Digestive problems are very common today, with sixty to seventy million Americans suffering from gastrointestinal disorders. If you suffer from bad gut health, you know that having digestion problems can dramatically interfere with your life. Having good gut health can make all the difference.
Yet, those who are lactose intolerant have IBS or a gluten allergy, or any of the many gastrointestinal disorders, know it’s not as easy as wishing for good gut health.
However, there are many ways to try to improve digestive health, and many of them are natural. Keep reading to learn eight natural ways that can help you improve your digestive health.
- Drink Tea
Water, tea, and fluids, in general, are proven to help ease the digestive tract. Specific teas help ease bloating, reduce gas and cramping, and stimulate the digestive tract to help get the food moving faster from the stomach.
Ginger tea helps soothe nausea and reduce cramping, while peppermint tea helps ease IBS symptoms.
Green tea and green tea matcha are known to act as mild laxatives, which can help get your stomach moving in the mornings or help ease constipation.
- Try Probiotics
Probiotics are essential for healthy digestion. The stomach must balance good bacteria and harmful bacteria to function properly, and probiotics are a great way to do so.
Probiotics are live microorganisms, which are considered good bacteria. They live in your gut and help prevent harmful microbes from infiltrating your digestive tract. Probiotics also help with eliminating toxins and regulating your metabolism.
They help aid us in fighting off infections and make it easier for our body to absorb nutrients. If you’re looking to improve your digestion, probiotics should be the first thing you include in your diet. You can find them in greens and in certain foods such as tempeh, sauerkraut, and yogurt.
Alternatively, you can take probiotic supplements, which can ensure that you’re getting the highest count of probiotics daily.
It’s best to research what type of probiotic is best for your stomach by reading labels and discovering different varieties. Often, the first probiotic supplement you choose may not be the exact right one for you.
For instance, this Usana probiotic review describes this particular product’s advantages and what is specifically included, helping you to be fully informed when choosing your probiotics.
- Explore Prebiotics
Prebiotics are what fuels probiotics, so they are equally as important as the latter. While probiotics are living organisms, prebiotics are a specialized plant fiber that acts as food for good bacteria.
This gives the probiotics the support they need to survive and stimulates growth among the good bacteria that are already there. You can find prebiotics in many different foods, such as bananas, onions, garlic, berries, beans, peas, and many more.
Implementing these into your diet while also using probiotics is a natural way to get to the goal of having better digestion.
- Eat Plant-Based
Plant-based foods have a ton of fiber. Fiber helps keep your digestion regular and prevent any build-ups, so increasing your plant-based consumption is a natural way to prevent bloating and constipation.
One of the most natural ways to incorporate fiber into your diet is simply choosing foods that are high in it. This includes vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and beans, and lentils.
Add fiber to your diet gradually, and drink a lot of water as you increase your fiber intake. Fiber soaks up water, which will also help prevent cramping and gas.
- Move Your Body
People who are more active are proven to have smoother digestion. If you consistently move your body, such as doing cardio or taking walks, you increase your blood flow to your muscles in your digestive system.
This helps move food along your digestive tract, causing it to work quicker and more efficiently. Over time, regular exercise can even strengthen your digestive tract, as the amount of blood diverted to your digestive system decreases.
This can help with constipation and bloating, but be mindful of what times you decide to exercise. Working out after a meal can cause indigestion, so plan on working out before eating or leaving at least an hour between eating and working out.
- Create a Food Diary
Creating a food diary can help you understand what foods are hurting your stomach and can therefore help you eliminate certain triggers. After you eat something, write it down in your food diary along with how you feel.
If you start to feel uncomfortable later on but not right away, make sure to note that. If you do this with everything you eat for a week or two, you might be able to start to discover what food allergies you might have and avoid those foods in the future.
This is also very helpful if you plan to visit a nutritionist, so you already have the information of what triggers your stomach problems, and you can try new and alternative food as well.
- Limit Sugar and Fat
Food with a lot of sugar and animal fat can produce harmful bacteria and reduce good bacteria in your stomach, which can cause damage over time.
Sugar is also known to cause inflammation in your body, which can irritate your stomach and cause a flare-up or trigger cramping or bloating.
- Choose Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients
Inflammation in your digestive tract caused by poor digestion can cause many uncomfortable side effects, such as chronic constipation, stomach cramping, and fatigue. Choosing to increase anti-inflammatory ingredients in your diet can combat this and promote good gut health.
A natural way to do so is by eating food that includes anti-inflammatory ingredients, such as carrots, bananas, and kiwi fruit.
Anti-inflammatory foods also usually have a ton of beneficial vitamins, which promote health throughout your body and not just in your stomach.
Importance of Digestive Health
Bettering your digestive health is a journey that is not always straightforward. But, the more you try, the more likely you’ll be to find that solution that works for you, and going natural is always a good place to start.
Fixing your diet and including certain ingredients can be a significant first step, and researching probiotics and prebiotics is essential.
Be mindful of what you eat, and you could be on your way to better digestive health today. Check out more of our articles if you’d like even more tips for a better lifestyle.
