Understanding the Digestive System: How it Works and Common Issues

The digestive system is one of the major multi-organ systems present in our body with the sole purpose of taking in food in the rawest form, breaking it down into soluble bits and then making sure that all the nutrition gets absorbed in the right manner and utilised as and when needed. We have obviously dumbed the process down but a lot of work happens behind the scenes for all these steps to take place in the right sequence. It is not just the organs alone but their chemical secretions and digestive juices which expedite the process. Since there are so many organs involved, there are a variety of issues that can occur due to something going wrong.

Overview Of the Digestive System and its Functions

The digestive system begins with our mouth, the food pipe or oesophagus which then leads into the stomach. The food is broken down with powerful acidic juices here and then pushed to the small intestine for better absorption using digestive juices from other glands like the gallbladder, the liver and finally ends with the large intestine which you can think of as the garbage truck of the body. Apart from all the secretions present, our intestine and gut has millions of bacteria which help the whole digestive process. They live in harmony with our body and have established a symbiotic relationship with us. Signals from the brain go to the nerve endings, hormones tell us when we are hungry and when we need to eat and the system takes care of the rest.

Common Digestive Disorders and their Causes

Now that we know all the organs involved, let us look at the possible issues that can commonly occur-

Acid reflux, bloating, indigestion, IBS, stomach or gastric ulcers, haemorrhoids, fistula, constipation etc. respectively. There are many more conditions that can affect any of these organs. We know why most of these occur, don’t we?

• Acid reflux, bloating and indigestion occur due to not eating meals on time, or eating very spicy and greasy foods.
• IBS or irritable bowel syndrome, also called leaky gut syndrome has no known cause. It just seems to affect some people who are very stressed.
• Gastric ulcers are either caused due to consumption of NSAIDs or it may be due to bacterial infections.
• Haemorrhoids and fistulas are issues found in the rectum and anal canal. Pooping becomes a bloody and painful affair and this condition can be very painful. Medical help is often needed.
• Constipation can occur due to poor dietary choices, not having enough fibre everyday and being dehydrated.

The Connection Between Gut Health and Overall Wellness

Studies in recent years have shown that something called the gut-brain axis is present which helps determine our bodily functions and the way our brain works too. Stressful situations affect the gut and in turn the brain too. Our gut has a very high percentage of immune cells and related machinery too. Other organ and tissue systems are all interconnected anyway.

Conclusion

Some of the top foods to support digestive health and improve it include fresh fruits, vegetables, fibre rich items, water and probiotics. Eating food needs to be mindful exercise. All the nutrients our body needs has to come from food and not dietary supplements. So, let us take a pledge today to eat healthy, to keep our gut healthy and problems far away from us