Let me ask you a question. Answer honestly! Why do you eat healthy? Because you think that this way you are gonna get the abs you dream about, your arms will look better and probably your cellulite will be gone?
We eat and we rarely realize what is the information that gets in the body through the food we choose. We don’t realize how the choice we make to eat a salad of fresh veggies, baked fish and spices, pizza or a sandwich, determines not only the way we feel, but also the quality of our life. The food we choose, determines our future! Yes, it is that important!
Why?
Do you know that about 75% of our immune system is placed in our gastrointestinal tract? The immune system ( our guardian) is protected from the environment, just by a thin layer of cells. If for some reason the wholeness of this layer is damaged, we should expect a cascade of negative consequences.
What kind of consequences?
-to become allergic to foods that we used to eat without any reverse bad reaction;
-to feel discomfort of bloating and gas, due to the inability to digest the food;
-to get sick more often;
-the immune system might become hyper – reactive, which could expose us to a constant state of inflammation.
You’ve probably heard how the gut and the brain are connected. Do you know that during embryogenesis, a tissue is being split in two parts – one part forms the central nervous system and another one becomes the enteric nervous system. Up to a particular stage of our development, both systems develop independently from one another. On a later stage, both are being connected through a neuron “cable” called Vagus nerve. The Vagus nerve is the connection between our brain and our gut. Thus the brain and the gut are connected throughout our whole life and they are in constant communication.
This is the reason we get butterflies in our stomach, before an exam. This is the reason a lot of antidepressants cause stomach issues, as well as the reason food intolerances could have direct influence on our mood and behavior.
Actually, everything has a deeper logic. A lot of the neurotransmitters ( they play the role of “ ambassadors” who send, stimulate and regulate the signals between neurons and body cells) are being produced in the gut. An example for neurotransmitters are for example dopamine, melatonin, serotonin. Even if we don’t dig deeper into science, you have heard these names and you know that they are important for not being depressed, having a proper circadian signaling and so forth.
Imagine that the gut is the place where neurotransmitters are being build. If for some reason the health of the gut is disturbed; if there is some kind of imbalance, then these processes can’t happen. In reality, not enough care for the health of our gut or to be more precise the constant damage by unhealthy food choices, leads to the fact that we interfere with the ambassadors of our body. We are the one who interrupt the proper communication between our gut and our brain.
Look at things this way – if the gut is the place where we receive the information from our external environment, through the food and drinks we take, it is also the place where this information is being “digested”, selected and finally sent to the brain. If the brain is the one that commands what should happen in our body, then we’d like it to receive trustworthy information. The brain makes decisions and sends signals for actions, based on the returning data, it receives from the gut, through neurotransmitters and hormones, that are being released.
What do we do?
We send information that cannot be “digested” properly. Our boss ( the brain) doesn’t get actual and proper data about the state of our body. It sends signals for action, which are based on false facts. This leads to an execution of the tasks, which do not suit the actual state of the body. There seems to be an imbalance, which we sustain on a daily basis. This imbalance causes more chaos in our body, which we can feel and experience through disease, lack of strength, fatigue and so forth.
None of us can see what is happening in our body, but everyone of us can feel what is taking place.
In my previous posts, I explained you in detail about food intolerances, grains and dairy products. You can read more here:
The Bible of Food Intolerances
Everything You Need to Know About Dairy Products
The Truth About Grains: Why They Make You Sick?
Part 1: Why Grains Are NOT Healthy?
Part 2: Why Grains Are NOT Healthy?
Today I will introduce you the so called FODMAPs (fermentable, oli-go-di-monosaccharides and polyos) or in other words, fermentable, non- absorbable carbs. When we eat foods that contain them, in the process of digestion they leave a lot of material that is food for bacteria. When bacteria eat it and proliferate, they ferment. When they ferment, this can lead to bloating, stomach pain and gas.
There are some foods, which ferment faster. That’s where FODMAPs come into play. These are sugars which cannot be digested and they feed bacteria, by creating circumstances for fungi in our digestive tract and lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem of the intestines.
Sometimes these type of foods, can cause symptoms out of the gut, like depression, mood swings, fatigue. As you already understood, our brain and gut are connected.
Sure, here everything comes up to the dosage. I am not telling you to exclude these foods completely. You should be careful and stay away from turning them into the staple of your diet.
Here are the foods that contain FODMPAs:
Dairy products: Lactose is the milk sugar. If you’ve read the post about dairy products, you already know that a lot of people have difficulty digesting lactose, because they lack the enzyme lactase. In addition, bigger quantities of dairy products, and especially milk can cause digestive issues.
Fruits and honey: Fructose is fruit sugar. Most tropical fruits and melon contain bigger quantities of fructose. Apples, pears and peaches fall in this category. Honey, agave and other sweeteners contain fructose. Most of the sport drinks contain a lot of fructose, as well.
Lentils and beans: They are oligosaccharides and fall in this category. You are probably not surprised, when you keep in mind how you felt the last time you ate a second helping of beans.
Wheat, onion and cabbage: Wheat contains sugars called fructans. Wheat is in everything. You will notice that if you buy your spices in packages and mixes, the label says that they contain wheat. Fructans are also in vegetables like onions, cauliflower, broccoli. Personally I love the taste of onion in my meals, but I rarely eat it because later on I feel bad. Have you noticed this with yourself?
Alcohol sugars: They are part of a lot of packaged foods. If you read on the package that it contains xylitol, maltitol or sorbitol, this means that there is alcohol sugars. The most interesting thing is that exactly “healthy foods”, the foods that claim they are “sugar free” contain these sweeteners.
Probably, even before you read this, you’ve noticed that you do not feel good if you eat a couple bowls of beans or if you overeat with fruits and cabbage.
Sometimes we don’t realize how by constantly consuming, bigger quantities of these foods, we can cause gut issues. This might be the reason for fatigue, mood swings and depression.
These are conditions that are common among people. We are more incline to take pills, to undergo a bunch of medical tests, yet we are not incline to change what is up to us – the choice of food.
The cure of every symptom starts from the kitchen –your own kitchen! The cure to every disease starts with the choice of food we make.
Choose something better for yourself!
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