Healthy foods for the intestines

3.6 / 5 ( 8 votes)

Harmful particles, even in small doses, enter the intestines together with food, gradually accumulating, causing pain, fermentation and a feeling of heaviness. The malfunction of one of the important organs of the gastrointestinal tract (intestines) system is caused by poor nutrition, non-compliance with the diet, consumption of harmful foods that provoke the accumulation of poisons, toxins in the tissues, the deposition of stones, and a slowdown in metabolism. The intestinal microflora is disturbed due to overeating, fermentation and rotting of undigested foods, as well as as a result of a decrease in hemoglobin and the appearance of problems with bowel movements.

Reference!
Diet is the key to smooth and proper functioning of the intestines. Eating healthy foods will help normalize the functions of the digestive system and eliminate unpleasant intestinal ailments (constipation, diarrhea, the formation of adhesions and ulcers).

The role of fiber

Fiber is an active component consisting of complex carbohydrates that have a beneficial effect on the bile ducts, intestines, and liver. It is fiber that begins as it enters the body:

quickly fill the stomach, giving a feeling of fullness;
improve motility of the liver and colon;
adjust the chair;
remove decomposition products naturally;
stimulate the cleansing of the intestines from accumulated toxic components.

A large amount of fiber is found in vegetables (cabbage, carrots, beets, pumpkin), fruits (apples, pears, plums, prunes, dried fruits, bananas), bran and rye bread.

Reference! If you do not follow the basic principles of nutrition, then even foods that are healthy for the body can become harmful and have a negative effect on the intestines. You cannot overload your body with food and overeat. It is better to make meals in fractions, taking up to 7 small portions per day at equal intervals.

Bottom line

In conclusion, we can name the most beneficial foods for the intestines:

Yogurt, kefir and other fermented milk products.
Apples, plums and dried fruits.
Bran and various grains.
Cabbage, carrots, pumpkin, onions and herbs.

You also need to know how to properly prepare and combine healthy foods for the intestines:

Instead of frying and smoking, it is best to resort to boiling, stewing, etc.
A large amount of salt and hot seasonings can significantly worsen the condition of the body.
You need to give up harmful foods.
Give preference to lean varieties of meat and fish.

If you plan your menu correctly every day, problems with the intestines and stomach will cease to worry absolutely any person. The absence of discomfort will help you take a fresh look at life and make it much happier.

Useful food groups

The most useful foods that ensure smooth intestinal motility:

Fermented milk products (milk, kefir, yoghurts, sourdough starter with 3-5% fat content). Nutritionists advise including products in your daily diet without combining them with sweets, fruits, and bakery products. The benefits of fermented milk will be reduced if fruit acid begins to affect the acidic microflora in the gastrointestinal tract.
Protein (legumes, meat, fish). Protein performs construction functions. A deficiency in the body causes a malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract and a deterioration in overall well-being.
Whole grains (grain, bran) with minimal heat treatment to avoid loss of beneficial properties.
Vegetables, fruits, natural juices without preservatives, dyes and sugar, equipped with fiber, stimulating the activity of the colon and normalizing digestive processes.

What will help reduce gas formation

Flatulence is a common companion for patients with stomach problems. According to statistics, every third person on the planet suffers from bloating and gas.

These symptoms clearly indicate digestive problems. The solution is again in the fiber. But not all provisions are suitable for those who are tormented by flatulence. For example, legumes, although rich in plant fiber, still cause fermentation. You will also have to give up apples, grapes, corn, and zucchini, in any form. You’ll even have to forget about compotes for a while.

For flatulence, the menu should include:

Barley, buckwheat, oatmeal and semolina porridge;
Carrots, pumpkin, beets;
Apricot, prunes;
Flaxseed and oil.

If you have problems buying fresh fruits, you can replace them with dried ones, but they still have less healing properties. When choosing drinks, you should give preference to those that do not contain a lot of salt and sugar.

