Every 29th May, the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) celebrates World Digestive Health Day (WDHD): the culmination of a yearlong, worldwide, public health campaign focused on increasing general public awareness of prevention, prevalence, diagnosis, management and treatment of digestive health diseases and disorders. The organisation hopes that through the provision of high quality, accessible and independent education and training, the care and treatment for those living with these disorders can be improved.
As most of us know by now, our gut health is extremely important to our overall well-being. Our digestive systems take responsibility for the most critical functions of the body’s digestive and immune systems, housing beneficial bacteria that can affect our body’s vitamin and mineral absorbency, hormone regulation, digestion, vitamin production, immune response, and ability to eliminate toxins, not to mention your overall mental health. (1)
The food we eat plays an important role in your gut health. One of the greatest benefits of adding chia to your diet is that it provides high levels of fibre to help keep your digestive system functioning at its best. As our resident dietician Emma Morris says, “Chia contains the perfect ratio of soluble and insoluble fibre which is needed to keep our digestive system healthy.”
Our resident dietitian, Emma Morris, explains that “soluble fibre forms a gel in water, while insoluble fibre remains close to its original form throughout the digestive path. Both types of fibre are vital for healthy digestion – the soluble fibre helps to moderate blood glucose levels and lower cholesterol while the insoluble fibre provides roughage, clearing out toxins as it passes through the digestive tract lowering the risk of colon cancer”.
Here are a list of our favourite high fibre recipes you can try to show your digestive health some TLC:
Wild Rice Salad with a Chia Turmeric Cashew Paste
(1) http://www.navacenter.com/community/article-library/browse/2015/06/01/your-body’s-second-brain—the-importance-of-gut-health
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash
