Keeping Your Gut Healthy in Beijing
China is an amazing country in so many ways, especially when it comes to its culinary diversity. But, eating our way through local delicacies, we’ve all had that one really bad experience that has left us with major regrets about finishing that undercooked mystery meat at that dodgy restaurant.
Some people, however, seem more prone to these digestive assaults than others. They’re the ones who will be out of action for a few days after a bad meal, while their friends get away with just a bit of bloating.
Whether you’re always the one on the sidelines or you’ve been fine until now but want to make sure you stay that way, read on as Dr. Melissa Rodriguez, Naturopathic Doctor at Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU), gives us the ins and outs of maintaining good gut health in Beijing.
Don’t bug me
Coming to China, you may have noticed that people seem to get more stomach bugs than they might back in the West. Dr. Rodriguez posits that this is linked to the different standards for food handling and food safety in China.
“For someone who’s new here,” she says, “they’re possibly going to be exposed to different types of bacteria in the food. Their body’s not used to it. Somebody who grew up here will have been exposed to that from a young age, so it’s nothing new.” The question is, what can you do to make sure you're one of the people who doesn’t get sick as easily from food that has been prepared in a less than ideal way? Fill your gut with other bacteria.
There are two types of bacteria that can be present in your gut: good bacteria, also called probiotics, and bad bacteria, which can make you sick. “The good bacteria in our gut help to keep it healthy,” explains Dr. Rodriguez. “If we eat a food that has harmful bacteria in it, but we have good levels of probiotics in our gut, then the good bacteria overpower the harmful bacteria and keeps it in balance.”
Deploy the troops
One good way to up your chances of getting through your China adventure without major digestive issues is by increasing the good bacteria in your gut. This can be by done by taking probiotic supplements in pill form, or by increasing your intake of dietary probiotics.
“In recent years, we’ve studied probiotics a lot more, and one thing that we’ve determined is that variety is key. People who have different types of bacteria in their gut are healthier than people who have more limited amounts.” The best way to get variety is by consuming different sources of food with probiotics in them. Dr. Rodriguez recommends kimchi, kombucha, kefir, yogurt, miso, or refrigerated pickles and sauerkraut.
Upping your intake of healthy bacteria is easy enough to do, and both healthy people and people with digestive issues may find it helpful. It’s also a good idea to try to repopulate your gut with probiotics after taking antibiotics, after a bout of food poisoning, or if you think your healthy bacteria may have come under attack from pesticides or contaminated food.
Keep on moving
Aside from trying to keep your levels of good bacteria high enough to fight off any infections, there are a few other things you can be doing to optimize your gut health. “One really important thing that people often neglect is bowel movements,” says Dr. Rodriguez. “We don’t really think about pooping that often, but it’s something that we need to do at least once a day.”
She explains that if we don’t move our bowels once a day, our intestinal tract, and especially our large intestine, will keep doing what it does best – absorbing. “If that stuff is just sitting there, you’re basically just reabsorbing things. Your body doesn’t know it's already gotten everything it needs from it. It just keeps absorbing water and waste material. After three or four days, you’ve already reabsorbed a lot of stuff, potentially, that you really didn’t want.”
If you've done your best to populate your gut with good bacteria and keep things moving, but something still seems a bit off, it might be time to see a doctor to determine if something else is going on. Dr. Rodriguez is a naturopathic doctor specializing in integrative medicine. She can help treat chronic issues with natural remedies. To make an appointment with her, call our service center at 4008-919191.
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