Simple Things You Can Do Today

to Improve Your Digestion

Do you suffer from gastrointestinal challenges? We’re talking about digestion problems such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation and sometimes even nausea. Maybe you’ve even wondered if you have an inflammatory bowel disease or a digestive disorder.   Many of these symptoms can come from being intolerant to gluten and – or dairy products.    You should get your complaints and symptoms checked out if they do not subside with dietary changes.  But here are a few things you can do today to begin to improve your digestion.

Silk Live Soy Yogurt (Photo credit: Veganbaking.net)

1. Eat Yogurt

Yes you can eat Yogurt if you are dairy free!  There are soy and coconut yogurts, even almond ones that contain probiotics. Probiotics are microorganisms, bacteria, which are helpful for digestion. Your stomach is full of billions of these healthy bacteria. Unfortunately, stress, the environment, and a not-so-healthy diet can kill these good bacteria and make room for the bad guys. This causes stomach upset and digestive issues.  Sometimes simply taking probiotics can help calm your belly.

Other sources of probiotics include fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, miso soup, and fermented food like pickles and sauerkraut.

2. Drink Water

The digestive process requires water to help digest and absorb foods. If you don’t have enough water in your stomach then your body will pull water from your cells. Of course, there’s a limit to how much it can pull from your cells. If you stay hydrated then your digestive system can effectively move food through your body, absorb nutrients and efficiently eliminate waste. Not enough water and you’ll suffer from constipation and – or diarrhea.

English: Excercise for toe flexibility (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. Move Your Body

A sedentary lifestyle sends signals to your body that it doesn’t need much energy. Thus, digestion slows down. Additionally, sitting down just doesn’t facilitate proper movement through your intestines. You don’t have to run a marathon every day to have a healthy system.  Try some flexion stretches or yoga or simply walk more and try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.

4. Eat Better

Try to reduce salt, sugar, and fat from your diet. This is accomplished by replacing junk food and processed foods with whole foods. Replace that cookie with an apple and you have more fiber and less salt, fat, and sugar. Replace your morning cereal with steel-cut oats or a veggie and protein smoothie, and you once again have more fiber and nutrients and fewer empty calories.

The fiber helps your digestive system stay healthy. Processed foods are packed with irritants that cause inflammation in your digestive lining. Reduce them and improve the health of your gut.

5.  Live Better

Finally,  these 4 things in your life will help you find that a path to better digestive health is as simple as taking better care of yourself and your body!

• stop smoking
• drink less than two glasses of alcohol a day
• reduce stress
• smile more