Digestion and essential microbiota for the digestion process.
Digestion and microbiota....
The moment the brain knows that we are about to start eating, it starts sending signals to the digestive system. Saliva secretion and different neurotransmitters, hormone and ENZYME is set in motion
Oral microbiota it has some importance in these functions, but it has nothing to do with everything that the gut microbiota does. In the stomach there is a very acidic environment which allows the first steps of digestion to begin.
pancreas produce ENZYMES digestive and ball it is poured to emulsify the fats and that food bolus called chim is formed.
From the stomach and the initial part of small intestine, a long tube measuring about six meters, chyme moves forward and nutrients are absorbed.
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How do bacteria interact with digestion?
It is assumed that, under normal conditions, a healthy intestine absorbs what we need to function well, and what cannot be absorbed goes to the colon to form faeces that we should expel in large quantities, well formed, at least once a day. No pain, no difficulty, no harshness.
Intestinal bacteria they feed mainly on carbohydrates from food. Often they do it by fermentation, but what causes problems is excess fermentation .
There are not as many bacteria in the small intestine as in the large intestine. On the other hand, the microbiota of the small intestine is highly variable depending on the type of food we consume at any given time.
Here we find bacteria of the genus Escherichia, Bacteroides, Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Steptococcus and Veillonella.
These bacteria feed on simple sugars that pass through the gut or on metabolites produced by other bacteria. And as they process food, they produce various substances that pass into the bloodstream.
Furthermore, microbiota interact with bile acids and has a significant impact on fat digestion and absorption. Some microorganisms also feed on substances of protein origin.
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Substances produced by intestinal bacteria
In the colon there are many more bacteria and in a greater variety: bifidobacteria and enterobacteria. Bacteriodes, Akkermancia, Roseburia, Ruminococcus... Everything that was not digested or absorbed in the small intestine goes to the large intestine for the bacteria at this level. During feeding, colonic bacteria also produce many substances, such as short chain acids.
The composition of the gut microbiota influences how we digest and to what extent we digest and absorb food components. Even depending on what we eat and the bacteria we have, they can produce toxic metabolites.
There are bacteria that are more efficient than others at processing food. People who have an increase in Firmicutes compared to Bacteroidetes they are more likely to be overweight or obese – and vice versa.
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The functions of polyphenols
Another important function of the microbiota is degradation of polyphenols found in food so that we can take advantage of them. Polyphenols are substances found in many plants.
They are substances with names such as: quercetin, myricetin, naringenin, epigallocatechins, apigenin or resveratrol.
Perhaps one of these substances found in foods such as green tea, cocoa, coffee, berries, grapes or pomegranate are familiar to you.
Have you noticed the news in the press and social networks about the anti-aging or anti-cancer effect of a food? Most of the time it is due to the presence of these substances.
It is true that they are beneficial to our health, but they are found in an inactive form in food and need to be transformed by the microbiota in order to take advantage of them.
For example, to obtain all the beneficial effects of the catechins present in green tea, cocoa and pomegranate we need the bacteria Bifidobacterium infantis and Clostridium coccoides.
In order for the nutrients in flaxseed, strawberries and apricots to be used, certain species of Bacteroides and Eubacterium must be present in the intestine. Even the benefits of coffee depend largely on bifidobacteria, L. gasseri and E. coli.
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Another aspect related to digestion and microbiota is related to the functioning of bile acids.
In short: LIVER uses the cholesterol of these substances and pours them into ball. Bile is stored in the gallbladder while it waits to eat a fatty meal.
When we eat, this bile flows into the small intestine, where it emulsifies fats so that we can digest and absorb them. On the one hand, bile acids have an impact on the microbiota and, on the other hand, the microbiota transforms bile salts into substances that can be reabsorbed and reused.
If this does not work properly, the absorption of fat or fat-soluble vitamins is impaired.
There are people who can have chronic diarrhea due to mismanagement of bile acids by the microbiota.
In addition, there is a receptor in cells called FXR, which has been investigated in recent years along with another GPR called TGR5.
The interaction of bile acids with these receptors regulates the metabolism of lipids, glucose and energy balance of the body: modulation of bile acids is another way in which the microbiota influences our metabolism and energy status.
To find out the imbalances in the digestion process, the types of bacteria, enzymes and bile acids for good digestion, we recommend the test Profile Plus which provides a complete picture. In addition, it analyzes a lot of intestinal markers indicated for people with irritable bowel syndrome. The test is processed at the laboratory Teletest from Barcelona.
Source: I'm at the idiot microbiota!
Author: Sari Aeponen – Doctor in biomedical sciences, specialist in internal medicine, university professor and specialist in microbiota
Translator: Daniela teaches