It is better to take juices without added sugar, and chicken and vegetable broths with a minimum amount of salt. Before purchasing mineral water, you should carefully study its composition on the label, since not all natural drinks are universal and have no contraindications.

Products that eliminate flatulence

It is important to base your diet for flatulence on the following permitted foods:

fish, lean meat;
products made from oatmeal, buckwheat, corn flour;
fresh herbs;
vegetables fruits;
green tea;
kefir;
cottage cheese;
caraway.

To normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, it is important to eat warm stewed or baked food in small portions. It is advisable to eat at regular intervals. It is not recommended to drink food with water. It is forbidden to have a snack on the run (it is better to eat in a calm atmosphere at home), or chew chewing gum to avoid having a negative effect on the secretion of gastric juice.

Nutrition culture is the key to happiness and health

Naturally, the health of the stomach and intestines is influenced not only by the quality composition of products, but also by the regimen that a person adheres to. Following simple rules will save anyone from the unpleasant consequences of a violation of the nutritional culture:

You need to eat food slowly, chewing each piece thoroughly;
It is important to monitor the method of cooking, giving preference to boiling, baking and stewing;
You should purchase food from trusted manufacturers in order to avoid saturation of food with nitrates, preservatives and growth accelerators as much as possible;
You need to drink at least 2 liters of pure, still water per day;
Each meal should be as balanced as possible in terms of fats, proteins and carbohydrates that enter the body with food;
Do not forget about observing the average daily calorie intake;
It is useful to take the last meal 4 days before bedtime, so that the stomach has time to digest what it receives;
Maintaining equal intervals between meals will help avoid attacks of hunger and overeating.

Psychological comfort in human health is as important as eating healthy food. Therefore, food should be not only healthy, but also tasty. Eating food that you like with pleasure is useful not only for the gastrointestinal tract, but also for a person’s general well-being. It’s worth spending a little more time than usual choosing and preparing foods so that you can fully enjoy the meal afterwards.

Top 10 products for stabilizing intestinal functions and the gastrointestinal tract

The following foods will help restore the microflora and natural rhythm of the intestines, promote regular emptying and release the cavity from accumulated poisons (toxins), and also improve overall well-being:

Cereals, bran (oatmeal) with the addition of pieces of fruit, providing a feeling of fullness.
Whole grain coarse bread is an invaluable source of vitamins, microelements, and fiber. Low-calorie varieties with a lot of dietary fiber in their composition will bring benefits. To normalize digestion, you can include in a therapeutic mono-diet, for example, rye bread up to 3 pieces per day.
Avocado is a real source of valuable fiber, containing up to 12 g of fiber per fruit. The fruit enhances intestinal motility, prevents constipation, and normalizes microflora.
Berry (gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries) with a high fiber content (%) and a low amount of calories.
Lentils are an ecological product containing zinc and iron.
Legumes are a great help when developing a diet. The main thing is not to overeat, avoiding gas formation and bloating.
Pears contain up to 6 g of fiber per fruit and fructose, which is essential for normalizing the functioning of the pancreas.
Nuts (pistachios, almonds). Almonds are considered the most nutritious, containing nutritious ingredients in large quantities. But there are more benefits in pistachios, which lower cholesterol levels and increase the elasticity of vascular arteries. It is recommended to add nuts to sauces, baked goods, and yoghurts.
Dried fruits (prunes, apricots, raisins, figs) improve intestinal activity and stimulate digestion. Although you should not neglect the doses. Dried fruits are quite a high-calorie product.
Flax seed contains slightly soluble, insoluble fiber. This is an excellent laxative, an enveloping agent for the stomach, which begins to secrete mucus to protect the esophagus from irritation and remove undigested food particles, which is extremely important for excess weight, constipation, gastritis, and stomach ulcers.
Green vegetables (beets, turnips, spinach leaves) containing up to 5 g of insoluble fiber, a high concentration of beta-carotene, and iron. It is recommended to include savoy cabbage, radish, broccoli, green bell pepper, cauliflower, and black radish in your diet to reduce blood cholesterol.

