What is Optimal Gut Health?
According to Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, optimal gut health is defined as,
"A state of physical and mental well-being in the absence of GI complaints, that require the consultation of a doctor, in the absence of indications of or risks for bowel disease and in the absence of confirmed bowel disease."
Optimum gut health is crucial for good health and disease prevention.
Do you know how amazing our gut is?
Human small intestine has 10 times more cells than the rest of the body
It has surface area equivalent to a tennis court.
It has more nerve supply than the spinal cord or the peripheral nervous system.
It contains 70-80% of the immune system.
It houses a genome, via gut microbiome, that is approximately 100-150 times larger than the human genome.
To stay healthy, it is important to take care of one's gut health. Gut health may be compromised due to
Poor Gut microbiome: Microorganisms found naturally in the gut keep the gut
healthy. Disruption of microbial balance of gut is called Dysbiosis. Imbalanced gut
microflora can be due to age, diet, nutrition, excess use of antibiotics, stress,
hygiene, genetics (prakriti), recurrent illnesses and environment.
Various diseases which are rampant in the society today, can be linked to poor gut health. To name a few of them:
Inflammatory bowel disease, Celiac disease, Irritable bowel syndrome, Allergic diseases, Arthritis, Obesity. Autoimmune diseases, Fatty liver, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), Sepsis in ICU patient, Malnutrition and many more.
Gut health as defined in 'Ayurveda'
Ayurvedic science gives immense importance to gut health and considers altered gut function as the cause of many diseases. Altered gut function leads to formation of metabolic toxins in the digestive tract, which is termed as 'Aama'.
Concept of Aama (metabolic toxins)
Maharishti Vaaghabhatta, in his book 'Ashtanga Hridaya' states that
"Ushamanno alap balatven, dhatumadhya pachitam.
Dushtama amashyagatam, rasmaamam prachkshatay I "
Chapter 13 Shloka 24
The above shloka (from Ashtanga Hridaya) means - Due to decreased strength of digestive fire, food remains incompletely digested. This undigested food (in the digestive tract) leads to the production of toxic metabolites. These toxic substances are considered as ‘aama’.
Properties of 'Aama'
1. It is always in the form of an incompletely digested substance.
2. It is non-homogeneous.
3. It is foul-smelling, which can be sensed when it combines with other substances like feces, urine, sweat, sputum, vomit expelled from the body.
4. It is very sticky and completely slows down bodily processes.
Three phases of digestion according to Ayurveda
Aama-avastha- 'Aama' is very similar to food in the first stage of digestion, which is initially formed in the Aama-ashaya (cavity that holds Aama). Aama-ashaya can be roughly correlated to the stomach.
Pachya-Aama-avastha- From Aama-ashaya, food passes on to the Grahani (tract comprising of duodenum and jejunum). Here, Pachaka pitta (a type of digestive fire), comprising of various juices and enzymes, mix with food and digest it to a state identified to the body as 'nutrition'. This is called Aahaar Rasa. Aahar-rasa moves from the Grahani to Pakva-ashaya. Pakva-ayashya can be loosely correlated to the intestine.
Pakva-avastha : In the final stage, the absorption of nutrition takes place from the small intestine, with the help of Samana Vaayu, The waste material is removed and moved forward by apana vaayu to large intestine. Samana vayu and Apana vaayu can be related to gut motility mechanism under the control of the 'Enteric Nervous System'.
The nutritient rich Aahaar-rasa is subsequently absorbed via the intestine and micro-metabolized to nourish the 'sapta dhatus' or seven tissues.
Digestion can be
Favorable - Niraama- avastha (condition without Aama): Digested food is well-absorbed as nutrition and waste material is excreted.
Unfavorable- Saama-avastha (condition with Aama): Partial or no absorption of food takes place leading to toxic residue in the intestine. This residue can be termed as 'Aama'.
'Aama' causes structural and functional discrepancies in the body and brings it to the verge of disease.
'Aama' formation is due to Agni-vishamta or disruption of Agni. Pachakpitta is the form of Agni that digests food in micro and macro forms.
Agnivishamta or corrupt digestive fire disrupts enzymes and digestive juices at micro and macro levels which inhibits complete transformation of food to desired end products and leads to formation of 'Aama'. This slows the digestive system and eventually clogs the system.
Vitiated 'Aama' causes pain in the joints, loss of appetite, indigestion, stiffness of joints, swelling in joints, weakness and heaviness in the chest. It produces diseases like arthritis, eczema, allergies, asthma.
According to Ayurveda 'Aama' is the root cause of all diseases,
To conclude, 'Healthy gut is the mantra for healthy living'
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