How healthy are your bowels?

If that is something you don’t want to talk about or bowel problems are impacting on your daily life, then now is the time to do something about it.

Don’t suffer the silent embarrassment, worry and discomfort over the rumbling and gurgling of stomach cramps, bloating and gas. Or constipation. Or diarrhoea.  

Improving the efficient working of your digestive system and therefore speedy and efficient elimination from your bowels should be a priority as there is a very important connection between your gut and your health. Sufficient amounts of friendly bacteria are fundamental to your good health. It's impossible to be optimally healthy if your gut's bacterial balance is out of whack_{. ( Guarner F, Malagelada JR (February 2003). "Gut flora in health and disease". Lancet 361 (9356): 512–9)}

How can I make my digestive system work better? I’ve tried everything

Even if you have tried a healthy diet, taken supplements, eliminated problem foods, there is a simple way to improve the health of your digestive system and make your digestive symptoms diminish or disappear.

That process is based on getting the right balance of good and bad bacteria. When that balance is affected by stress, antibiotic use or too many processed or sterilized foods, quick growing bacteria, fungi and yeasts such as Candida start to dominate.

How do bugs in the intestine make any difference to my health?

Even though the human body has trillions of bacteria with over 500 species, it is the ratio of good to bad bacteria that determines your health.

• The ideal balance of 85% good to 15% bad bacteria allows the digestive system to function efficiently by competing for nutrition and attachment sites in the colon.
• When the good bacteria are in control, they digest certain undigested carbohydrates such as starches, sugar and fibre and convert them into sources of energy and nutrients.
• They prevent allergies and provide vital support for the development and operation of the mucosal immune system in your digestive tract.

How do I achieve this balance of good and bad bacteria?

You could take a probiotic supplement and this is highly recommended if you want a quick result especially after illness and antibiotic use. Taken daily, probiotics will help ease any current digestive upsets you're experiencing and will also act to maintain the bacterial balance in your gut longer term. 

But if you want to avoid buying or taking a probiotic supplement, do as most cultures have done for centuries – make fermented foods part of your daily diet. Use as natural fertilizers - providing nutrients and promoting growth of healthy bacteria in your digestive tract. 

I have found the simplest fermented food is to make Kefir which I use as a milk alternative on my homemade nut and seed cereal.