Let’s Talk Gut Health! First Do No Harm

Your Gut is Good.

There is so much talk about gut health now, but the gut is the centre of your immune system, so you can’t afford to ignore it.

Nutritional medicine places a great emphasis on the digestive tract — the primary area where we receive goodness from the foods that we consume. A healthy digestive system leads to a healthier body and mind.

The primary role of the digestive system is to break down and absorb food, providing our body with the fuels and nutrients it requires to function optimally. What we eat and drink builds the foundation of our health. We eat to obtain nutrients for our muscles and organs, to promote the growth and repair of our tissues, and to support our immune system in fighting disease.

The reason why I’m so passionate about this topic is that eating live foods instantly nourishes. I believe that food is most healing when it is close to its original state and has the properties to heal and nourish. I encourage you to make small diet and lifestyle changes that will have positive outcomes for your health in the future.

The good news is that you are in control of your own body – what you eat as well as your lifestyle. By cutting down on these 3 foods as well as listening to your body, you’ll be on the right track helping to ensure a happy and healthy environment for your beneficial gut flora to thrive.

Cut these 3 items from your diet and you are winning already!

1. STORE-BOUGHT SNACK BARS + BAKED GOODS

Most store-bought snacks and baked goods are highly processed. This means they’re loaded with artificial sweeteners, refined flours, bulking agents, flavour enhancers and additives that are highly inflammatory to the digestive system.

Think of them as like dropping a nuclear bomb on your gut bacteria – it’ll be hard for them to survive to keep you healthy.

Plus, the sugar in these foods feeds bad bacteria in the gut, causing an imbalance with symptoms such as bloating, constipation and weight gain.

2. SUGAR

Excessive amounts of refined carbohydrates and sugar promote the growth of bad bacteria in your digestive system thus creating a balance that can lead to dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is a term used to describe an imbalance that may arise among the bacteria that inhabit the gut. Ideally, the beneficial bacteria in our gut keep the pathogenic actions of the bad bacteria in check, but sometimes due to poor diet, this balance gets thrown out of whack. This can lead to a breakdown in our digestive defence system, allowing the baddies to overpopulate and our health to deteriorate.

Nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, dysmotility, bloating, food intolerances, nutrient malabsorption and chronic inflammation may result and increase the chances of chronic disease. Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates that include processed foods, white flour, white pasta etc provide the perfect environment for the bad bacteria to thrive. It’s also important to remember that many so-called healthy raw foods and snacks out in the market are also high in sugar – so just be mindful of that.

3. GLUTEN

Gluten is a protein found in certain grains such as wheat, rye, barley, oats and triticale. Gluten intolerance can range in severity and result in a variety of physical symptoms including bloating, constipation, eczema and behavioural issues.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition caused by the body’s inability to digest gluten that results in damage to the lining of the small intestine and disruption to nutrient absorption. If you are intolerant to gluten you will need to avoid foods such as commercial breads, cereals and pastas, as well as many other processed foods (sausages, store-bought stocks, sausages, sauces, meat patties etc.)

If you are intolerant to gluten you will need to avoid foods such as commercial breads, cereals and pastas, as well as many other processed foods (sausages, store-bought stocks, sausages, sauces, meat patties etc.)

Helping You Discover, Empower & Prosper

Dr Arun Dhir  |  GI Surgeon, Health Reformist & Passionate Educator.

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About Dr Arun:

Besides having a busy private practice at Melbourne Gastro Surgery – Centre for Weight Loss, Dr Arun is an active member of the ANZ Association of Gastro-Oesophageal surgeons (ANZGOSA), ANZ Society of Metabolic and Obesity Surgery (OSSANZ) and Australian College of Nutrition and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM).

Dr Arun is also a senior lecturer (University of Melbourne) and yoga and meditation teacher, with a strong interest in the mind-body-gut connection. He regularly writes and speaks about gut health, gut microbiome, obesity, gastrointestinal surgery and healing. Arun’s published works include Happy Gut Healthy Weight (Balboa Press 2018), Creating a New You – Health Journal (Metagenics 2019), and Your Mess Has a Message (2021).