A comprehensive suite of recommendations that facilitates a comprehensive functioning of the digestive system can be found at Dr J's Biohack For Optimal Digestion And Detox.
Illuminating as always. A couple of points may need clarification, though. You suggest dietary fibre to aid in motility, but that is a huge category including many carbohydrates, which may or may not be an essential macronutrient, and may not aid in motility at all. Maybe some clarification is needed on that question? Soluble and insoluble fibre is an important distinction.
If a person's digestive function is suboptimal, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted with warm water 20 minutes before a meal is helpful, as are digestive enzymes. Exercise is also recommended, whereas immediately turning to pre or probiotics without proper research/guidance can actually worsen some conditions.
Definitely, digestive enzymes and probiotics are useful as well - we'd need to get large particles broken down into smaller bite-sized pieces, and as you say too, probiotics come in many different species and the improper use of them may not necessarily be good for us either.
By saying “improper use of probiotics” what do you mean? Kind of scared because I just got some probiotics off the shelf and was planning to start them.
There wouldn't be anything inherently "wrong" about using any probiotic products. They're not going to cause outright harm or death to anyone.
However, some products may have inactive cell cultures - won't kill anyone, but at the same time they're useless and won't help anyone i.e. it's a waste of money to get those products.
Other products may have beneficial bacterial strains that may not last long inside the gut - if they can't latch on to the walls of the intestines, they'll get flushed out into the toilet pretty quickly.
"Improper use" would refer to the consumption of such products without due consideration as to which species are beneficial to the human body AND can stay in the body the longest.
I have been searching;mostly in vain ;
for the digestible science that you offer. You are a mind of beauty and a joy in the world of sharing.
Illuminating as always. A couple of points may need clarification, though. You suggest dietary fibre to aid in motility, but that is a huge category including many carbohydrates, which may or may not be an essential macronutrient, and may not aid in motility at all. Maybe some clarification is needed on that question? Soluble and insoluble fibre is an important distinction.
If a person's digestive function is suboptimal, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted with warm water 20 minutes before a meal is helpful, as are digestive enzymes. Exercise is also recommended, whereas immediately turning to pre or probiotics without proper research/guidance can actually worsen some conditions.
Hi Jo,
Dietary fibre consists of indigestible carbohydrates - I make the distinction between digestible and indigestible here: https://thethinkingscientist.substack.com/p/sugar-is-a-digestible-carbohydrate. Soluble fibre absorbs fluids and can be better at reducing digestible glucose absorption into the blood.
Definitely, digestive enzymes and probiotics are useful as well - we'd need to get large particles broken down into smaller bite-sized pieces, and as you say too, probiotics come in many different species and the improper use of them may not necessarily be good for us either.
By saying “improper use of probiotics” what do you mean? Kind of scared because I just got some probiotics off the shelf and was planning to start them.
There wouldn't be anything inherently "wrong" about using any probiotic products. They're not going to cause outright harm or death to anyone.
However, some products may have inactive cell cultures - won't kill anyone, but at the same time they're useless and won't help anyone i.e. it's a waste of money to get those products.
Other products may have beneficial bacterial strains that may not last long inside the gut - if they can't latch on to the walls of the intestines, they'll get flushed out into the toilet pretty quickly.
"Improper use" would refer to the consumption of such products without due consideration as to which species are beneficial to the human body AND can stay in the body the longest.