Diet and Intestinal Health: A Connection

This assignment delves into the critical relationship between diet and intestinal health. It examines how various dietary components, such as fiber, fats, and probiotics, influence the composition and function of the gut microbiota. The text also explores the consequences of dietary disruptions on intestinal health, including increased risks of chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, and diabetes. Ultimately, it emphasizes the importance of a balanced diet for promoting optimal gut health and overall well-being.

Running head: DIETS AND INTESTINAL HEALTH
DIETS AND INTESTINAL HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

1DIETS AND INTESTINAL HEALTH
Risk of increase chronic diseases as a result of environmental factors such as diets and
microbiota changes and mechanistic understanding of diets on intestine
The human gut microbiota had been a very popular topic of research among the
scientists. The normal gut microbiota affects the human physiology, metabolism, immune
function and the nutrition (Albenberg and Wu. 2014). It has been found that the human gut micro
biota helps the host by providing protection against the pathogen, it helps in nutrition, it helps to
maintain the wholeness of the mucous membrane of the intestine. It plays an important role in
the immune system by modulating the systemic immune cells. It has been found that the gut
micro biota helps in the digestion of the complex carbohydrates. They are broken down by the
enzymes secreted by the gut micro biota.
Disruption in the gut microbiota may lead to irritable bowel movement, inflammatory
bowel disease, which is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. UC is
characterized by inflammation and the ulceration in the lining of the stomach. Reports have
suggested that it is due to the interaction between the host genetics and the microbial population
of the gut. The inflammation can lead to chronic gastrointestinal diseases (Albenberg and Wu.
2014). It has been found that the gut microbiota regulates the intestinal physiology by altering
the expression of the host gene. Disruption in the intestinal microbiota can be due to the diets.
The silver nanoparticles used in the food industry can cause disruption in the microbiota.
The dietary silver nano particles can harm the gut microbiota.

2DIETS AND INTESTINAL HEALTH
Different forms of diet also help increase some chronic diseases like diabetes, heart diseases.
Fatty foods lead to increased rate of cholesterol which can increase the chance of obesity, heart
diseases. Diets rich in fatty foods may cause an increased level of the serum cholesterol level.
Food rich is saturated fatty acid may have an increased risk of having heart attack. Diets rich in
fats also increase the risk of colon and rectal cancers. Eating bread and other refined flour can
increase the risk of developing diabetes. Packaged food containing trans fat also increases the
risk of cholesterol and diabetes.
Thus it can be concluded that a proper balanced diet can reduce the risk of the chronic
illnesses. Food supplements like the probiotics can be consumed to maintain the gut micriobiota
to ensure proper digestion, good immunity and health (Rajilić-Stojanović et al. 2015).
Diets in general and how does it affect the intestinal health
A good health is associated with a good healthy diet. A proper diet should contain all the
essential nutrients in right quantity. A proper balance diet is the key to good intestinal health. A
healthy diet should be able to provide the body with essential nutrients. It should contain
adequate amount of the essential amino acids. It should contain the right amount of essential
fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The nutrients that are required for a good diet can be obtained
for the plant sources as well as the animal sources (Power et al. 2014). A healthy diet ensures to
meet the energy needs of the people. A healthy diet should be able to provide nutrition without
any toxic effects.
Diet will vary depending upon the age, sex and the profession in which he is in. For
example, a labourer would need more calorigenic food than vitamins as he will be requiring
more energy and strength to do his work; therefore he requires more carbohydrate type of food.

3DIETS AND INTESTINAL HEALTH
Again a pregnant woman, a growing child and an elderly person would require more amount of
proteinaceous food, as proteins is a body building food and it helps in the growth of the cells and
helps in the repair of the damaged tissues of the body. A proper balanced diet reduces the risk of
heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer and many such chronic diseases.
A poor diet can lead to many complications in our intestinal health. For intestine to
function properly and have a proper bowel movement, diets should have enough dietary fibers
(Power et al. 2014). Fibres serve as roughage and provide bulk to the intestinal content for a
proper bowel movement. Increased constipation may increase the chance of the diverticular
diseases. Diverticulitis can become complicated and increase the chance of hospital admission.
Eating of fats and cholesterol containing food may increase the risk of gall stones. Furthermore
foods like probiotics and xenobiotics helps in maintain the gut microbial flora which helps in
maintaining the intestinal health (Goldsmith and Sartor. 2014). Thus it can be concluded that a
healthy diet rich in dietary fibers can decrease the intestinal diseases, reduce weight, overall
health and eventually giving a longer life.

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References
Albenberg, L.G. and Wu, G.D., 2014. Diet and the intestinal microbiome: associations,
functions, and implications for health and disease. Gastroenterology, 146(6), pp.1564-1572.
Goldsmith, J.R. and Sartor, R.B., 2014. The role of diet on intestinal microbiota metabolism:
downstream impacts on host immune function and health, and therapeutic implications. Journal
of gastroenterology, 49(5), pp.785-798.
Manichanh, C., Borruel, N., Casellas, F. and Guarner, F., 2012. The gut microbiota in
IBD. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 9(10), pp.599-608.
Power, S.E., O'Toole, P.W., Stanton, C., Ross, R.P. and Fitzgerald, G.F., 2014. Intestinal
microbiota, diet and health. British Journal of Nutrition, 111(3), pp.387-402.
Rajilić-Stojanović, M., Jonkers, D.M., Salonen, A., Hanevik, K., Raes, J., Jalanka, J., De Vos,
W.M., Manichanh, C., Golic, N., Enck, P. and Philippou, E., 2015. Intestinal microbiota and diet
in IBS: causes, consequences, or epiphenomena?. The American journal of
gastroenterology, 110(2), p.278.