Write a discussion paper on digestive health.
1. According to the Mayo Clinic, the following simple strategies can improve digestive health. Eating five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables each day helps by increasing fiber consumption. Fruits and vegetables contain fiber and other disease preventing chemicals. Fruits like bananas, pineapples, and mango also promote enzyme production. People can also eat less beef, pork, lamb, processed meats and eat more foods with whole grains to increase their dietary fiber intake. Limiting foods with added sugars and animal fats will help as well. People should consume foods with probiotics because these contain healthy bacteria and fight the bad bacteria in the gut. Eating healthier foods that are high in dietary fiber and reducing processed foods, some meats, and increasing the intake of probiotics will all help a person improve their digestive health, increase healthy bacteria, and encourage enzyme production (Cleveland clinic, 2020).
Malabsorption occurs when nutrients from food are not absorbed correctly (Tortora & Derrickson, 2014). Disorders like lactose intolerance and celiac disease may result in malabsorption as well as damage to the intestine or infections. Depending on the cause of malabsorption, the treatment will be different. People with food allergies or intolerances can avoid those foods or take medicine to help them process the foods properly. Medications might be needed if a person has an infection. The symptoms can cause problems of their own so staying hydrated, getting enough rest and taking vitamins can help a person get back to homeostasis.
2. Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller components, until they can be absorbed by the body. The order of digestion starts in the mouth, the leads to the esophogus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon), and finally the rectum. As you can see, the food we consume runs throughout our bodies, therefore, it is important to give our bodies the proper nutrition. Through food consumption, we can supply our body with probiotics, adequate fluid intake, digestive enzymes, etc. While it is known that eating a proper nutricious diet can lead to healthy digestion, it is also important to note that indigestion can occur. Indigestion can cause upper abdominal discomfort, bloating, gas, and nausea. To avoid indigestion and benefit our digestive health, we should properly chew our food into smaller pieces, eat slower, have more frequent smaller meals per day rather than fewer larger meals, and consume nutritious foods. Proper chewing of food is necessary as it increases surface area for digestive enzymes to act on, which reduces indigestion. Consumption of probiotics helps with the production of digestive enzymes. Digestive enzymes help populate the gut with normal microbiota which aids in healthy digestion and the production of vitamins. There are many ways to aid in healthy digestion, these are just a few.
