Good health begins in the gut according to Absolute Health who this month are focusing on gastric health, from digestion to absorption, bacteria to biotics.
When we digest the food we eat, the nutrients are absorbed into our blood along the gastrointestinal tract. These nutrients, along with carbohydrates, proteins and fats, are then utilised by all the cells in the body in a process called metabolism. Everything we eat and digest helps our body run, and depending on what we put in our mouths determines how well we will function.
At Absolute Health, they are drawing the correlations between what we eat and how it is digested to what they refer to as the Human Microbiome. This microbiome is the world of microbes and bacteria that live inside our bodies and on our skin. At any given time, every one of us will hold over 100,000 billion bacteria, which is almost ten times the number of cells in our body! This microbiome that we carry around with us weighs around 1 to 2 kilograms, clearly a significant part of our body!
Much of this biome exists in the intestines, and our delicate balance of flora inside our gut is what keeps us healthy, but can also make us unwell if it is not looked after. The microbes inside us protect us from exogenous pathogens and works as a first barrier of defence, with many of these microbes harvesting the proteins and enzymes that would otherwise make us ill. From the day we are born, microbes build vast cities inside our glands, tracts and tubes, picked up from all walks of life, which is why children need to be exposed to a puddle of mud from time to time and why we adults need to maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria through our diet.
By focusing on taking in a healthy amount of probiotics and prebiotics, we can stay healthy and keep our microbiome alive and kicking. Prebiotics help keep probiotics alive and work tirelessly to keep our body in balance. Inulin and fructo-olgosaccharides are common prebiotics and you can find them in foods such as legumes, fruits and whole grains. As long as we eat healthy, our body will stay healthy too.
Each type of food we eat has a different cocktail of bacteria that effect the probiotics in our bodies and impact our health. Of course fresh fruit and vegetables are the go to food to top up our bodies but other foods such as milk, yoghurt and other raw foods are great too.
In addition, when we cook our food at over 47.8 degrees, the enzymes found in our food are broken down and cannot reform. This is great for getting energy to our blood quickly but also leaves organs such as the pancreas working overtime to create enzymes as none can be sourced from our food. People who eat a lot of processed foods often have oversized pancreases and their digestive tract is in fact working overtime to fill the missing gaps. That’s why at Absolute Health, they recommend a balanced diet of both cooked and raw foods so that the body can top up the wide range of bacteria, probiotics, prebiotics and enzymes it needs to keep you healthy and full of energy.
For a check-up or consultation, feel free to contact Absolute Health who will take you through it step by step, and see what you can improve in your live to make you feel better than you ever thought you could.
Absolute Health Integrative Medicine
8/1 Nimmanhemin 7, Suthep Sub-District, Muang Chiang Mai District
Open 9am – 6pm
Tel. 053 223 023, 095 626 4522
Email: info@absolute-health.org
Facebook: AbsoluteHealthChiangmai
www.absolute-health.org