How to avoid digestive discomfort

For lunch, Marie hastily swallowed a sandwich because she had to return files. He had not forgotten the antibiotics he was prescribed for the flu or the gastroesophageal reflux medication he had been taking for months. On leaving the office, he hopped in his car to join some friends and have a few drinks. Later, she’ll heat up a frozen pizza she’ll be enjoying in front of the TV with a sweetened soda.

Marie lives like millions of people: she is stressed, no longer has time to buy fresh fruit and vegetables to cook, so she relies on the food industry and takes her medicine without giving it much thought. The problem is that our gut bacteria don’t appreciate this way of life. Bad habits that can lead to an imbalance of our intestinal flora and trigger many pathologies. In order to avoid this dysbiosis, some tips for getting rid of bad habits.

Avoid junk food and alcohol

Texturing agents, coloring agents and additives of all kinds, which saturate industrial foods, but also the abundance of sugar upset our bacterial balance. Moreover, contrary to Marie’s opinion, substituting sugar for sweeteners was not a good idea. “They can change the lining of the mucus in the digestive tract and promote unhealthy pro-inflammatory processes”defines Professor Perlemuter, gastroenterologist at the Antoine-Béclère hospital, in Clamart, and author of the book From gut to brain. How your bacteria can relieve stress, hypersensitivity and depression (Pocket). Regular alcohol consumption is also associated with changes in the microbiota and activation of inflammatory processes.

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Avoid monotony

However, there is no point in sinking into a phobia and permanently banning processed foods from our diets. As Professor Rémy Burcelin, director of research at the Inserm U 1297 unit in Toulouse, reminds us: “We must not prevent microbiota from entering the school of life. » Like us, he has to live with his environment. Therefore he must study it to know it and adapt. “In order to remain stable, he has to live in a slight imbalance. What this means: You should eat everything in small quantities and avoid a diet where you eat without varying your diet, even though it is considered good for our bacteria.said the professor.

take time to eat

If food is important, the way we eat it can be just as important. ” That chew is the first important stage of digestion. This is why it is necessary to avoid swallowing food in haste without chewing it. Research does show that the digestive flora can perceive food that is not chewed sufficiently as foreign, which can lead to changes in the intestinal wall.explains Professor Thierry Piche, a gastroenterologist at Nice hospital.

Don’t overuse antibiotics

Antibiotics attack both good and bad bacteria. When we give antibiotics for viral infections, we mainly kill the good bacteria without affecting the viruses… In adults, the gut flora, which is damaged by these drugs, will regain balance after some time. “In contrast, in children, before the age of three, the microbiota is immature”, recalls Professor Perlemuter. Therefore, inappropriate administration of antibiotics at this age can lead to permanent dysbiosis.

” READ ALSO – Microbiota and immunity: a powerful duo

Be wary of antacids

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are a class of drugs used to treat heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease and stomach ulcers, reducing acidity. “However, this stomach acidity is a barrier against certain microbes”, explains Professor Piche. This is why, when traveling to countries where the risk of gastroenteritis is high, she advises people to discontinue PPI treatments en route and opt for other gastric dressings.