Good digestion is a cornerstone of optimal health. It’s essential to extract the maximum amount of nutrition from food and eliminate toxins as efficiently as possible. When digestion isn’t working properly, the body can feel fatigued, bloated, and constipated, leading to an overall decline in quality of life.
Fortunately, there are a number of simple steps that can be taken to ensure healthy digestion. Developing and maintaining good digestion habits is essential for long-term wellness – if you want to live your best life, taking care of your gut a vital part of it.
Here are five tips on how to improve your digestion:
Eat Slowly and Mindfully
Most people have experienced the feeling of eating too quickly and not being able to finish—or worse yet, feeling bloated or uncomfortable after consuming a meal. Eating slowly allows you to savor the flavors of each bite while allowing your stomach enough time to signal when it’s full. Additionally, eating mindfully encourages mindful eating habits and helps you practice mindful chewing habits, which can also help improve digestion. Eating a variety of fiber-rich foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, can provide bulk to stool which will help move food waste through more efficiently.
Drink Plenty of Water
Water plays an essential role in digestion by helping break down food particles into smaller pieces from which the body can easily absorb nutrients. Additionally, water helps transport those nutrients throughout the body to be used for energy and other bodily functions. Aim for at least half of your body weight in ounces of water daily for optimal hydration levels and improved digestion.
Get Moving
Exercise helps stimulate digestive juices, which aids in breaking down food more quickly and speeding up the process by which waste is eliminated from the body through sweating and movement. Even just 15 minutes of light exercise, such as walking or yoga per day can make a world of difference when it comes to improving digestion.
Avoid Trigger Foods
Everyone has a list of trigger foods that can cause discomfort or bloating after consumption, including dairy products or fried foods. Keeping an eye out for these triggers can help identify what foods may be causing distress to avoid them in the future until your digestive system has had a chance to readjust.
Improving your digestion doesn’t have to be complicated; with simple lifestyle changes such as eating slowly and mindfully, drinking plenty of water each day, getting regular exercise, and avoiding trigger foods, you can experience improved digestive health quickly.
