How fast is your gut? Why the answer is important for your health
Many of us pay attention to the foods we’re putting in our bodies – asking ourselves whether they’re nutritious and healthy for us. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself how fast this food is moving through your? The answer to this question is actually really important, as the speed that food moves through your digestive tract affects your health and well-being in many ways.
Gut transit time
The time it takes for food to pass from one end of the gastrointestinal tract to the other is called gut transit time.
Gut transit time varies from one person to the next. Recent estimates suggest it can take somewhere between 12 and 73 hours for food to pass through the body – with the average being around 23-24 hours. This variation in transit explains some of the gut microbiome differences seen between people – and consequently their health.
Many factors can also affect our natural transit time – including genetics, diet, and our gut microbiome.
If gut transit time is long (meaning you have slow motility), bacteria in the large intestine produce different metabolites. This is because, just like us, the bacteria in our guts need to be fed. These bacteria enjoy fiber. But, if transit time is long and fiber is taking too long to reach the large intestine, these microbial inhabitants have to switch to an alternative food source. So, they turn to protein.
The switch to protein can result in the production of toxic gases leading to health problems such as bloating and inflammation.
Slow gut transit can also cause partially digested food to get stuck in the small intestine. This has additional health consequences – such as an overgrowth of small intestinal bacteria. Which can lead to symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea and bloating.
Fast gut transit can negatively impact health, too.
There are many reasons that แทงบอล UFABET ราคาดีที่สุด ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ someone may experience fast transit time. For example, anxiety, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can all cause decreased transit time and even diarrhea.
In cases of fast transit, the resulting stool is loose with high water content.