It’s estimated that there are close to 62% percent of the population who has experienced bouts of bad digestion, a cranky stomach. It’s considered that a healthy digestive system is one of the best indicators when it comes to optimal health.
So it makes excellent sense why we should be picky when it comes to what we eat, and how we decide to eat it. The best way to proceed is by enriching our health with better digestive methods which enhances our immune system, which in turn elevates our mood, controls weight, and increases energy.
But because of our hectic lives, what we’ll usually do is find ourselves eating whatever we can, usually on the run, or begin multitasking while we’re having our meals.
These various distractions will usually lead towards overindulgence which needlessly strains our digestive systems. Our emotions also plays a large role in influencing how our stomachs function as well. So it becomes important to get into a peaceful state of mind when it comes to healthy food consumption.
What’s recommended is eating in as a relaxed environment as possible by sitting at the dinner table with others, and reducing as many distractions as possible, such as watching TV.
It’s also recommended you avoid eating too quickly or eating too much. Take deep breaths between bites, as what that does is it forces oxygen into the digestive system, which then paces the consumption and the breakdown of the food you eat.
Proven Ways To Improve Your Digestion
• Always Drink Lots Of Water – Water serves an important role in the body when it comes to proper digestion. What water does is it helps in breaking down the food in your stomach, while flushing out unneeded toxins which interferes with the digestion process.
What’s recommended is begin every morning by drinking a fresh glass of pure water. What this does is it awakens your thirst mechanism while flushing out accumulated toxins from the liver which accumulates overnight.
Also make sure that you drink 8 to 10 glasses a day, which is still recommended by some. To add a bit of flavor, try herbal tea, or add a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime into the water.
• Always Chew Your Food – What chewing does is it breaks down the food while simultaneously signaling the digestive organs to secrete digestive juices, which readies the stomach for the incoming food which is about to come down the hatch.
Eating as slowly as possible and chewing the food as fine as possible allows you to be able to absorb all of the vital nutrients. If you do happen to suffer from indigestion, bloating, energy loss, or gas, eating slower could make a big difference.
So chew your food as much as possible, more that what you’re most likely doing right now.
• Adding Fiber To Your Diet – To get properly nourished, what we need is food which is as healthy as possible to travel through the digestive tract. If we don’t get fiber into our diets, it then becomes a challenge for the digestive system to balanced itself out the best way that it can.
Our bodies will react the best to fiber when it’s introduced and consumed as slowly as possible, so begin by increasing your intake slowly, and work up to 40g per day.
This can be done by adding 1 Tbsp. of chia or flax seeds over a 2 month period. Other methods of consuming more fiber includes eating whole grains such as, fruits and vegetables, amaranth, and quinoa.
• Exercising Is Always Recommended – Adopting a regular and routine exercise program, such as: yoga, Pilates, jogging, or walking, significantly improves the digestive system by strengthening the muscles which are in the abdomen responsible for moving the food through the intestines.
What exercising does is it reduces stress and anxiety which can contribute towards certain digestive disorders. So it’s recommended to get at least 30 minutes of exercise on a daily basis for better digestion.
• Reducing Stress Levels – What increased stress does is it wreaks havoc on the digestive system. The best way to alleviate this is to recognize and then change a potentially stressful situation.
What we have is the ability to choose how we deal with stress and anxiety. Under periods of stress, what tends to happen is we’ll end up eating more, so because of this, it’s advised that you eat as healthy as possible during these times.
To sooth the digestive system as much as possible, it’s recommended that you limit your consumption to: unprocessed fats, quality natural proteins, and probiotic foods such as plain yogurt or kefir.
• Yes To Apple Cider Vinegar – What apple cider vinegar does is it promotes the production of hydrochloric acid, which breaks down the food in the stomach. Most people will also produce insufficient amounts of hydrochloric acid or HCL, and as a result will have poor digestion.
Apple cider vinegar contains both acetic as well as butyric acids which promotes better gastrointestinal health, which helps in balancing pH levels while encouraging bifido bacterial growth.
What’s recommended is mixing 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 12 ounces of water, and then drink it first thing in the morning preferably on an empty stomach, this especially when it’s upset.
• Keep It As Simple As Possible – If you happen to eat a variety of different foods quickly during one sitting, what that does is it places excessive and unneeded stress on the digestive system.
What eating simpler, easily digestible foods does is it allows the stomach to stay calm and will utilize the nutrients better.
So try consuming as many fruits and protein rich vegetables as possible, along with starch for the needed healthy fat. Eating these foods enhances digestive health while also fulfilling the energy needs which the body requires.