Is He gut different than She gut? Bonus: Simple tips to improve digestive health

Adam and Eve, Mars Versus Venus; gender differences are mythical, interesting and very fascinating. This subject has been a great discussion topic in social, entertainment and scientific communities.

But is he different than she?

Over the years, I have observed that Men socialize by ridiculing and insulting each other.  For example my closest friends often address me as owl, Shit-hole, and a few other labels that may not be quite appropriate to share with you all. The closer the friendship, more abusive and offensive the tag becomes. They don’t mean it. But that’s how men bond- by being rude and impertinent.

On the other hand women mingle by complimenting each other.  Hello cutie, Hi pretty, what’s up hottie and so forth. I think they don’t mean it either. But just want to be elegant and proper in their interactions.

Today, I am going to focus on biological differences in the digestive systems of men and women. Is He gut different than She gut?

1. I will start from the top. The first part of our digestive system is esophagus or food pipe. There is a small sphincter or a door (called lower esophageal sphincter, or LES), which is located at the end of the food-pipe where it enters the stomach. It helps to protect the food pipe from the stomach acid. In women, this door opens and closes more forcefully than in men. Thus women usually have lesser symptoms or complications from reflux and heartburn as compared to men.
2. Males also produce more stomach acid than females and thus carry a higher risk of stomach ulcers.
3. Women have longer colon than men. A female large intestine is approximately 10 cm longer than that of a male. Not only it is longer but also more sluggish than a man’s colon. Thus making constipation more common in women than men.
4. Hormonal fluctuations in women also impact the gut function and can cause fluid retention and bloating.
5. Finally, the chief task of our gut is to propel the ingested food, break down the nutrients, assimilate them and egest the waste. A research study confirmed gender disparity even for this basic function. Women took significantly longer to digest food (about 47 hours) than men (about 33 hours).

Now it is the time for few tips to take care of our digestive health. These are the tips that I share with all my patients irrespective of their main complaint or gender.

Digestive Health Tips: These recommendations are evidence-based, devoid of any side effects, are quite inexpensive and just require a small bit of commitment.

1. Eat enough fiber in the form of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If for any reason you can’t eat enough fiber-rich foods, then take 1-2 teaspoonful of psyllium husk with a glass of water at bedtime.
2. Don’t eat too late at night. The last meal of the day should preferably be at least 3-4 hours prior to going to bed. It should also be the lightest meal of the day both in volume and fat content. Avoid bedtime snacking.
3. Avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners. Stay away from juices and fizzy drinks. But drink at least 7-8 glasses of water a day.
4. Exercise is important. I recommend 120-150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. It helps to improve circulation, maintain weight and improve gut flora.
5. Sleep tight and reduce stress. This is the most vital element to maintain good overall health and not just gut health. Aim to have uninterrupted 7 hours of sleep daily. Combat stress via exercise, yoga, meditation, art therapy or journaling. I will dedicate another post to this last tip since I feel stress is highly prevalent and handling it appropriately is critical.

Finally, I will end the post by restating a gender disparity “woman have a bad habit of holding too long while men have a bad habit of letting go too easily” I mean in terms of digestive processes- What did you think?

As I strive for continuous improvement, I sincerely call upon you to please subscribe, share, comment and advise. Thank you very much for reading, keep smiling.