Digestive System and Physical Activity

Tips for countering issues related to sedentary lifestyle and the digestive system."

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When it comes to sedentary lifestyle and its effects, thoughts are often directed towards various aspects, among which the physical aspect is certainly predominant. Unfortunately, there are many other issues that can arise, or worsen, due to an inactive life: diabetes, heart problems, overweight/obesity, etc. In addition to all this, there is a very important aspect that is often underestimated: that related to the digestive system.

Speaking of the digestive system, it is necessary to take a step back, remembering that it is a set of organs and structures aimed at taking in and assimilating food, eliminating everything that has not been digested. It is an extremely vast and complex system that starts from the mouth and reaches the large intestine, involving organs such as the stomach, liver, pancreas, intestines, etc.

Western lifestyle has increasingly led towards a sedentary and inactive life. Furthermore, recent events have contributed to reducing the opportunities and necessities of moving, further accentuating the effects of sedentary behavior.

In terms of the digestive system, all of this has contributed to increasing the incidence of three major issues:

• Intestinal peristalsis

• Decreased intestinal motility

• Alteration of intestinal microbiota

Intestinal peristalsis refers to all those involuntary contractions performed by the digestive system with the aim of digesting and assimilating nutrients, expelling waste substances. A common effect of sedentary behavior is to slow down these contractions, leading to a series of consequences, including:

• Heartburn, nausea, bloating, discomfort in the central abdominal area, etc. Very often, all this is caused by poor digestion of food, which leads to a reduced ability to assimilate nutrients after meals. Intense burning sensation in the chest and/or stomach, sensation of regurgitation. Classic symptoms of acid reflux, involuntary rise of gastric juices and part of the stomach contents. A possible cause is the presence of food stagnation in the stomach
  

Intestinal motility involves a weakening of the tone of some muscles that make up the digestive system. Among these are the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and the perineum (located in the lower part of the pelvis). Their function is to allow the passage of food along the entire digestive system, and of feces present inside the intestine.

Among the most common consequences of an issue related to intestinal motility are:

• Constipation: It consists of difficulty in evacuation due to the hardness of the feces, or a very low frequency of evacuation (less than 3 times a week).

• Irritable bowel syndrome: a chronic condition that causes intestinal pain.
  

Intestinal microbiota is better known as INTESTINAL BACTERIAL FLORA: a combination of bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and parasites that populate our intestines performing important functions such as digestive and metabolic, immune system protection, regulation of intestinal motility, elimination of toxic substances, etc. A modification of it leads to what is called INTESTINAL DYSBIOSIS, with consequences such as constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, but also lowering of immune defenses, nervousness, insomnia, mood changes, and anxiety states.

Intestinal dysbiosis is also associated with diseases of the digestive system such as inflammatory bowel diseases or what is commonly called NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER (non-alcoholic steatotic hepatoapthy).

The issues related to sedentary lifestyle and the digestive system are obviously many others. Among these, there is an increased risk of certain cancers, such as colon cancer, esophageal cancer, and gastric tumors.

To avoid what has just been described, before resorting to pharmacological therapy, always under the advice of your treating physician, it is important to act on your lifestyle. Small daily gestures, such as walking while talking on the phone, taking the stairs (at least downhill), checking your daily number of steps and trying to gradually increase it, etc. Although these may seem like simple gestures, they are fundamental to help our body function better, literally healing us, or greatly improving the symptoms of the diseases we have discussed.

Summing it all up in 4 points, we could say that:

• The benefits on our body are countless, and most are not related to the physical aspect.

• The digestive system is made up of a large number of organs and structures, each of which is affected by the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

• An active lifestyle is able to attenuate, or even eliminate, many of the previously mentioned problems.

• There is no need to do strenuous workouts every day, just be a bit more active in everyday life, taking advantage of gestures and creating habits that can slowly, but steadily, lead us towards a more active lifestyle.

Written by ESSEREBENESSERE Health Management

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