The colon is a long, tube-like organ that makes up most of the large intestine within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
The large intestine is connected at one end to the small intestine and at the other end to the rectum, making it an important part of the digestive process. It is responsible for absorbing water and nutrients from undigested food and forming it into solid stools (faeces) before defecation.
Many conditions can affect the health of your colon, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and colon cancer. It's important to get screened for colon cancer regularly and take steps to keep your colon healthy.Along with the anus and rectum, the large intestine is part of the large intestine, which is part of the digestive system. Here's what to know about the anatomy of the large intestine:
Structure: The large intestine is a muscular, tubular organ and is usually about five feet long. Wider than the small intestine, the large intestine consists of four parts: the ascending colon (on the right side of the abdomen), the transverse colon (which travels from right to left), the descending colon (which carries food and waste. Left side downwards) and the sigmoid colon downwards.Location: The uppermost part of the large intestine is the cecum, which is a pouch just below the ileum (the last part of the small intestine). The cecum is located on the lower right side of the abdomen. The colon then turns to the left side of the abdomen before the sigmoid colon empties into the rectum, followed by the anus.
Anatomic variations: A redundant colon, also known as a tortuous colon, has multiple loops, bends, or twists because it is abnormally long and dilated. This can cause abdominal pain and excessive gas, as well as constipation and possibly intestinal obstruction.When you eat, food moves down your esophagus (the tube connecting your throat to your stomach) and into your stomach, where it becomes liquid. Next, the undigested food is broken down by digestive enzymes in the small intestine.
This is where the large intestine comes from. Partially digested food passes from the lower part of the small intestine to the cecum in the upper part of the large intestine (colon). The large intestine absorbs water from food, which gives it the shape of stool. After stool passes through the rectum and anus, it is expelled as a bowel movement.In addition to aiding in the digestive process, the colon also helps your body maintain its electrolyte balance. The large intestine absorbs fluids and electrolytes—minerals that have an electrical charge—from digested food, and slowly releases them into the rest of the body.
There are several different conditions that affect colonic health and function, including:
Diverticulitis: Diverticulitis involves inflammation or infection of the diverticula – small, bulging pouches in the lining of the colon. Symptoms include left-sided abdominal pain, fever, chills, vomiting, rectal bleeding, and severe constipation. It is usually treated with antibioticsColon polyps: Polyps — small areas of abnormal tissue growth — sometimes develop in the lining of the colon. Most colonic polyps are benign, but some can lead to colon cancer. Symptoms of colonic polyps include bloody stools, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and constipation.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder that causes symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating and pain. Anyone can develop IBS, but it is especially common in women under the age of 45.
Ulcerative colitis: Ulcerative colitis (UC), a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causes ulcers to develop inside.Colon and rectum. Symptoms—which can include abdominal pain, blood and pus in the stool, diarrhea, anemia, fatigue, weight loss, and loss of appetite—usually appear before age 30.
Colon cancer: Colon cancer, or colon cancer, causes symptoms such as changes in bowel movements, blood in the stool, bloating, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, and abdominal pain. Risk factors include a history of colonic polyps, age over 50, smoking, obesity and certain genetic variants. Treatment usually involves surgery to remove the malignant tissue.The following procedures allow health care providers to evaluate the health and function of your colon:
Colonoscopy: During a colonoscopy, a healthcare provider inserts a long, thin tube attached to a small camera into your anus and up to your rectum and colon to look for polyps and other abnormalities. goes This procedure usually takes 30-60 minutes. This can be done while you are sedated or under anesthesia.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy: In a flexible sigmoidoscopy, your sigmoid colon (lower part of the large intestine) and rectum. However, it usually only takes about 20 minutes and does not require anesthesia.
The recommendation for most people is to start regular colonoscopies at age 45 to screen for colon cancer and polyps. If you are at high risk for colon cancer, your healthcare provider may recommend that you get tested earlier.
There are a few ways to reduce your risk of colon cancer and other colon diseases. Lifestyle and diet changes that can help keep your colon healthy include:Stay hydrated: Drinking plenty of water helps speed up digestion and reduce the risk of chronic constipation. This allows your colon to flush out toxins and work more efficiently.
