Your Stomach And Your Health

There is a popular African proverb that says “the stomach does not have teeth, but it can bite”. Anyone who has experienced a stomach ache will affirm that indeed, the stomach despite being made up of soft tissues is one of the body parts that can throw one out of balance once anything goes wrong.
Scientists over the years have spent time in studying the stomach as an essential part of the body. Research has shown that an estimated 100 trillion bacteria live inside our intestines and apparently do much more than digest the food we eat or make us fart.
The stomach has been confirmed to be the second brain in the body. It can change our mood and emotions. Researchers at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in the United States have confirmed, that the stomach does a lot of important jobs in the body, “it’s the job of the gut to take in an extensive array of external matter, break it done to its component parts, shuttle it off to various internal organs and turn it into us”.
The research showed that it’s the stomach that actually tells the brain what to look for in a food, which is why we detest some food and enjoy others. Some people will even go further to say some food make them to purge, while others will say same food is good in their body.
The bacteria in our stomach have evolved over the years to live symbiotically with humans. Most of the bacteria in our stomach are beneficial. They are called “probiotics”.
These probiotics produce enzymes and other products that help process our food and sustain us. It’s therefore believed that the foods we eat have a great role to play in sustaining these healthy bacteria or kill them.
Apart from intestinal worms that feed on the food there is what we call intestinal flora that play significant role in digesting our food. These flora have link with the brain sending messages that affect our mood and emotions.
Any contrary message from the stomach can be in the form of constipation, abdominal pain, or even diarrhea.
Nature has over the years provided readymade solutions to stomach ailments or disorders. There are natural foods that promote the health of the stomach. They include yeast, yoghurt, ginger and garlic. Some spices such as cayenne pepper, turmeric and curry are stomach friendly when consumed moderately.
Fermented foods such as yoghurt, cheese and soya milk promote stomach bacteria to thrive. Those who consume these foods hardly complain of bowel diseases or immune disorders. The incidence of these ailments is as a result of consuming highly processed foods devoid of the kinds of bacteria our bodies and brains have relied on for ages.
Plain Yoghurt without sugar aids digestion and reduces blood pressure. Turmeric and curry increase the brain levels of feel good neurotransmitter. It also relieves arthritis and protects against cancer.
Ginger makes the stomach calm and removes excessive gas in the intestine. It also boosts blood circulation and reduces blood pressure.