or make time for it. It's better to wait to eat until you have a calm moment.
This is because our digestion can become active when we are calm; our parasympathetic nervous system (rest system) becomes active. When we are stressed, our sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight) is active, during which we cannot digest properly because all our energy goes towards 'survival'. Think of earlier times when there was a bear on the road, we had to flee, the sympathetic nervous system would be active. Afterwards, we would calm down again, allowing our parasympathetic nervous system to become active. However, nowadays we spend much more time in our sympathetic nervous system.
Tip: before you eat, start by taking 3 deep breaths in and out. This helps you switch to your parasympathetic nervous system. It is also important not to eat with distractions, such as a TV, phone, or quickly eating your lunch while walking or on the phone.
There are several types of supplements you can use for your gut health. However, this varies from person to person. Are you curious which supplements you can use? Then request our online or telephone supplement advice . A therapist will carefully assess which supplements are suitable for you.
Furthermore, it is important to investigate the cause of your gut complaints. This can be done through a gut consultation with a microbiome test. You can find more information about this on our website. If you have been experiencing these complaints for a long time or have tried everything, we recommend this consultation!
