With the rise of leaky gut syndrome, food allergies, and gastrointestinal disorder, it is more important than ever to be mindful of your gut health. Having a healthy gut is more difficult than it used to be due to the large number of environmental toxins, food additives, poor diets, and stress we face every day. Much of your overall health is related to or dependent on the health of your gut, and having good digestion is a key part of a healthy gut. Good digestion is crucial for nutrient absorption, bowel regularity, immune system function, and much more. Let’s take a look at the importance of optimal digestion, and what you can do to help improve yours.
Potential Causes of Poor Digestion
There are many different things that can interfere with your digestion. Things like being stressed, smoking cigarettes, and having a poor diet can all have negative effect on your digestive system, as well as other parts of the body. Consuming too little fiber and water are also common problems that can lead to constipation, bloating, and dehydration. One lesser-known habit that can lead to digestive issues is not chewing your food enough. Digestion begin in the mouth when you take a bite of food, and your saliva starts to work on breaking down the food. However, each bite needs to chewed into small enough pieces for the stomach to break it down properly. Eating too quickly and not chewing each bite enough can cause pieces of food to stay in the stomach too long, leading to gas and bloating. It may also make it difficult for it to pass through your intestines and can lead to constipation. Try to chew each bite of food, especially tougher foods like meat, 20-30 times.
What Can You Do?
There are some simple changes you can make that may help your digestive system function better. You should drink plenty of water each day which is about 2 liters for the average person, but hydration needs vary from person to person. Eating plenty of fiber in the form of organic fruits and vegetables is a great way to help promote regular bowel movemenets, along with the added benefits of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in the fruits and vegetables. Engaging in exercise and stress-reducing techniques, and reducing alcohol consumption and quitting smoking may also help improve digestion. Some people do not produce enough digestive enzymes to properly break down their food, so for these people, taking supplemental digestive enzymes like Digestive Essentials with each meal may help. Taking a good probiotic like Probio Ease every day is also a great habit to get into as it helps promote a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn may help promote gut health, digestion, immune system health, and mood. The health of your gut is so important to your overall health, so take good care of it!
You can listen to our Better Health Through Digestion podcast episode here. You can also listen to it on our YouTube channel here.