Nutrients are necessary in every process of the body, including growth, repair, and maintenance of life. Poor digestive health can damage your body’s ability to absorb vital nutrients, so it can’t sustain essential functions. You owe it to yourself to make your digestion work for you, not against you. Diet and lifestyle changes can have a positive effect on your gut health, so if you feel bloated and sluggish, it’s time to try something new. To look after yourself and reduce the risk of having digestive problems, here are some simple things you can do yourself.
Chew Your Food
In a time of multitasking, time pressure, and distracted eating, many of us tend to eat fast, mindlessly, or on the go. If you don’t chew your food correctly, large particles will enter the digestive tract, causing problems like gas, bloating, constipation, headaches, and so on. Simply put, it’s likely to mess with your digestion. Slow down while eating if you want to avoid various digestive woes and health issues. Saliva contains enzymes that moisten food, so it moves easily through the esophagus into the stomach, meaning the digestive process starts in your mouth.
Don’t overload your spoon or fork, chew with your mouth closed, and wait until you’ve finished the food in your mouth before drinking fluids. As a rule, food should be chewed roughly 30 times before swallowing, but the exact number depends on the consistency of the food. Don’t overthink the process. More exactly, chew until the food is mush (baby-like consistency) so that you don’t have a hard time swallowing or need to take sips of fluid to wash it down. Please slow down, savor your food, and chew it well.
Get Plenty of Fiber
Fiber helps keep bowel movements regular, so if you have a high-fiber diet, you’ll have lower rates of constipation. Cannabis seeds are a fantastic source of dietary fiber, as they contain soluble and insoluble fiber. Autoflowering cannabis plants produce the most seeds because they’re engineered to grow quickly and easily. Obtaining autoflowering cannabis seeds from a seed bank is recommended. Online purchases are permitted, but germinating these seeds is illegal, so consume the cannabis seeds as part of a healthy diet; they’re the perfect topping for yogurt or vegetables.
The optimum amount of fiber depends on your health requirements, so the next time you visit your doctor, discuss how much fiber you should be eating and what foods would benefit your health. To calculate your fiber intake, your doctor will take into account your height, weight, age, and activity level, to mention a few. It’s a good idea to cut down on extra carbs by replacing sweets with healthier alternatives. For example, you can eat dark chocolate instead of white chocolate because the high fiber content makes it an excellent source of prebiotics.
Manage Stress
Stress can lead to cramping, bloating, and even loss of appetite. When the stress response is turned on, the digestive process may slow down or be interrupted so the body can divert its resources to trigger panic. You might experience bowel urgency or diarrhea because the brain and the gut are in constant communication. In more serious cases, stress can lead to an imbalance of gut bacteria, meaning it can exacerbate health problems like peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, or gastrointestinal reflux disease. The point is that managing stress can help manage your digestion as your body can focus on absorbing the nutrients it needs.
Feeling emotional or nervous is a normal reaction to stress. As discussed earlier, long-term stress can lead to health problems, so preventing and managing stress can lower your risk for these conditions. Stress management becomes more difficult as you age because your body can’t handle stress the same way it once did, so you have a harder time recovering from stressful events. Get plenty of sleep, give yourself a break, and have well-balanced meals. A good support network of friends, family, and co-workers can ease your troubles and help you see things in a different way.
Limit Added Sugars
In case you didn’t know, excess sugar can’t be broken down and absorbed by the body, so it’s left to sit in the bowels, where it ferments. Not only can too much sugar upset the balance of good bacteria, but it can also cause inflammation. It’s a good idea to limit added sugars by giving up white and brown sugar, eating fresh fruit, and limiting sweeteners. Sugar is added to many processed foods, so you might be eating meals high in sugar without even realizing it. To make their products appear healthier, manufacturers list sugars further down on the ingredient list.
Exercise
Finally, yet importantly, become physically active by walking, cycling, or doing sports. Exercise helps the food move through the intestines by increasing the natural contraction of the muscles. Physical activity affects the balance of bacteria in the gut, which plays a key role in the immune system, helping the body absorb and digest what it needs. If you eat a meal that’s high in protein and fats, it’s recommended to wait two or three hours for digestion. Don’t exercise right away. Not eating before a workout will leave you feeling tired and weak, so have a balanced meal before working out.
Walking is a good way to improve and maintain your health as it stimulates the stomach and the intestines. To be more precise, the movement stimulates your digestive tract to contract, which allows the passage of food and waste through the intestines. Walking for ten minutes after each meal can help manage blood sugar levels, and this is particularly important if you have diabetes. Losing weight can reduce inflammation levels, therefore, leading to improved digestive health. Walking helps weight control because it helps burn calories, so the more you walk, the more calories you’ll burn.
Conclusion
Simple diet and lifestyle changes can dramatically improve digestive symptoms and decrease doctor visits. While such an intervention can introduce significant change, it’s possible that the level of impact isn’t always sufficient to produce change in terms of better health. The use of probiotics and other strategies may be required.
