Gut Health: Five unhealthy habits that are harmful for your stomach

• Image Credit: Google

• Oct 3, 2022 | Dhupali Das

It alerts us when it's time to go to sleep and sends signals to our body to keep us awake and attentive...

Digital Desk: Gut is one of the most important parts of the human body.  It is critical to keep our gut bacteria as friendly as possible. The gut is in charge of several bodily processes, such as generating energy and regulating hormone levels. Our gut health is frequently compromised on a daily basis without our knowledge. It is mostly due to our day-to-day modern lifestyle and dietary habits. In an interview, nutritionist Sonia Bakshi discusses the rising prevalence of gut-related health issues in modern society. She also mentions five unhealthy habits that could affect the normal functioning of your gut.

5 Unhealthy Habits That Are Harmful to Your Gut:

1. Lack of exercise: Physical activity provides numerous health advantages, including lowering stress and the risk of chronic disease. Additionally, it has been proven to alter gut bacteria, enhancing gut health. People who exercise more have a higher level of good bacteria, which plays an important role in metabolic health and the prevention of obesity.

2. Lack of sleep: It is common knowledge that good-quality sleep is vital for overall health.  Our circadian rhythm serves as our body's internal timekeeper. It has an impact on our hormones, body, and brain. It alerts us when it's time to go to sleep and sends signals to our body to keep us awake and attentive. Similarly to the circadian cycle, our gut has a daily rhythm. Disrupting our body clock may be harmful not only to our body but also to our gut bacteria.

3. Stress: The body is negatively affected by our modern lifestyle and excessive levels of stress.  Heightened levels of stress can diminish the population of health-promoting bacteria that thrives in our gut.   Stress can also change our gut bacteria by decreasing blood flow. Our overall health is strongly impacted by the bacteria in our gut, and disruptions to the gut flora have been related to a variety of health issues.

4. Too much alcohol: High consumption of alcohol aggravates our digestive system. This triggers a hold-up in the proper breakdown of food, causing increased gas production and often a stomach ache. But it’s not all bad. However, its not all bad . The occasional drink of red wine can be beneficial to our gut ecosystem. The key is to consume only on occasion.

5. Diet not rich in whole foods: It has been proven that eating a diet high in whole foods with a variety of nutrients encourages the growth of a range of bacteria, creating a diversified gut flora. People who consumed more than 30 different kinds of plant-based foods each week than those who consumed fewer did had a more varied assortment of gut bacteria. Therefore, a diet lacking in a variety of whole foods can lead to a decrease of gut flora diversity, which can have a number of negative health impacts.