Healthy Intestines = Beauty
The health of your intestines largely affects your overall health, and how fast you age.
So let’s start by taking care of our intestines. The intestinal tract happens to be the largest immune-related organ in our bodies.
Our intestines digest and absorb the foods and drinks we consume. If you drink too many cold beverages during the summer, your intestines will become chilled and weak. It will help to warm your stomach. If you have a weak stomach in general, it’s good to keep your stomach warm, even during the summer time. Eating a balanced and nutritional diet is also a very important part of beauty and health.
Tight underwear and heavy blankets when you sleep also put a lot of pressure on your body and prevent your blood from circulating properly. Sleep in underwear and pajamas that are not tight on you, and cover up with a light blanket. Also, a sufficient amount of sleep helps your intestines rest and become more immune to diseases; such as cancer and a multitude of different infections. A healthy immune system is necessary for a healthy body.
Since our intestines are easily effected by our autonomic nerves, not getting a sufficient amount of sleep will directly affect the health of your intestines. Along with your lungs, your intestines are one of the organs in your body that are fighting off the most bacteria and viruses. The immune system surrounding the intestinal tract are fighting off bacteria and viruses that enter the body through the food you consume. Your intestinal bacteria are always competing for power. When you eat well, good bacteria will multiply. When you eat poorly, bad bacteria will multiply and the number of good bacteria will diminish. Stress is also a very big factor when it comes to the health of your intestines. Eating well and getting plenty of sleep is very important.
Inside your intestines, there are approximately one hundred trillion bacteria, from one hundred different species. There are three main kinds of bacteria: good bacteria, bad bacteria, and one named “opportunistic organisms”; which cause harm when your immune system is weak.
Foods that multiply the good bacteria in your intestines
A Japanese diet with starch (rice) and lots of dietary fiber is ideal. Instead of eating vegetables raw, cooking them helps you consume larger amounts of fiber. Afterwards, eating yogurt helps good bacteria multiply.
Lactic acid bacteria
The lactic acid in yogurt prevents bacterial food poisoning such as salmonella and shigella. When the number of lactic acid bacteria multiply in your intestines, your intestines become much healthier. It keeps the number of bad bacteria low, preventing diseases from happening. Eating yogurt is a great way to balance the number good bacteria in your intestines.
Sugar content
Sugar helps the lactic acid bacteria function better. They feed on the sugar and produce acetic acid. This makes for a more acidic environment that the bad bacteria hate.
Vitamins
Vitamins are a key nutrient when it comes to creating a healthy intestinal environment. Vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 help create more good bacteria. Getting most of your vitamins from food is the most effecting way to maintaining your health.
Sticky foods
Foods that are sticky such as okra, mulukhiya, seaweed, and konjac, are all full of insoluble dietary fiber (with multiple components of sugar). It helps multiply the number of good bacteria, reduces constipation, and increases immunity.
Dietary Fiber
Since a large portion of dietary fiber that is consumed does not get absorbed into the body, it helps with stimulating the intestines and becoming a large part of the waste leaving the body. It also absorbs the water in the intestines, making harder stool softer for it to leave the body. Eating foods that are high in lactic acid bacteria and dietary fibers are and ideal way to multiply the number of good bacteria in your intestines.
People who have weak stomachs should chew their really well when consuming foods high in dietary fiber. Try not to eat whatever you want whenever you want, and try not to drink too many cold beverages that will weaken your stomach. Too much consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and spicy foods are also not very good either.
If you feel stressed, go on a walk with your pet or go sing some karaoke. Find your own way to relieve stress.
In order to stay young, good lifestyle habits are key. Create healthy eating habits, and enjoy a long and healthy life!
Yuko Nishio
Yuko, also referred to as the anti-aging wizard, has been researching beauty and health for over 20 years and is the owner of the exclusive beauty salon "Natural Sage" in Tokyo, where her clientele includes royal families and A-list celebrities. She is also the founder of NNNY Skin Care, a premium skin care line initially created exclusively for her salon clientele.