Photo: healthy foods for bowel function

Corn

Mothers and grandmothers told us that we shouldn’t eat a lot of corn. Especially at night. And they were absolutely right. This product is quite heavy for our stomachs, its digestion takes a lot of time, and there is absolutely no point in straining the gastrointestinal tract at night. But this is perhaps the only negative that is present in corn kernels. There are many more advantages. And the main thing is the ability to cleanse the gastric and intestinal cavities, taking with it everything that should not be there. Some nutritionists even recommend doing corn cleanses once a month to remove all waste and toxins in one fell swoop. But be careful: do not risk your health and consult your family doctor before any such actions.

Canned corn from a jar does not count: after undergoing a long thermal and other treatment, the corn kernels lose their cleaning ability. In addition, the canned product contains a lot of sugar, which is harmful to everyone, not just people suffering from obesity and diabetes.

When is a gut diet necessary?

A diet for the intestines is a balanced diet in a certain way, which is not just taken for granted. This is not a diet for weight loss, and not the most ideally balanced diet for an ordinary person who follows the principles of a healthy diet and lifestyle. This is a menu that is relatively easy to follow, but complies with such rules for culinary processing of products and their selection directly, which in total should facilitate or resolve digestive processes in the intestines. When do difficulties arise with these? The problem is this.

The intestines are the most important participant in the digestive processes and more.

The digestive function of the intestine lies in the participation of its flora in the processing and breakdown of fats and carbohydrates that penetrate here after the work of the stomach. Here enzymes are extracted from food masses, and they are gradually transformed into feces. At the end of digestion, excretory function occurs when feces leave the body. The bacteria that inhabit the intestines synthesize beneficial enzymes and vitamins, protecting the intestines themselves from painful constipation. While the microflora is stable, it is able to break down plant fiber, synthesize B vitamins, and limit and suppress the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms. Intestinal microflora is also related to the immune properties of our body.

The protective function of the intestines is another one of its arsenal, and not a minor one. In the intestines, pathogenic microorganisms can be suppressed by opposing them to the beneficial microflora that is native to humans. Foreign bacteria enter here in slightly smaller quantities than colonies of beneficial microflora. Once they are expelled, the immune system produces antibodies against them, eliminating traces of them and excrement. Thus, the intestinal flora gets rid, for example, of harmful toxins and dangerous substances that end up in the body as a result of incorrect chemical reactions. With the same dysbacteriosis or various inflammatory, chronic intestinal diseases, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the intestinal microflora changes. The population of beneficial bifidobacteria and lactobacilli decreases significantly, and the number of pathogenic microorganisms increases.

Intestinal diseases can occur for various reasons:

violations of diet and quality of nutrition;
infection with protozoa, including helminthiasis;
past dysentery and dysbacteriosis, manifested in changes in the intestinal microflora, whether it is the predominance of pathogens or the inhibition of beneficial microflora;
mechanical, chemical, thermal irritants and injuries;
irritable bowel syndrome, inflammation of the mucous membrane, developing due to the above reasons.

The inflammation process can be localized in the small intestine - then it will be enteritis; or thick - then it is colitis; or in both of these sections - then it is enterocolitis.

Intestinal inflammation can take on an acute or chronic form. Chronic forms are practically untreatable. The most positive result is to prevent exacerbations.

Therapy for acute and especially chronic intestinal diseases cannot be purely medicinal. Medicines alone will not help the matter. With or without medications, you will have to follow a gut diet . Diet alone may be enough to restore microflora after mild poisoning, intoxication, or to prevent exacerbations of colitis and enterocolitis. In order to relieve existing inflammation or to overcome aggressive microbes, pharmacological agents are prescribed. In any case, without a diet, the result will be either short-term, or insufficient and not maximum, or completely unattainable.