Keep an eye on how healthy your gut is...

A healthy digestive system is crucial to maintaining the balance of your entire body. Here, Mark Smith gives the ultimate guide to your gut and the signs which could signal something is wrong

THE digestive system is a pretty impressive part of the body. It processes an enormous amount of food and absorbs its nutrients and protects us against a myriad of infectious agents and toxic substances.

Amazingly, the gut has its own “brain” containing 500m nerve cells and is home to trillions of bacteria – more than the number of cells in the rest of the body.

These bacteria play a vital role in providing essential nutrients, keeping our immune systems in order and even altering the function of our brains.

With the help of campaign group Love Your Gut, here is the ultimate guide to understanding how the gut works and why it’s so crucial to your health.

What affects the gut?

Because the gut is so sophisticated and interconnected, many factors can affect it and wrench it out of kilter.

These include:

■ Stress

■ What we eat

■ Illness

■ Exercise (or lack of it)

■ Medications

■ Getting older

These can all lead to abdominal pain, bloating, nausea and vomiting, indigestion constipation, diarrhoea and flatulence (wind).

How can I tell something is wrong with my gut?

The digestive system is unique in communicating healthy and warning signs, using all of the five senses. So by listening, tasting, seeing, smelling and feeling more, you can really tune in to your gut.

■ Sound: The rumbles and groans generated in your abdomen are caused by the propulsion of gas and fluid through the gut. The fluid is a mixture of food, drink and digestive juices and the gas may either be swallowed air, carbon dioxide generated by the combination of acid and alkaline digestive juices in the stomach and small intestine, and hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide caused by fermentation of unabsorbed carbohydrates and protein in the colon. These noises are more obvious when you are hungry or nervous because stimulation of the vagus nerves cause gut propulsion.

■ Sight: Faeces can differ in colour but black and tarry stools can indicate bleeding in the small intestine or stomach while pale stools accompanied by dark urine could indicate gallstones.

■ Feel: Crampy abdominal pains are most likely due to spasm but if persistent may indicate intestinal obstruction. Pain like a knife just below the breast bone that is relieved by eating may suggest peptic ulceration. Pain in the right upper corner of the abdomen that goes to the back just below the right shoulder blade may indicate gallstones. Bloating may be related to a combination of stress and ingestion of gassy fruit and vegetables.

■ Taste: Sufferers of acid reflux may experience a sour taste caused by regurgitated stomach acid.

■ Smell: Contrary to popular belief, men don’t produce smellier wind! The smell of an individual’s wind is related to the fermentation of unabsorbed carbohydrate and protein food and therefore relates to what they have been eating, how much escapes absorption and the effect of stress on gut transit.

How common are gut problems?

Research has shown that nearly twothirds (63%) of people have experienced a persistent gut or abdominal problem or symptom.

Some may not last long and could be symptomatic of other things – such as constipation and diarrhoea.

However some are long-lasting, lifechanging and need proper medical advice and support.

When should I see a doctor?

We all get abdominal symptoms from time to time. It is part of the human condition. But if any of the symptoms listed below persist for more than a few days for no obvious reason, it would be wise to book an appointment to see your doctor.

■ Abdominal pain before or after meals

■ Feelings of fullness, bloating or flatulence

■ Nausea or vomiting

■ Heartburn or regurgitation

■ Pain or difficulty in swallowing

■ Loss of appetite

■ Continuing unexplained weight loss

■ Indigestion developing for the first time or in mid or later life

■ Diarrhoea, constipation or any persistent alteration in bowel habit

■ The passage of black tarry stools

■ Bleeding when you pass a stool or blood and mucus mixed in with the stool

■ Pain when you pass a stool

■ Generally feeling tired, lethargic feverish or generally unwell in association with any abdominal symptoms.

Do not ignore repeated passage of blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss or an unexplained alteration in bowel habit if you are over the age of 50. It could be due to cancer.

What can I do to keep my gut healthy?

Dietician Jo Travers has shared her top tips for good gut health.

■ 1. Eat a varied diet – Your gut is home to a range of helpful bacteria. Feed them well. Eat plenty of vegetables, beans and whole grains.

■ 2. Keep hydrated. Aim for around two litres of fluid every day.

■ 3. Eat fermented foods like yogurt and kimchi, which grow lactic acid bacteria which colonise the gut when eaten and may have a positive effect on metabolism.

■ 4. Get into nature – Just coming into contact with the outdoors is enough to influence your gut bacteria.

■ 5. Get enough sleep – We all know that a good night’s sleep can make us feel better but it has also been shown to have a direct effect on our microbiota. Even two nights of disrupted sleep has been shown to disrupt the ratio of two strains of bacteria thought to be involved in obesity.

■ 6. Keep moving – Getting enough exercise can increase populations of some bacteria that can reduce inflammation. It also aids peristalsis – the movement of food through the gut – and may help to improve symptoms of constipation. But don’t exercise after your meals. Relaxation stimulates the vagus nerve and facilitates digestion. If you eat on the run or exercise within two hours of eating a meal, then not only will you feel sluggish but the exercise will inhibit digestion.