We have always believed that the heart, brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys are our core organs, but we often ignore the intestines. You know, the intestines are vital to human health. There are as many as 100 trillion bacteria in our intestines. They attach to the surface of the intestinal mucosa, forming a natural biological barrier to protect our intestinal health! If we do not pay attention to intestinal health, it will cause intestinal flora imbalance, and we are likely to suffer from various diseases. Studies have shown that more than 95% of human diseases are related to intestinal flora imbalance. The more serious the intestinal flora imbalance, the greater the chance of suffering from major diseases , and even endanger life. It can be seen that intestinal health is a matter of life and death.
As the digestive organ and immune organ of the human body, the intestines undertake many tasks, but at the same time they are also prone to many diseases. Once they are infected, they need to seek medical treatment in time.
So what diseases are prone to intestinal diseases?
- Inflammatory bowel disease
This disease can occur in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, but it is usually concentrated in the right colon and the terminal ileum.
Its main symptoms are abdominal pain and diarrhea. In severe cases, it may be accompanied by fever, weight loss, etc. Some patients may also have abdominal masses.
- Colon polyps
This type of polyp is actually a precancerous lesion of colorectal cancer. If the patient is in the polyp adenoma stage, surgical resection must be performed in time to reduce the chance of colorectal cancer.
Colon polyps generally do not have very obvious symptoms in the early stage. A small number of patients may experience mild abdominal distension, diarrhea, and constipation, but as the disease progresses, blood in the stool will appear.
- Intestinal obstruction
Intestinal obstruction can cause patients to experience paroxysmal abdominal colic, which may also be accompanied by abdominal distension and vomiting, and they cannot defecate or pass gas normally.
When the disease reaches the late stage, adverse symptoms such as increased body temperature, decreased blood pressure, and shortness of breath will appear.
- Colon cancer
This is a relatively common malignant tumor with a high incidence rate, second only to gastric cancer.
The bowel habits and stool characteristics of patients with colon cancer will change to a certain extent, such as a sudden increase in bowel movement frequency, blood in the stool, alternating constipation and diarrhea, etc.
- Irritable bowel syndrome
Nowadays, with the acceleration of the pace of life, people's dietary structure has also changed greatly. Many people may induce irritable bowel syndrome due to mood swings, psychological pressure, bad eating habits, etc.
This disease is mainly manifested by excessive intestinal peristalsis, intestinal spasms, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc.
So what situation indicates that our intestines are unhealthy?
- Smelly stool
Many people think that smelly stool is a very normal thing, which is a common sense misconception.
With the development of international human microecology, scientists have found that smelly stool is actually one of the manifestations of intestinal flora imbalance, which is a "help signal" sent by unhealthy intestines to the human body.
Once our intestinal flora is imbalanced and the number of beneficial bacteria decreases, those harmful bacteria will seize the opportunity to multiply in large numbers, ferment and produce a large number of smelly, inflammation-inducing, and pathogenic fecal toxins, which directly react to fecal odor. However, due to the different degrees of flora imbalance, some people may have a heavier odor and some lighter.
When the intestinal mucosa is intact, only a small amount of fecal toxins are generally absorbed into the blood, which has little impact on health, so we do not feel uncomfortable. However, if the fecal odor toxins exist for a long time, it will cause fecal odor poisoning syndrome and a variety of related diseases, which are very harmful to the body.
- Obesity
With the acceleration of the pace of life, irregular meals, staying up late, banquets and social events, and too much mental stress may lead to intestinal flora imbalance. Intestinal flora imbalance will reduce the production of liver AMP-activated protein kinase (the "fuel switch" in the cell), making it difficult for our energy to be consumed, causing fat deposition.
In other words, once our intestinal flora is imbalanced, it is easy to affect our body shape and weight, causing obesity.
- Poor complexion
The intestine is called the largest sewage plant in the human body. 80% of the toxins in the human body are excreted by the intestine; if there is a problem with the intestine, the toxins in the body cannot be excreted in time, and they will flow to the whole body through the blood circulation, which will cause damage to the skin, causing rough skin, dull skin, acne, etc.
Therefore, when you find that your skin condition is getting worse and worse, and even various expensive skin care products cannot improve it, it is time to adjust the intestine.
- Bad breath
Intestinal flora imbalance can cause harmful bacteria to produce a large amount of fecal toxins, which also emit unpleasant odors, making the intestines "smoky". When these unpleasant gases are discharged through the mouth, they will cause bad breath. In this case, if we solve the intestinal problem, the bad breath will naturally disappear.
- Poor resistance
Science shows that the intestine controls 70% of the human body's immunity and is an important line of defense for human immunity. These immune cells help humans resist the invasion of pathogens. Therefore, the intestine can be regarded as the largest and most active immune organ in the human body. If the intestine is unhealthy, it is likely to lead to a decrease in immunity, easy to get sick, and cause colds and other problems.
- Constipation
Studies have shown that genetic susceptibility and intestinal ecological imbalance are the root causes of functional constipation: compared with individuals without a family history of constipation, individuals with a family history of constipation have a higher risk of chronic constipation. The development of microecological medicine has revealed another fundamental cause of the occurrence and development of functional constipation, that is, problems with the intestinal ecology.
The intestine is a complete ecosystem. If there is a problem with the intestinal ecology, it is just like there is a problem with the environmental ecology. Without trees and forests, there will inevitably be abnormal climate and environmental deterioration. The land will become a dry desert. The intestine with an unbalanced ecology is like a dry desert. How can you defecate normally?
- Diarrhea
Like constipation, diarrhea is the main manifestation of unhealthy intestines. The intestinal butyric acid bacteria are scarce, the biological barrier function of the intestinal mucosa is damaged, and harmful substances stimulate intestinal inflammation, which in turn causes damage to the intestinal mucosa. Harmful substances will activate immune inflammatory reactions through the damaged intestinal mucosa, causing visceral hypersensitivity, intestinal sensitivity, and reduced tolerance. Therefore, abdominal pain and diarrhea will occur when encountering cold, cold, alcohol, spicy, etc. This is also the cause of chronic diarrhea and diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome.
How should people protect the intestine?
- Eat more foods containing dietary fiber
Usually eat more coarse grains and nuts. They contain dietary fiber needed by the human body. Although dietary fiber cannot be absorbed by the human body, it can be decomposed in the intestine to produce a fatty acid, which can help probiotics grow and reproduce, and is very helpful for maintaining intestinal health.
- Eat only 70% full at each meal
If you want to protect your stomach and intestines, you need to control your food intake. It is recommended to eat only 70% full at each meal, and be careful to stay away from high-fat foods, because excessive intake of nutrients may produce harmful bacteria, thereby disrupting the balance of intestinal flora.
Foods containing dietary fiber in daily diet should account for 60% of the total intake, and fresh vegetables should account for 30%-40%.
- Maintain a good lifestyle
Because tobacco and alcohol can strongly stimulate the digestive system, you need to pay attention to avoid smoking and drinking.
Maintain moderate exercise and maintain a normal weight. Long-term lack of exercise may cause imbalance of intestinal flora, which is easy to induce metabolic diseases and obesity.
Since intestinal health is very important to the human body, it must be taken seriously in daily life.
For people over 40 years old, you can have an intestinal examination once a year, because most intestinal diseases occur in the large intestine, and regular examinations can detect these problems in time.
You need to observe your own changes more often. If you find blood in your stool, changes in stool shape, weight loss, changes in bowel habits, etc., you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible.
