Inflammation and Gut Health: Foods That Harm and Heal Your Stomach

Inflammation and Gut Health: Foods That Harm and Heal Your Stomach

Inflammation is your body’s way of responding to any unidentified material such as a virus, bacteria, fungi, allergen, or any injury in the body, which your body tries to get rid of by surrounding and attacking the intruder, leading to swelling, redness, diarrhea, bloating, etc. Inflammation is the body’s immune system mechanism to protect against harmful organisms and injuries. Typically, a healthy immune system calms the inflammation within a few hours or sometimes after a few days after clearing away the intruder. However, chronic inflammation develops when your body cannot effectively eliminate the intruder that’s causing the inflammation. Now, almost 80% of the immune system lives in the gut microbiome. The main function of the immune system is to protect the body from intruders, by filtering the cells of your body from other cells that don’t belong to the human body. This immune response happens too often in reaction to foods that are eaten as well as environmental and lifestyle habits. This ongoing overreaction causes an imbalance of the good versus bad bacteria in the gut microbiome, thereby undesirable bacterial products eventually leak through the gut lining and into the bloodstream. The immune system identifies these substances as foreign and mounts an attack, causing chronic inflammation. Eventually, the inflammation that stems from continuous immune attacks can decrease the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients that it needs. The inflammation disables the healthy functioning of the gut microbiome leading to an out-of-balance state called dysbiosis. Dysbiosis causes problems like bloating, flatulence, constipation, diarrhea, brain fog, joint pain, skin rashes, hives, eczema, psoriasis, headaches, and other signs of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, colitis, etc. All these symptoms point to an imbalance in the gut microbiota and we need to get to the root of the issue to heal. Chronic inflammation takes a lot to get better because the organs have to work harder to bring everything to a balanced state. What you eat and drink, and your lifestyle habits, have a major effect on your gut microbiome. Foods that harm the gut include:

Foods That Harm the Gut

1. Refined Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners:

   • Examples: White sugar, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, aspartame, sucralose, maltitol, sorbitol.
   • Sources: Ice creams, syrups, sugary beverages like soda and soft drinks.

2. Highly Processed Foods:

   • Examples: Breakfast cereals, bread, chips, crisps, biscuits, canned or instant soups, sauces, ketchup, ice cream, frozen desserts, French fries, burgers, soya products, fried foods.
   • Ingredients: Preservatives, additives.

3. Refined Fats and Seed Oils:

   • Examples: Sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, rice bran oil, palm oil, canola oil.
   • Issue: Reuse of oils for cooking.

4. Certain Proteins:

   • Examples: Gluten in wheat and wheat products, casein and whey protein in dairy, preservatives, sodium, and saturated fats in red meat.

5. Alcohol, Smoking, and Certain Medications:

   • Examples: Alcoholic drinks, smoking, antibiotics, antidepressants, oral contraceptive pills, NSAIDs.

Identifying the root cause and reducing the degree of gut inflammation is crucial to healing and restoring a healthy gut microbiome. Regular consumption of nutrient-dense foods will help heal the gut like:

Foods That Heal the Gut

1. Probiotic-Rich Foods:

   • Examples: Yogurt, pickled vegetables, kanji, kombucha.
   • Additional: Probiotic supplements when needed.

2. Prebiotic Foods:

   • Examples: Onion, garlic, raw banana, gluten-free whole grains, overnight-soaked lentils, nuts, seeds.
   • Purpose: Feed your gut microbiome with enough fiber.

3. Diverse Diet:

   • Purpose: Develop many strains of good bacteria in the gut.
   • Examples: A variety of foods including fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

4. Anti-Inflammatory Foods:

   • Examples: Berries, leafy greens, grapes, amla, turmeric, healthy fats like desi ghee, coconut oil, pasteurized grass-fed butter, nuts, seeds, omega-3 rich foods like fatty fish, flax seeds.

5. Hydration and Eating Habits:

   • Advice: Drink enough water, chew food thoroughly, eat slowly.

To reduce inflammation, aim for an overall healthy diet rich in natural foods and minimize processed foods. Your gut health significantly impacts your overall well-being, and making mindful choices about your diet can help maintain a balanced and healthy gut microbiome, ultimately leading to better health and reduced chronic inflammation.