It is certainly the most precious and impressive exchange surface between organism and environment.
It not only regulates the absorption of nutrients, which is essential to guarantee our survival, but also modulates a very numerous series of functions, generally microscopic, which allow us to remain healthy and, why not, also happy.
We are talking about the "intestine, an organ for a long time considered only as a" tube attached to the stomach ", which in the last two decades, however, has proved to be a key element in maintaining the balance of organic functions.
It will therefore be simplistic to imagine it engaged "only" in the absorption of precious nutrients and in the elimination of waste substances, but it will be necessary to consider it involved in the regulation of immune function, in the management of numerous metabolic functions and in the maintenance of physical and mental well-being.
A healthy intestine is therefore essential in maintaining a healthy body.
And to take care of it, you need to start right from the choices at the table.
that inhabit it, suitable for filtering and absorbing what is needed, capable of controlling the functionality of the immune cells immersed in its structure, efficient in producing a whole series of substances capable of regulating the activity of different organs.This is why it is essential to properly take care of our diet, choosing foods such as those illustrated below.
Waterfall
It is the key element of a healthy gut.
Through water, the intestine can absorb many water-soluble nutrients, such as minerals and vitamins, it can cleanse its walls, thus removing potential irritants, it can keep its excretory function active, forming soft and easy to evacuate stools.
It is certainly the easiest and most useful "dietetic" gesture to make.
Fruits and vegetables
In second place in importance, we certainly find fruit and vegetables.
In the many varieties that nature offers, fruit and vegetables can perform various tasks.
The most immediate is to provide fibers, necessary both to form compound stools, and to anatomically protect the walls of the intestine from the damaging action of various substances.
The fibers can also be suitably fermented by our intestinal hosts (microbiota) which in turn provide us with short-chain fatty acids, very precious nourishment for the cells of our intestine.
The same fatty acids can modulate the activity of many other tissues such as the nervous one or of precious organs such as the liver.
The yellow-orange fruit and vegetables, then, also provide carotenoids, the red-violet one anthocyanins, the green one, finally, chlorophyll and other flavonoids. All these pigments protect our intestine from oxygen free radicals and allow the microbiota to live in harmony.
Finally, for some vegetables, such as fennel or celery, other phytotherapeutic properties are also added, useful in soothing any states of intestinal distress.
Extra virgin olive oil and good fats
Fats in general play a key role in keeping the gut healthy.
In addition to making the stool softer and therefore easier to eliminate, thanks to the ability to induce the secretion of bile, they allow a sort of periodic cleansing of the intestinal walls.
But while saturated fatty acids have been shown to be pro-inflammatory, ie capable of damaging the intestinal mucosa by inducing continuous inflammatory stimuli and selecting "bad bacteria" in the microbiota, the monounsaturated fatty acids of extra virgin olive oil and the polyunsaturated fatty acids of dried fruit , on the contrary, they would be able to induce an anti-inflammatory and metabolically ameliorative response.
According to several experts, this activity derives from the ability to promote the growth of Bifidobacteria and a microorganism known as Akkermansia Muciniphila, endowed with absolutely valuable assets.
A "further note of merit should be recognized for dried fruit thanks to the presence of magnesium and other trace elements, useful in nourishing and relaxing the muscles surrounding the intestine when necessary.
Whole grains
In a diet intended to preserve intestinal health, obviously whole grains cannot be missing, which thanks to the presence of fibers simulate the effects of vegetables.
Cross and delight for those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, whole grains, as well as legumes and so also for vegetables with high flatulogenic power, must be gradually reintroduced without exaggeration.
Fermented foods
A concrete help in maintaining intestinal health comes from fermented foods.
Of ancient origin, they have jumped to the headlines for the important effects on the intestine and in particular on our microbiota.
These are foods, in whose processing phases, a fermentation process generally supported by microorganisms is proposed, as occurs for example for yogurt, kefir or even for vegetable products such as tofu or tempeh.
The fermentation process, designed to make food more digestible, actually enriches it with numerous vitamins and other substances with nutritional power such as short-chain fatty acids.
These, together with the amino acids made more available by the same process, and the residual bacteria and yeasts, make these foods a real panacea for the intestine.
(a dietary model based precisely on the consumption of fruit and vegetables, cereals and extra virgin olive oil), thanks to the enormous food variability, the high content of fiber and antioxidants, the pull of protective fatty acids, the diet is absolutely able to to preserve the best intestinal and metabolic health.It would also be able to guarantee the best biodiversity of the intestinal microbiota, thus also guaranteeing a direct impact on the metabolic health status.
