Does gut health bounce back to normal?
Rebuilding your gut with good bacteria is not a tough task but requires determination to accept the different foods and dietary changes to allow it to bounce back, says Dr R. Vidyasagar, a senior gastroenterologist.
“Often we find people can’t give up on fast foods and high sugar diets. The craving often gets the worst of them. It is important to make the shift in the pattern of eating slowly and then the effects are seen. But most of them want shortcut methods and quick results which is not advisable.”
Gut health bounces back with diet change, stopping antibiotics, dealing with stress, sleeping properly and ensuring that there are enough prebiotics in the food.
Bacteria is not a bad word and not all of them are harmful.
Good bacteria are required for the healthy functioning of the body. They are found in natural foods and are called prebiotics.
The human gut’s first source of healthy bacteria is from the foods that we eat. Healthy bacteria play an important role in shaping the gut and their numbers must definitely be high to allow it to maintain the good health of the body.
Any loss of balance between the good and the bad bacteria gives rise to the symptoms of the struggle within the body — like bloating, stomach pain, abdominal pain and cramps, loose motions, burping, gas, headaches, anxiety and also sleeplessness due to the uneasiness.
These are indications that if the prebiotics in the food is not sufficient, there is a need for probiotics in the body.
Dr Naveen Polavarapu, consultant, gastroenterologist and transplant hepatologist at Apollo Hospitals, explains, “Probiotics are live bacteria and are usually prescribed when the body is on antibiotics to combat the side effects on the gut.
Probiotics have the tendency to get affected by the gastric juices but prebiotics are immune to all the gastric contents and can act better when compared to a probiotic.”
PROBIOTIC CAN BE COMPARED TO A PLANT AND PREBIOTIC TO A FERTILISER TO ENSURE THAT THE GUT HEALTH IS IN GOOD CONDITION.