Gut health diet: Why a study roots for fibre-rich greens

Gut bacteria are extremely important for your immune system, heart, kidneys, liver and even weight management. In recent years, experts have found that dietary fibre preserves gut health. That’s why a low-fibre diet can negatively impact both general health and the gut.

Plant-based foods contain fibre, a type of slow-releasing carbohydrate that is essential for maintaining a healthy gut flora and assisting with digestion. But this latest study establishes a more definitive link between fibre and IBS.

IBS happens to people who have poor levels of interleukin-10, a protein with anti-inflammatory properties that plays a crucial role in limiting host immune response to pathogens, thereby preventing damage to tissues. Now if they have adequate fibre, they could counter this vulnerability as it thickens the healthy mucus on intestinal walls and inhibits inflammation. The present study shows that in mice lacking interleukin-10, low fibre eroded the mucus lining in the colon, leading to colitis.

WHY IS FIBRE IMPORTANT FOR GUT HEALTH?

For good reason, fibre is frequently referred to as nature’s broom for the digestive tract.

(1) It encourages regular bowel movements: One of fibre’s main functions is to give stool more volume, making it easier to push itself through the digestive system. Foods high in insoluble fibre, such as whole grains, nuts and vegetables aid in accelerating the transit of food, reducing the risk of constipation and encouraging regular bowel movements. Insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water.

2. Building a thriving gut microbiome: Fibre functions as a prebiotic, giving the good bacteria in the stomach food to grow. Now there are virus, fungi and other micro-organisms in the gut. Together they are called the gut microbiome. There are 1,000 species of bacteria in the human gut microbiome, each of which plays a different role for each organ in your body. Together, they function much like an extra organ in your body.

WHAT DOES LACK OF FIBRE DO TO THE GUT?

The following are a few effects of consuming too little fibre:

1. Enhanced risk of constipation: Insufficient fibre consumption can make stool tough and challenging to pass, which can result in constipation. Prolonged constipation can lead to discomfort, gas, and pain in the abdomen. It can also raise the chance of developing diverticulosis and hemorrhoids.

2. Altered composition of the gut microbiome: Insufficient fibre deprives the gut’s beneficial bacteria of their main food supply, which may result in a decline in the number and variety of these micro-organisms. Dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the gut microbiota, has been connected to a number of digestive illnesses, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and colorectal cancer.

WHAT’S THE LINK BETWEEN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD) AND FIBRE?

Crohn’s disease (chronic inflammation of your gastro-intestinal tract) and ulcerative colitis (inflammation and ulcers in the lining of the large intestine and colon) are included in the category of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract marked by flare-ups and remissions. Higher dietary fibre intake was linked to a lower chance of acquiring Crohn’s disease, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Gut.