Eating enough fiber: Eating a high-fiber diet helps control the symptoms of many colon diseases, including IBS and diverticulitis. Increase your fiber intake by eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.
Reducing your red meat intake: Research shows that eating high amounts of red and processed meat can increase your risk.Various cancers, including colon and rectal cancer. Switching to other meats or a more plant-based diet may lower your risk.
Exercise regularly: Physical activity helps regulate the digestive system, allowing food and waste to move more easily through the stomach. A study has shown that regular exercise can prevent 15% of colon cancer cases.
Quit smoking: Studies show that smoking is associated with a higher risk of both colonic and colorectal polyps.Cancer Quit smoking as soon as possible, and if necessary, contact your health care provider for help and resources.
The colon is a long, tube-like organ that makes up most of the large intestine. After food passes through the stomach and small intestine, the large intestine works to remove liquid from partially digested food and turn it into solid waste. Keeping your colon healthy is key to maintaining proper digestive function.Common diseases of the colon include colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, colonic polyps, and ulcerative colitis. Staying hydrated, eating a high-fiber diet, and quitting smoking can help prevent and manage these conditions.Have you ever felt "butterflies" in your stomach when you are excited or nervous? Or suddenly feel hungry after a pizza commercial comes on TV? Well, that's your gut communicating with your brain.
The gut has its own microbiome, a community of microscopic organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, that live within our intestinal tract. There are also four other major microbiomes in the body: respiratory, skin, urogenital, and oral. Collectively, they make up the human microbiome, the trillions of microbiota that live in and on the body.Your microbiome is essential to your health. But what exactly is it? Think of it like a miniature ecosystem, says Justin Sonenberg, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
"A good analogy is thinking of a rainforest—many species of many shapes and sizes coming together, but on a microscopic scale, to form these complex communities with different body sites," he says. they say.
(Chronic fatigue syndrome is a puzzle. Your gut microbiome may hold the key.)The importance of these tiny worlds cannot be overstated. They help protect the body against invading pathogens, activate the immune system, and digest food, to name just a few functions. Most gut microbes are helpful, while others are harmful. But even favorable microbiota can cause problems, like a yeast infection or disease, if they're out of balance.
Of the major microbiomes, the gut is the most studied and thus, understood. Here's what we know about how it affects your health—and whether it's possible to influence it.
The gut microbiome flaunts its diversity in this sample of human feces, which includes an enormous bacterium that's about 50 times longer than E. coli. Scientists are learning the many ways these microbes affect our health, weight, mood, and even personalities.
Micrograph by MARTIN OEGGERLI, Nat Geo Image Collection
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What is the gut microbiome?
The gut microbiome is made up of all the microbiota that live in our intestinal tracts, including the stomach. Most, however, hang out in the colon, the longest part of the large intestine.
These minuscule organisms, especially bacteria, help the body break down carbohydrates, proteins, and sugars, into useful nutrients and process fiber in the colon.
"Everything we eat and drink and we don't digest and absorb goes down through our intestinal tract to our distal intestine, to our colon, where the majority of the microbes are and becomes food for the microbiome," says Gail Cresci, a microbiome. researcher in the department of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition with Cleveland Clinic Children's.
More complex relationships between gut microbiota and health exist too. Numerous studies have shown that the excess or lack of certain bacteria in the gut have a strong correlation to the onset of diabetes; consuming fiber, for instance, can increase microbiota diversity, reduce blood glucose levels, and help people maintain a healthy weight.
When the gut microbiome is balanced, however, "the bacteria produce a lot of beneficial molecules and metabolites that are known to be helpful in the body," Cresci says. For example, vitamin K, known as the "blood clotting vitamin," is predominantly produced by gut microbes. Folic acid, which helps our body make new cells like skin, hair, and nails, is also made by the gut microbiome.(Why do some people like to exercise? It could be their microbiome.)
