How You Can Improve Your Digestion Naturally
Restoring your gut health can be as simple as incorporating the right foods into your diet. Keep reading to learn how to improve digestion naturally.
How often have you finished a meal and felt bloated, been gassy, had cramps or acid reflux, or felt just plain uncomfortable? It happens to everyone from time to time, and it can be a sign that your digestive system isn't working the way it should.
Our body is interconnected and the centre of that connection is the gut.
If it happens to you regularly, it may be time to make some lasting changes.
Your digestive system is a delicate balance of chemical reactions. Having one element thrown out of whack can wreck havoc on many aspects of your health, not to mention leaving you feeling very uncomfortable. But taking medicine for these problems all the time may not be right for you - or the you approach you want to take.
If you're looking to improve digestion naturally, here are several tips you may just want to try.
“Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook, and a good digestion.”
Chew Your Food Well
Your mother may have told you as a child to chew your food, but it turns out that's good advice to improve digestion naturally, as well as to impress dinner guests. This is especially important if you have problems with acid reflux, heartburn, or the like.
Basically, it comes down to creating less work for your stomach.
When you swallow your food, it goes into your stomach to be broken down by your stomach acid.
The larger the chunks of food entering your stomach are, the harder your stomach will have to work to break them down.
Chewing your food more thoroughly can lower stomach acid production, helping to improve digestion naturally.
Eat Real Food
Although this advice might seem strange (after all, it isn't like you've been eating wax food), making an effort to eat real food is important to improve digestion naturally. What this boils down to is lowering your intake of fast food, junk food, and processed food.
As much as possible, you should be eating fresh food, and mostly plants at that.
Fast food, junk food, and processed food tend to contain lots of preservatives and unhealthy chemicals. In addition, they have little nutritional value.
Try to focus on buying and eating "ingredients" rather than ready-made meals. For instance, go for chicken breast, lettuce, fresh veggies, and dressing rather than the bagged grilled chicken salad at your grocery store.
Change Your Eating Habits
As smartphones have become more popular and TVs have started appearing in every corner of most restaurants, it has become rare for us to eat a meal without some sort of external distraction.
Lunches at your desk or rushed dinners between tasks at home can also make for stress-filled meal times. Changing the way you approach eating can be a great way to improve digestion naturally.
When you sit down to a meal, try to do so in a relaxing environment where there are as few distractions as possible. Rather than checking Twitter while you eat, practice mindful eating by focusing on how your food looks, smells, and tastes.
Making an effort to focus on eating can help you eat less, feel more full, and make better eating decisions.
Get Probiotics
Probiotics are bacteria that live in your gut and aid in digestion. Unlike the bacteria we usually think of, probiotics are a good thing, and it's important to have enough of them in your system.
If you've ever taken certain antibiotics, your doctor may have advised you take a probiotic supplement to replace the good bacteria killed by the antibiotic.
Taking a probiotic supplement can help improve digestion naturally. Increasing good bacteria populations in your gut can keep your system running a little smoother as there are effectively more hands on deck to help with the work of digestion.
If you’re overwhelmed with all the choices of probiotics out there or are not sure what to look for in a quality probiotic supplement, consult your nutritionist.
Get Hydrated
Because humans are mostly made up of water, it shouldn't surprise you to learn that staying hydrated is crucial when you're trying to improve digestion. Water is the key that makes the system work, and getting enough, or getting too little, can make a huge difference in how you feel. Dehydration can cause constipation, as well as a host of other health problems.
If you have trouble remembering to drink water, there are several tools you can use to help you.
Get a water bottle and mark off hourly goals for how much you'd like to drink on the bottle, or get a smartphone app that will remind you to drink water every so often. Another idea, is to remember to drink water after every time you urinate to replenish lost stores. Regardless of you tackle this challenge, make it a part of your daily health goals and your gut will thank you.
Manage Your Stress
While stress may affect mental and emotional states most visibly, it also has a tremendous impact on your body. Stress can greatly interfere with digestion, and if you're looking to improve digestion naturally, making an effort to manage your stress will surely help.
How you de-stress is down to what works best for you personally.
Meditation and meditation-related activities such as yoga and knitting are among the most popular ways to de-stress. You may also prefer to work out, go for a walk, journal, or talk to a friend.
The important thing is to find what lowers your stress levels and make it a regular part of your daily life.
Move More
In addition to being good for managing stress, regular exercise can be an important measure to improve digestion.
Many of us have jobs that require us to sit all day, which can make it a challenge to move enough to keep our digestive systems happy. But working some light exercise into your daily routine can work wonders for your digestion.
Walking is one of the best ways to get your digestive system back on track. Get up in the morning and take a walk, or if you're not an early bird, go for a walk on your lunch break or when you get home from work.
Take a family member, friend, or pet along with you and benefit from the quality time spent together as well.
Listen to Your Body
In the end, your body will let you know what it needs to improve digestion naturally. You just have to listen to what it's saying. The key to sticking to a new regimen or eating lifestyle is finding one that makes you feel good, so pay attention to what your body is telling you.
If you feel worse after eating certain foods, cut them from your diet. If you feel better after meditating, taking a walk, or eating a fresh meal, try to work that into your life more.
Overall, the goal is to keep you feeling your best. So as much as possible, try to only do the things that make you feel good.
Aids to Improve Digestion Naturally
If you're looking for more help getting started on the road to improve your digestion naturally, visit HappiHuman.
Kelly Aiello, a registered holistic nutritionist, has a variety of options, including face-to-face meetings and development of a personal plan for you, to keep you living your best life.
Contact her today to start on your new, healthier life path.
