lifestyle

Habits That Can Make The Intestines Age Faster

Digestive health plays a key role in healthy aging, but everyday habits can put a strain on your gut and make it age faster. Eatingwell published on Friday (6/6) compiled expert explanations regarding habits that can cause your gut to age faster as follows. 

1. Eating the same foods all the time 

Having a diverse gut microbiome, which offers a variety of benefits, is essential for maintaining gut health. One way to achieve this is by eating a variety of foods, especially those that come from plants, with minimal processing. Nutritionist Amanda Sauceda MS, RD emphasizes the importance of eating a variety of fibrous foods for gut health. 

2. Preferring to snack than eat 

Nutritionist Marcie Vaske, a gut health expert and founder of the Oswald Digestive Clinic, said that frequent snacking and eating late at night can cause your gut to age. She emphasized that our gut needs time to rest to clean and repair itself. 

3. Chronic stress 

Stress can affect gut motility and hypersensitivity, disrupt the gut epithelial barrier function and trigger gut immune responses, and trigger changes in the gut microbiome and cause dysbiosis. All of these changes can increase the risk and severity of functional GI disorders and inflammation, which in turn ages the gut, says Asma Khapra, a board-certified gastroenterologist. 

However, stress can’t always be avoided, so it’s important to manage it for long-term health. 

4. Not getting enough fiber 

Sauceda says getting enough fiber is important for maintaining gut health, as the gut needs dietary fiber to function properly. “Without enough fiber, your good gut bacteria don’t have the fuel they need to thrive, and the protective mucus layer in your gut can start to break down. That leaves your digestive system more susceptible to inflammation, irritation, and premature decline,” says digestive health specialist Alyssa Simpson RDN, CGN, CLT. 

5. Ignoring gut issues 

Continuous gut issues can age your gut if ignored. Symptoms like bloating, reflux, diarrhea, and constipation can signal a larger issue like dysbiosis, leaky gut, or enzyme deficiencies that can worsen and age your gut over time, Vaske says. 

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Tag: Eatingwell Healthy