Everyone's definition of a "balanced" gut is a little different, which is what makes it such a complex part of the body. According to Poorna Kashyap, professor of medicine and physiology at the Mayo Clinic, although a healthy gut has high levels of microbiota diversity, there is no universal marker of gut health. What is "normal" for one may not be for another.Escherichia coli, the yellow rods pictured here, can cause food poisoning, but most strains are not only harmless, but beneficial. E. coli live in the human intestines and perform essential functions, such as making vitamins K and B12 and eliminating disease-causing bacteria.
Micrograph by Martin Oigerli, NetGeo Image Collection
Please respect copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.The gut-brain superhighway
Another complicating factor of the gut microbiome is its connection to the brain, known as the "gut-brain axis." And there is a lot of emerging research on this topic.
The gut provides between 90 and 95 percent of the body's serotonin, which transmits messages between nerve cells — like the feeling of butterflies — and helps regulate bodily functions such as sleep, mood and digestion. The gut microbiota also helps produce other neurotransmitters and chemicals such as dopamine and tryptamine, which play a role in anxiety and depression."That's a total pharmacy over there. It's like a little drug factory in our guts," Sonnenberg says. "There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of different drug-like compounds being produced by our gut microbes and absorbed into our circulation."
The gut also has its own nervous system, the enteric system, often referred to as the body's "second brain." It contains many of the same neurotransmitters as the brain, which can help sense pain and activate the immune system. It also moves food through the digestive system."It can work completely independent of the brain, if it needs to," says Kashyap. "If I cut out your whole intestine and put it on the table, it would still move."
The connection between the gut and the brain has been clear for longer than humans have been studying it, Kashyap says—for example, think about how some people experience diarrhea when they're nervous. or are stressed or others become constipated when they are depressed. . .Now, studies show that various neurodegenerative disorders, including autism, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's, are all linked to dysbiosis, or an imbalance of the gut microbiota, according to Creasy.
However, researchers are still figuring out how the highway between the gut and the brain works and whether the effects are causal, or just correlations. For example, we know that people with depression or other mood disorders often experience constipation.But does gut dysbiosis cause it or does mood disorder cause gut dysbiosis? That's what's completely unknown," says Chrissy.
Sonnenberg agrees. "We're still right at the beginning of understanding this," he says.
How can you improve your microbiome?
If the gut microbiome is critical to various aspects of our physical well-being, how do we maintain a healthy one—or rebalance it after the stomach flu or too many slices of cake?Fiber rapidly, which does not leave many nutrients behind for use by the gut microbiota, while undigested sugar can feed pathogenic bacteria. Meanwhile, antibiotics can kill the good bacteria along with the bad.
But according to Creasy, the gut microbiome is resilient and will bounce back relatively quickly if the person resumes a healthy diet or stops taking medications.This also means that only a long-term healthy diet can truly maintain or improve your gut microbiome. Experts recommend eating foods rich in fiber, such as complex carbohydrates found in grains, vegetables, and legumes. You should also include fermented foods, such as kimchi, kefir, and sauerkraut, which contain their own probiotics—live microorganisms that can increase microbiota diversity in the gut. And keep sugar low and mix it with fiber, like eating your fruit instead of juicing it.However, the jury is still out on manufactured probiotics, a multibillion industry often used as a one-size-fits-all for our diverse microbiomes. The reality is much more complex and it is difficult to coax the gut to accept probiotics.
(Prebiotics, Probiotics, Postbiotics - What's the Difference?)
"In that situation, probiotics are great for a kid who's just transferred to a new high school, but they don't know anyone. They're going to be ostracized from that group because all the other microbes in that community are different from each other. Addicted,” explains Kashyap. .In fact, clinical trials of probiotics as a treatment for most diseases have shown no benefit, according to Kashyap, citing guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association.
There are also many different types and levels of quality in the probiotics market. Navigating that can be confusing and overwhelming for the user. Probiotics are also not considered a drug in the US, so most are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration.If you are going to take a prebiotic or probiotic supplement, always consult a doctor first. According to Cressey, they can be harmful for some people, such as those taking immunosuppressants. If you do decide to take supplements, she recommends using an online resource, such as consumerlab.com, probiotics.com, or the National Institutes of Health website, to research the different types and see what Whether they are FDA approved.
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