If we suddenly experience severe cramps or a feeling of oppressive fullness - it is often a sign that the intestine cannot perform its actual function. These five habits can be the reason....
The body is a complex organism that reacts to all kinds of external factors, including the digestion of the intestines.
Suddenly you are plagued by terrible pain, a feeling of fullness or flatulence. Often you immediately think of a serious illness, but usually it is unconscious situations of everyday life that upset the bowel.
Often it is excessive stress that directs the priorities to other areas than the intestine and thus presents it with strong challenges. But lack of exercise or excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages can also be triggers for intestinal complaints.
1. take your time
Either your lunch break is too short or your appetite is too big - often you don't take enough time to really enjoy a meal and you literally wolf it down instead.
The chewing mechanism is also far too short, although one should actually chew at least 30 times. For our intestines, this condition is a great strain, as too much of the food gets into the intestines - a mammoth task for the organ.
This can result in complaints such as cramps or flatulence - but this situation can easily be avoided.
Conscious chewing ensures that the food reaches the intestines in small pieces and that a kind of digestion already takes place in the mouth.
Saliva contains special digestive enzymes that start digesting as soon as you chew, and so, for example, the enzyme amylase ensures that sugar molecules are already broken down in the mouth.
2. stress
Often our chewing behaviour is also linked to our everyday stress, but stress in particular has a negative effect on our intestinal function, but also on the entire body.
Even if short-term stress promotes the performance of the body and brain, it also reduces activity in the intestines. In stressful situations, the body releases more adrenaline as it reacts with an anxiety and escape mechanism.
Since the body now uses its energy exclusively for the production of adrenaline, the digestive tract is secondary.
If a stressful situation lasts longer, the stomach and intestinal area may experience complaints such as flatulence, a feeling of fullness, cramps or nausea.
If the intestine repeatedly reacts to stress situations, we can also speak of an irritable bowel syndrome, in which the activity of the intestinal muscles is particularly sensitive.
3. empty carbohydrates
As tasty as a slice of white bread or noodles is, these foods can be a great challenge for the intestines. Foods consisting of simple carbohydrates contain a very, very low percentage of fibre and are therefore a particularly good breeding ground for viruses and bacteria.
These dangerous intestinal bacteria disturb our intestinal flora to a high degree and cause digestive problems.
Therefore, the intestine should be supported with fibre-rich foods such as lentils or other legumes so that the intestinal flora remains in balance.
If the diet consists mainly of high-fibre and healthy foods, the occasional consumption of simple carbohydrates is not a problem for the intestine - the dose determines the effects here.
4. too little exercise
Most people work in offices or behind the wheel - movement is often absent in their daily work routine and the body is permanently in a resting mode. Due to the lack of movement, the digestion of the intestines also works more slowly and can break down the food that is taken in more difficult.
Those who want to support their intestines should try to integrate the well-known digestive walk into the lunch break. The movement stimulates both the organs and the muscles, including those of the intestine. Maybe you should just take our PAKAMA mini-bands with you to the office. They allow you to incorporate simple movement in between.
In addition, a little exercise also acts as a real pick-me-up - so the rest of the working day can also be managed.
5. consumption of alcohol
Whether it's the beer at the end of the day or the glass of red wine with dinner - even small amounts of alcohol have a negative effect on the intestinal function and can damage the intestine in many ways. The absorbed ethanol reacts directly to the mucous membrane of the small intestine and causes redness of the mucous membrane, cell damage or even minor bleeding.
Alcohol can also indirectly lead to these symptoms, as it promotes all inflammatory processes in the body and thus supports viruses and bacteria.
The stomach also suffers from the consequences of alcohol consumption, which is in direct cooperation with the intestines. Here, too, ethanol damages the stomach lining so that the absorbed pollutants can no longer be repelled.
In addition, massive consumption of alcoholic beverages increases the risk of colon cancer, as cells are repeatedly damaged.
