While I love working with all things ‘digestive health’, sometimes it is just one piece of a bigger picture. This is why I love venturing out of the gut health sphere from time to time when it comes to my CPD – most recently, looking at healthy ageing.
Last month I spent a day focusing on all things ‘age’ related – getting to grips with the latest research, understanding the key role that nutrition and lifestyle can play in ageing well, and reacquainting myself with the supplements that most of us should be turning to as we age. Can you tell that I enjoyed it?!
You see, just as I recently posted on social media about the two-way interplay between gut health and the menopause, so there is a bidirectional flow between ageing and digestion.
Part 1: How ageing affects our gut health
I think most of us recognise that our bodily functions slow and reduce as we get older. From a digestive point of view this can lead to lower stomach acid and a reduced secretion of digestive enzymes to help break apart the food we eat, a slower transit time that can be a cause of constipation, and less microbial diversity. Not to mention a smaller appetite, that might mean we’re not eating enough to get all the macronutrients (carbs, protein and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that we need from our food.
Part 2: How our gut health affects ageing
The flip side is that having good digestion can influence how well we age. Having optimal nutrient status is key to healthy ageing – and being able to extract everything we need from the food we eat plays a crucial role in this.
In addition, studies have shown that the gut microbiome (the collection of trillions of gut bacteria living within our colon) changes the way we age. In some of these studies they have conducted faecal microbiome transplants to show that the altered microbiome directly affects biomarkers for ageing. Ways in which it does this may include reducing inflammation, improving immunity, activating phytochemical in the foods we eat, helping with detoxification and supporting metabolic health. Unfortunately, as I’ve mentioned above, ageing is linked to a loss of microbial diversity, making it even more important to focus on this before it’s too late!
What we can do to support healthy ageing
The good news is that the same advice you’ll have heard from me many times before works just as well to support the microbiome as we age:
- Eat 30 different plant foods a week – with a focus on vegetables, legumes, herbs, spices, nuts and seeds, and one or two pieces of fruit each day
- Enjoy a variety of brightly-coloured plant foods amongst the 30 – think about eating the rainbow every day
- Avoid ultra-processed foods, including refined sugars
- Include prebiotic (garlic, onions, cooked and cooled pasta, rice, potatoes) and probiotic (kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, live yoghurt) foods daily
- Support stress
- Prioritise good sleep
And don’t forget to get in touch, or book a health review if you are at all worried about the ageing process. There are some key interventions to address the main hallmarks of ageing, and it’s never too late to start!
Fire cider