Gross but simple test reveals how fast your gut works – and could explain symptoms like burping, bloating or IBS

WE'VE each experienced uncomfortable digestive issues astatine immoderate constituent successful our life.

Burping and bloating are wholly mean - but a elemental test, which is alternatively gross, could explicate wherefore you get specified symptoms successful excess.

Foods are often the culprit down symptoms similar belching oregon belly pain, oregon possibly you person eaten excessively quickly, drank excessive caffeine oregon alcohol.

Your uncomfortable symptoms mightiness adjacent beryllium down to a digestive condition, similar irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

While it's 1 thought to look astatine the types of food and drink you're putting into your body, person you ever stopped to inquire however accelerated it could beryllium moving done your gut?

The velocity successful which nutrient moves done the digestive tract is precise important, arsenic it tin impact your health and good being successful galore ways, says Nick Ilott, Senior Researcher and Lead Bioinformatician, The Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies, University of Oxford.

It is known arsenic gut motbility.

Once you've chewed up and swallowed food, it begins its travel on the gastrointestinal tract - a agelong and winding pathway that begins astatine the rima and ends astatine the anus, Ilott explained successful a portion for The Conversation.

Along the mode it reaches definite organs that churn up food, digest it, sorb the nutrients, and sorb h2o and salt.

Ilott said: "This process is partly controlled by the trillions of bacteria contiguous successful our gut.

"The gut microbiome is highly important arsenic these bacteria assistance make our immune strategy and interruption down food.

"So, erstwhile we eat, we’re not conscionable feeding ourselves – we’re feeding the micro-helpers contiguous successful the intestine. To convey us, the bacteria nutrient tiny molecules called metabolites that boost our immune system and support our gut moving by stimulating the intestinal nerves truthful they declaration and determination the nutrient onwards."

Without these bacteria and their metabolites, says Ilott, our guts would beryllium little capable to determination nutrient done the gastrointestinal tract.

This could pb to a physique up of ingested material, triggering constipation and discomfort.

What's your gut transit time?

Gut transit clip is the clip it takes for nutrient to walk from 1 extremity of the gastrointestinal tract to the other.

And this tin alteration from idiosyncratic to person.

Studies person suggested it takes determination betwixt 12 and 73 hours for nutrient to walk done the assemblage - the mean being astir 23 to 24 hours.

Variations successful clip tin hap owed to gut microbiome differences betwixt people.

If idiosyncratic has a agelong gut transit time, says Ilott, bacteria successful the ample intestine nutrient antithetic metabolites - due to the fact that the bacteria successful the gut needs to beryllium fed.

These benignant of bacteria bask fibre.

Ilott said: "If gut transit clip is agelong and fibre is taking excessively agelong to scope the ample intestine, these microbial inhabitants person to power to an alternate nutrient source. So, they crook to protein.

"The power to macromolecule tin effect successful the accumulation of toxic gases leading to wellness problems specified arsenic bloating and inflammation."

There are a fig of different reasons wherefore idiosyncratic mightiness acquisition a accelerated gut transit - anxiety, inflammatory bowel illness (IBD) and IBS.

In these cases, diarrhoea tin occur, which indicated faecal substance has not spent capable clip successful the intestine, preventing capable absorption of h2o and nutrients.

Slow gut transit tin hap due to the fact that partially digested nutrient gets stuck successful the tiny intestine.

This tin origin an overgrowth of tiny intestinal bacteria and pb to symptoms similar abdominal pain, nausea and bloating.

How to trial your gut transit time

The answer...sweetcorn!

Namely called 'the sweetcorn test', it involves not eating immoderate sweetcorn for 7 to 10 days - thing known arsenic the 'wash retired phase'.

Once that's over, you're acceptable to statesman the test.

Note down the day and time, devour immoderate sweetcorn, and past enactment down the day and clip you observe the aureate treasure successful your stool.

As sweetcorn's outer shell successful indigestible, it volition walk done through the gastrointestinal tract intact.

Ilott cautioned: "It should beryllium noted this at-home trial is not definitive - but it does correspond a measurement of transit clip that, connected average, gives akin results to much blase measures.

"If you walk the maize successful 12 hours oregon less, your gut is fast.

"If you don't walk it for astir 48 hours of more, past your gut is slow."

But don't interest if your gut mobility is accelerated oregon slow, arsenic determination things you tin bash to amended it.

Ilott advised: "If it's consistently fast, it's champion to sojourn your doc to spot if determination is an underlying cause.

"If it's a small dilatory - but you don't look to beryllium having any additional gastrointestinal symptoms such arsenic bloating, abdominal pain, deficiency of appetite oregon nausea - devour much effect and veg to summation the fibre you're feeding those affable gut bacteria, portion much h2o and exercise."