The digestive system helps break down complex food to ensure your body gets nutrients. A good digestive system is equal to a healthy gut and happy life.
Failing to take care of your digestive system may result in issues like bloating, heartburn, diarrhea, nausea, constipation, etc. In the era of an unhealthy lifestyle, complaints of digestive issues are pretty common. According to research, 1 in 5 people in the U.S.A. complains of heartburn daily.
So, if you are someone who suffers from indigestion, here are some tips to improve your digestive system:
- Include whole food in your diet
One of the best and trusted ways to improve your gut health is to include whole food in your diet. Minimally processed, whole foods contain nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Some examples of whole foods are:
- Fresh and seasonal fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Fish
- Beans
- Eggs
While consuming animal protein from poultry sources, ensure such animals are fed highly nutritious feed that fulfills their all-nutrient requirements.
Along with improving digestion, whole foods also help prevent heart disease, diabetes, etc. So, stop feeding on harmful bacteria for good gut health.
- Keep your body hydrated
Another primary reason for a poor digestive system is the lack of fluid in your body. Our body is made up of 70% of water; hence it becomes an essential source of survival.
Other than water, you can eat the following fruits or vegetables to keep your body hydrated:
- Celery
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce
The presence of enough fluid in these fruits or vegetables helps soften stool, reducing constipation. Thus, keeping water with you wherever you go is important.
- Chew your food properly
Food is an essential component of digestion. The food must break into smaller fragments to digest well. This is where chewing plays its part.
Experts recommend chewing at least 32 times before swallowing your food. You must break the food into smaller pieces to digest it well into your system.
Food is solely responsible for improving and affecting the entire digestive system. Our digestion gets compromised when we eat on the go. So, make certain you are sitting down and chewing each bite properly to aid digestion.
- Lead an active lifestyle
There are multiple benefits of leading an active lifestyle, and digestion is one of them. You need to look after your digestive system to prevent diseases.
Most of you must be aware that exercising regularly directly impacts your overall health. So, you can incorporate exercises like brisk walking, yoga, cycling, and deep breathing to get your body moving.
Relieve your stress
Stress is another factor that negatively impacts your digestive system. You must have experienced strange discomfort in your gut before an important meeting or exam. This happens because stress and the gut are co-related with each other.
A human gut consists of 100 million nerve cells and more. Therefore, the slightest discomfort or stress can affect your digestive system. Some of the ways to cope with stress are;
- Eat healthy meals
- Consistently exercise
- Get proper sleep
- Avoid smoking and alcohol.
- Make time for your interests.
Such techniques can help you relax your mind leading to better digestion.
- Practice mindful eating
Nowadays, most people don’t take time to sit and enjoy every bite of their meal. This results in indigestion, bloating, and gas.
To keep your digestive system at its best, practice mindful eating. Use your emotional and physical senses to take pleasure in eating good food. Instead of eating mindlessly, focus on savoring every bite.
- Identify trigger foods
Make a list of foods that disrupts your digestive system. Everyone has a different reaction to different foods. Some of the common examples of trigger foods are:
- Spicy food
- Processed foods
- Fried foods
- Acidic food (tomatoes and oranges)
- Sodas
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Smoking
Avoid eating such foods consisting of saturated fats, high sugar, and salt, and switch to healthy eating.
- Scheduled eating
Eating your food on a regular schedule boosts the performance of your digestive system. The key to eating right is to divide your food into smaller portions to be consumed throughout the day.
Scheduled eating allows your stomach to digest the food properly. In general, you must eat a balanced diet to boost your metabolism and reduce the chances of bloating or gas.
- Eat high-fiber food
Fiber helps regulate bowel movement leading to improved digestion. As per American Heart Association Eating Plan, an ideal intake of fiber is 25 to 30 grams per day.
The following are the best sources of fiber:
- Pears
- Avocado
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
Increasing the intake of these foods ensures the removal of bad bacteria from your body.
- Make certain lifestyle changes
To boost your digestive health, you must make the following lifestyle changes:
- Quit smoking
- Stop consuming alcohol in excess.
- Binge-eating
- Overeating
- Skipping meals
- Late-night eating
These factors majorly contribute to digestive issues like gas, bloating, weight gain, etc. Removing them can prove to be beneficial for your health.
Conclusion
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help you get your digestive system on track. You can slowly and gradually start with any tips mentioned above for better digestion.
Try putting these tips into practice and see the difference it makes in your life. Interesting Information about tweakvip
