World Gut Health Day丨It is important to learn these healthy “gut knowledge”!

Expert of this article: Cheng KT, Master of General Medicine, Peking University Health Science Center

This article was reviewed by Meng Qingcheng, chief physician of general surgery at Beijing Aerospace Center Hospital (Peking University School of Aerospace Clinical Medicine), associate professor at Peking University, third-batch health science popularization expert in Beijing, doctor of medicine

May 29th of each year is World Gut Health Day initiated by the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO).

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It should be noted that in recent years, the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in my country have been on the rise, and colorectal cancer has become the second most common cancer in my country (after lung cancer). According to the latest data released by the National Cancer Center in 2022, there were 408,000 new cases of colorectal cancer in China in 2016, with an incidence rate of 29.51/100,000, 195,600 deaths, and a mortality rate of 14.14/100,000.

Screenshot of Weibo hot search

Today, many related topics such as #Woman diagnosed with colorectal cancer after suffering bloody stools for a year# and #7 out of 10 in a family of 10 diagnosed with colorectal cancer# have become hot searches on Weibo, attracting people's high attention.

So, let us learn about the “intestinal knowledge” related to intestinal health.

How important is gut health?

The intestine consists of the large intestine and the small intestine, of which the large intestine includes the cecum, appendix, colon, rectum and anal canal, while the small intestine includes the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Disease classification includes infection, inflammation, tumor, immunity, functional disorder, etc.

If we arrange and combine different parts of the intestine with disease classifications, we will derive a variety of intestinal disease spectra, such as enteritis, intestinal polyps, colorectal cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and other common diseases that are well known to the public.

It is worth noting that the intestines are closely connected to the overall health of the human body. The intestines are a "nutrition supply station" that performs digestion and absorption functions. The nutrients absorbed by the intestines are the raw materials and power to maintain the metabolism of all organs in the body.

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The intestine is the largest immune organ in the human body. There are hundreds of trillions of normal parasites in the intestine, which, together with the countless lymphocytes in the intestinal wall, take the role of "health gatekeeper" and work together to resist foreign invaders such as pathogens, toxins, allergens, and carcinogens in food. When the immune barrier function of this "outpost" is damaged, the risk of infection, inflammation, and damage to various tissues throughout the body, including the intestine, increases.

Studies have shown that reduced diversity of intestinal flora may also be associated with inflammatory bowel disease, psoriatic arthritis, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, atopic eczema, celiac disease, obesity, arteriosclerosis, neuropsychiatric disorders, etc.

What are the warning signs of colorectal cancer?

Risk factors for colorectal cancer include family history of colorectal cancer, improper lifestyle and diet (excessive intake of red meat and processed meat, smoking, excessive drinking), diseases (diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease), etc.

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Early colorectal cancer may be asymptomatic, and it is not easy for doctors and patients to detect it at a glance, but it may also cause some alarm signals: changes in bowel habits or stool characteristics (increased bowel movement frequency, thinner stools, bloody stools, mucous stools), local abdominal symptoms (abdominal pain, abdominal distension, abdominal mass), and systemic symptoms (anemia, fatigue, low fever, weight loss).

What lifestyle habits are destroying our intestines?

"Diseases come from the mouth." When eating bad habits occur, the first thing to be affected is the intestinal health. Unclean food and overnight food may contain high concentrations of pathogenic bacteria, which can easily cause intestinal infections.

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High-sugar, high-fat (especially saturated fatty acids and animal fat) foods, high-protein foods (especially fried), and pickled foods are prone to produce carcinogenic metabolites. For every 50-gram increase in daily intake of processed meat and every 100-gram increase in daily intake of red meat, the risk of colorectal cancer increases by 16% and 12%, respectively.

A diet low in dietary fiber can cause intestinal flora imbalance and increase the contact time between intestinal toxins or carcinogens and the intestinal mucosa.

Each organ in the human body needs to take what it needs from the metabolic products of a balanced diet. The metabolism of intestinal cells also needs to absorb and store a variety of nutrients to meet their own needs. For people who are picky eaters or partial eaters (such as frequent consumption of spicy and irritating foods), have irregular diets or improper diets (replacing staple foods with snacks), it is easy to cause malnutrition, constipation or diarrhea, and intestinal colic, so these people are also prone to intestinal health problems.

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Smoking, drinking, and lack of exercise may also have a negative impact on the intestinal flora of healthy people, causing a decrease in the diversity of intestinal flora. Intestinal flora disorders can also cause sugar and lipid energy metabolism disorders and cause obesity, which is related to a variety of intestinal diseases such as colorectal cancer.

Long-term use of antibiotics and alcoholism may also disrupt the dynamic balance between intestinal probiotics, conditional pathogens, and harmful bacteria, causing intestinal flora imbalance and reducing intestinal defense function.

How to maintain intestinal health?

Actively treating intestinal diseases, maintaining a regular schedule, maintaining a healthy weight, not abusing antibiotics and other drugs or health products, quitting smoking and drinking, and maintaining an optimistic and positive attitude are the basic prerequisites for maintaining intestinal health.

At the same time, reasonable physical exercise and aspirin use are protective factors for colorectal cancer, but the use of any medication requires a balance between benefits and risks, and routine medication is not recommended for the general population.

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Although we do not advocate pursuing picky eating behavior in the traditional sense, we can become "picky eaters" in an alternative sense - choosing healthy foods and good eating habits:

Eat three meals a day at regular times and in regular amounts, avoid overeating, and do not skip meals (especially breakfast);

Avoid eating unclean, spoiled food, and reduce the intake of overnight food;

Maintain a proper dietary structure, ensure the intake of dietary fiber (fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains), reduce the intake of red meat, pickled foods, high-salt and fried foods, and the intake of dairy products is also a protective factor for colorectal cancer.

In addition, even if you are busy and tired of epidemic prevention, you should arrange health assessments and screenings reasonably.

According to the recommendations of the 2021 "Guidelines for Colorectal Cancer Screening, Early Diagnosis and Treatment in China", the general population should begin colorectal cancer risk assessment at the age of 40, and people with medium-low risk and high risk should receive colorectal cancer screening between the ages of 50-75 and 40-75, respectively. Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening, and other screening methods include fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy, CT examination, etc.

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