Improving Your Digestive Health
What causes digestive health problems?
1. Eating a few vegetables and fruits
You might have remembered your granny telling you always to eat your fruit and vegetables, but it really is a biggie. She was perfectly right. Fruit and vegetables literally do contain so many of the nutrients that the body needs, and this includes carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, fats, enzymes, and minerals. Even though people know fruit and veggies are good, they still don’t eat much of them. It is because the food
companies make more money on the foods that contain sugar, wheat, dairy, and meat, which they love to market as beneficial to your health. They reach millions of people through television, radio, and the like. All the foods that we see advertised and marketed are processed foods, high in sugar, salt, and fat, and people lock into that big time. The most popular vegetable eaten today is probably the potato because it
is converted into French Fries, with tomatoes, lettuce, and onion coming up close
behind.
2. Not eating foods that contain enzymes
Raw foods and fermented foods contain enzymes. Enzymes are vital for the body, particularly for digestion. If you are cooking most of your food, you no doubt are not getting any enzymes in your diet, because cooking kills enzymes, even more so in the processed and fast food businesses.
3. Drinking beverages high in sugar
Today, highly-processed sugar bombs are what are replacing the more nutrient dense type foods. This is leaving people both undernourished and overfed. If you are looking for one easy target to get started with, the worst offenders are probably sugary fruit drinks and sodas. And many of these offenders are sold with the word “healthy” on it. Naturally, we all love food, and it’s a pleasure to enjoy. It is not that you should cut out sugar entirely; although you might have to if you have some concerning health problems. But apart from that, moderation in everything is the key.
4. Eating processed foods
Most people know that when it comes to the Western diet, it’s all about fast this, fast that, and fast foods too. People look for quick, easy, and convenient ways of eating their food. This makes processed foods a ‘blessing in disguise’ to millions of modern families. Unfortunately, many do not realize that along with the modern way of eating processed foods comes a long list of modern diseases as a result. If you
love popping your foods into the microwaves, you love the easiness of canned foods; it might be time to start looking at your health, particularly your digestive health.
5. Eating industrialized animal products like cheese, meat, and milk.
Even though animal products are part of our traditional diet, there are still issues with some animal products that form part of the Western diet. Cheese, milk, and yogurt are healthy foods, but sadly, many of the animals that produce these products have been fed and raised industrially. You can be sure that plenty of pesticides have been sprayed over the plants that the animals eat, and plenty of antibiotics have been added as well.
The poor animals are raised away from spacious grassy pastures, their natural abode, and diet. This means that products that you believe are healthy are actually coming from sick animals that ingest antibiotics, pesticides, and are being fed food unnatural to them, such as grains. Nature designed cows to naturally forage. Grain diets for cattle lead to the cattle experiencing serious health issues as well. It’s no wonder your digestive system has gone awry! Today, we are consuming animal products that have been processed industrially; to further the production of hot dogs, salami on your pizzas, bologna, burgers, cheeses, sausages – all loaded with sugar and salt, food additives, colorings, and preservatives. If you want to avoid health problems, you need to start reducing your intake of animal products, unless you
know of places where the products are not processed. If your cheese, eggs, yogurt, and meat are produced organically from pasture-fed animals, then eating them in moderation is OK.
How do you keep your digestive system healthy?
You cannot afford to let your digestive system become ill. Here are some important steps to help it to function efficiently:
1. Chew your food well before swallowing. Chewing is imperative for proper digestion because the more the food is broken down in your mouth, the less hard work the digestive system has to deal with. Your brain also needs time to get the message that your stomach is full, rather than allowing your stomach to prepare for the food that it is going to receive.
2. Fiber, fiber, and more fiber keep the food moving easily through your intestines. Soluble fibers, such as whole grains and veggies, absorb water and prevent stools from being too watery. Insoluble fibers help by adding bulk to your stools. Fiber also helps to break down any fatty foods you have eaten.
3. Drink plenty of water – because the water helps to dissolve the soluble fiber, allowing your food to pass through the intestines easily. When you have too little water, you have harder stools, which make it more difficult to pass through your colon.
4. Get moving because exercise also moves the food easily through the digestive system and increases the flow of blood to all your organs. Exercising tones the walls of the colon to reduce anxiety and stress because this can play havoc with your digestive system. How many people have IBS – irritable bowel syndrome? What about ulcers? – All stress-related. Getting enough sleep is important, too.
5. Eating warm foods is being friendly to your spleen. The spleen does not like the cold. The digestive enzymes also break down foods properly that are warm. It is the cold foods and drinks that can cause the spleen not to work properly. Soups, warm teas, and cooked vegetables are great.
6. Give up smoking because smoking can not only impair your digestive system but also your health altogether. Smoking weakens your lungs. Nicotine is believed to relax the muscles of the lower esophagus, which keeps acid in the stomach. This is where it belongs, and when the muscles are relaxed, you
experience acid reflux, you have heartburn, and you start increasing your risk for
gastrointestinal cancer.
7. Cut down on alcohol. Sometimes when you drink a lot, your digestion gets out of sorts because acid secretion in your body is affected, also the absorption of nutrients. Heartburn, diarrhea, and liver problems are affected when your consumption of alcohol is unreasonable.
8. Start to lose weight because just even a few pounds over your ideal weight can affect your digestion. It can affect the valve that is situated between your stomach and the esophagus, which won’t close properly. When you lose weight, you ease the pressure so that your digestive system can continue to work properly.
9. Taking probiotics and fiber are a couple of things that the Western diet lacks. The body has good bacteria and bad bacteria, and maintaining the right balance is essential to your health. Probiotics are good bacteria, easing IBS and preventing infections and allergies.
10. Get a screening test because colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in the USA. Fortunately, it can be cured with early screening and detection. Both men and women need to screen for colon cancer by the time they are 50, especially those who have a family history of colon problems.
11. Eat mindfully: Sometimes we eat too much too quickly, especially if we are not paying attention. This can lead to gas, bloating, and indigestion. Eating more slowly and taking notice of what you are putting into your system can reduce symptoms of IBS and even ulcerative colitis. To eat mindfully, eat more slowly, focus on what you’re eating, away from television and phones, and notice how your food tastes
and how it smells – simply enjoy your food, taking notice of everything about it.
These are food types that your digestive system loves:
o Apple cider vinegar
o Raw honey
o Kefir, made from fermented milk
o Plants like chlorella, spirulina, blue-green algae, seaweed
o Kim Chi, which is a fermented type of cabbage, is a very popular Korean dish
o Sauerkraut
o Tempeh, made from fermented soybeans
o Organic yogurt with no added sugar
Want to help your digestion and strengthen it?
o Eat raw and cooked foods.
o Choose to eat smaller meals more often.
o Limit your meat and dairy products.
o Try to avoid eating grains, protein, and starch veggies all on the same plate of food.
o Try to avoid pasta and bread.
o Eat plenty of fermented foods.
o Drink probiotic beverages which contain active and live cultures.
o Ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric are wonderful digestive system spices.
o Use digestive enzymes.
o Glutamine is an excellent amino acids that really support good gut health, helping with a leaky gut.
o Zinc is a very useful mineral, in fact, critical for ensuring your gut stays healthy. A deficiency can lead to gastrointestinal disorders. Zinc treats diarrhea, leaky gut, colitis, leaky gut and other digestive problems.
Written by: Khloe Marcia
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