Do you want us to be boring and all scientific or do you want us to be precise? Heard you, loud and clear. Speaking of clear, is your system clear? Have you been feeling something cooking in your stomach lately? Has it impacted your overall health as well? Don’t be surprised – it is because of your gut. Gut is basically the part of the body that oversees the function and balance of bacteria of the many parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Ideally, organs such as the esophagus, stomach and intestines all work together to allow us to eat and digest food without discomfort. Sounds easy to maintain, right? Wrong.
“All diseases begin in the gut”, said a very famous Greek physician some 2,500 years ago. We have known the importance of our gut since times immemorial, but have always avoided taking active care of it. Do we need to do A LOT to take care of it? No. Absolutely not. We aren’t supposed to do great things, we are supposed to do the basics right. Is it too much to ask for? Could be; because you don’t know what a bad gut can do. Let us explain, here is what a bad gut can do:
- Regular Upset Stomach
- Prolonged tiredness
- Sleep troubles
- Intolerance to certain foods
- Extreme food cravings because of “bad” bacteria
- Irritating skin
- Migraines!
- Problems with autoimmune systems
Anxiety and Depression (yes, it affects our “happy hormones” – serotonin)
Now that we have explained how a bad gut can be a cause of almost every disease in the body, it is imperative that we take special care of it, but doing just the basics. Just like our grandparents, we have the solutions that are present nowhere beyond your kitchen – Fiber and Probiotics! While fruits and vegetables (those greens don’t look too villainous now, do they?) give us good fiber to ensure good digestive health, probiotics can be found in simple foods like Yogurt and Ghee! You know what it means, right? We need not go to the supermarket to buy anything extra. We need not go to the chemist to pop a pill. We need not even go to sleep at night thinking about our bowel movements that will (or will not) follow the morning after.
Something the Greek philosopher didn’t tell us was that every disease ends in the gut as well. So how about that extra dollop of ghee in our khichdi or a layer on our rotis the next time? Our (healthy) gut tells us you would listen to us, won’t you?