Getting to know your gut

By Datuk Dr MUHAMMAD RADZI HASSAN

Many overlook the importance of keeping the digestive system in good shape, to their collective detriment.

THE average person consumes about one kilogramme of food a day. This means we eat about 365kg of food each year. Despite the huge amount of food we stuff into our guts, the importance of digestive health remains under-appreciated.

According to the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), in 2008, the sixth leading cause of death in MOH hospitals were diseases of the digestive system. We have to remember that the state of one’s digestive system affects one’s overall health and well-being. It not only plays a crucial role in digestion and nutrient absorption, it is also an important part of the immune and nervous system.

Therefore, it is about time we start taking the digestive system seriously.

Did you know that it takes about 10 seconds for the food that you swallow to reach the stomach? – AFP

Guts at work

The digestive system is central in ensuring that the food we eat gets broken down, digested, and absorbed to provide us energy. The food we eat travels through the alimentary canal (the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, the small and the large intestine) and the digestive system’s “accessory” organs (the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder).

·Mouth

Digestion begins even before food enters the mouth. The smell of food stimulates saliva. This is why your mouth waters when you pass by a cookie store. And once you take a bite of the food, saliva production increases.

Saliva, which contains enzymes like amylase, contributes to the chemical process of digestion, which breaks down nutrients into a simpler form, helping make food soft and easy to swallow.

·Oesophagus

From the mouth, food will pass through the oesophagus, which is a 22cm-long tube. The food is pushed down to the stomach through peristaltic movements (a wave-like motion) of the oesophagus muscular wall. Food usually takes up to about 10 seconds to reach the stomach upon swallowing.

·Stomach

You can consider the stomach the food processor of your body. It mixes, churns, and mashes together all the food. While the food mixes, the stomach produces gastric juice, which is essentially hydrochloric acid, to aid digestion.

Typically, food remains in the stomach for four hours. The acidic environment of the stomach (pH1-2) enables food to become a thick liquid that is more easily digested and absorbed.

·Small intestine

From the stomach, food passes into the small intestine. Do not be fooled by the word “small” as your intestines are actually more than six metres long! It is the main site of nutrient absorption.

On the surface of the small intestine are finger-like structures known as “villi”, and on these villi, there are also more needle-like structures. This unique villi structure increases the surface area of the small intestine tremendously, enabling more efficient absorption of nutrients. If you were to stretch out your small intestine, the surface area will be as large as a tennis court!

Absorption occurs when food molecules penetrate the villi into the network of blood capillaries beneath. These molecules will be carried in the bloodstream to other parts of the body for further chemical conversion into nutrients and energy the body needs to sustain life.

·Large intestine

The main purpose of the large intestine is to absorb as much water from the food as possible. The unabsorbed portion forms faeces, which consist of 75% moisture and 25% solids. The faeces is then stored in the last part of the large intestine known as the rectum, and will eventually be passed out in the form of stools.

·Liver

The liver generates bile, a digestive substance that breaks down fats and neutralises food acids. Bile is transferred to the gallbladder for storage.

·Gallbladder

The primary function of this organ is to store bile, which is secreted into the small intestine in the presence of food.

·Pancreas

The pancreas secretes enzymes that chemically break down fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.

The digestive system, however, is not capable of doing all these tasks on its own. For instance, not all foods we consume are digestable. For this reason, the body needs help from others – it needs bacteria.

Legal residents

Believe it or not, trillions of bacteria reside in the digestive system. These bacteria, also known as gut microflora, support good health by aiding the digestive system.

Some beneficial effects of the gut microflora are assisting the digestion process by producing digestive enzymes, and stimulating the production of immune cells on the intestinal lining.

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The following are some general tips to help keep your digestive system in optimal functioning order.

·Avoid overindulgence

Ensure your meal proportions are just right.

·Regularity is key

Try not to skip meals. Eat on a regular schedule as it helps keep your digestive system healthy. Ensure that your time for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks are around the same time everyday.

·Healthier choices

Discipline yourself. Eat more portions of vegetables and fruits. Fibre helps to prevent constipation and helps to lower cholesterol levels. Avoid foods that are high in fats.

·Stay hydrated

Inculcate the habit of drinking more water, not only to keep yourself hydrated, but also to ensure the food in your gut passes through more easily.

·Avoid bad habits

Habits like smoking and over-consumption of alcoholic beverages interfere with digestion and may lead to stomach ulcers and heartburn, amongst other things.

The brain and the heart are often labelled as “vital” organs in the body. However, without the digestive system, we cannot survive either. In addition, without a digestive system, we would be missing out on one of the major joys of life – food!

Imagine life without the taste of a grilled steak or the taste of warm, moist brownies. Hence, I would like to encourage everybody to develop a better appreciation for digestive health, not only in terms of preventing disease, but also to enhance the joys of living, ie eating all the delicious food that mums or dads, wives or husbands, and girlfriends or boyfriends cook up for us!

This is the first of a series of monthly articles on digestive health. Dauk Dr Muhammad Radzi Hassan is the past president of the Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

This article is courtesy of the Malaysian Society is Gastroenterology & Hepatology, supported by an educational grant from the VITAGEN Healthy Tummies Programme.

For a free digestive health booklet or more information, please call 03-5621 1408.