So, I’ve been learning a lot about digestion lately. I thought I knew a fair amount already, but whoa. I’m learning a lot of sciency and technical stuff about the gut right now, which I’ll spare you, but I thought I’d share a few basic tips that you can use today to make sure your digestion is working for you and not against you! Because it’s the place to start when it comes to your health, and its functionality affects everything else.

You’re really only as healthy as your gut, after all. If there is a breakdown anywhere in the digestive track, from the mouth (time spent chewing!)  to the small intestine (breakdown and absorption of nutrients), digestion can be compromised, therefore health is compromised.

On the flipside, if you can improve your digestion you can drastically improve your health!! The relationship between what you eat, how you process what you eat, and ultimately how you feel is BIG.

70% of Americans do or will suffer with digestive disease or dysfunction in their lifetime. Even if you don’t have typical symptoms of poor digestion, such as gas, bloating, or constipation, if you have dysfunction or disease of any kind, you’ve likely got a breakdown somewhere in the digestive system that triggered a downward spiral. Fatigue, brain fog, skin issues, cravings? Yup, breakdown in the digestive system. It is at the root of all other functions in the body. Your gut is your body’s second brain and when you begin to understand just how interconnected our body systems actually are and how every single symptom that bugs you can be triggered by poor gut health, you want to make sure you’re doing the best you can to keep it in good shape!

So, what can you start doing today to keep this all-important system in shape? Here are some tips!

10 Easy Tips to Improve Digestion Naturally

1  Chew Your Food

This is so overlooked in our fast-paced lives! Chew thoroughly to help food digest (ideally about 30 times! I know…sounds crazy!) Saliva contains the enzymes you need to begin breaking down the food for digestion, you don’t want to rush through this process! Our stomach doesn’t have teeth. To properly digest our food, we need to do a lot of work in the mouth. When we eat on the run or gulp down our food, digestion gets compromised. Slow down, savor your food and chew it up! I even “chew” my smoothies now!

2  Boost Stomach Acid

This is an area of huge misconception for most people and one that probably needs its own blog post at some point to explain. Most people who have heartburn, gas and bloating likely have too little stomach acid, not too much (and then treat it with antacids to reduce stomach acid even further!) Proper stomach acid levels are critical for the breakdown of proteins in the stomach. Stomach acid also destroys pathogenic bacteria that can lead to illness.  Boost stomach acid naturally by adding freshly-squeezed lemon to your water or by drinking one tablespoon of raw fermented apple cider vinegar in water each morning. I add both to warm water with a dash of cayenne every morning and honestly, I never feel the same without it.

3  Drink More Water

Water is an important element for health in general and digestion in particular. However, try to drink most of your water in between meals, rather than during the meal as it will dilute stomach acid and interfere with all the fluids of digestion, making it harder to break down your food.

4  Add in probiotics

Our gut is teaming with bacteria and that’s good! But if the balance in our bacteria gets tipped in the wrong direction, it can lead to digestive issues. We need good bacteria to strengthen the immune system, reduce chronic inflammation, help remedy leaky gut and more. You can get more of the “good bugs” by taking a probiotic supplement or with raw fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir or kimchi.

5  Reduce or Eliminate Processed Foods

Processed “foods” are hugely challenging for the digestive system. A good thing to keep in mind: If you don’t recognize an ingredient on the label, your body won’t either! Processed foods are full of “anti-nutrients”, which means the body must deplete its own nutrient stores for these foods to metabolize, essentially robbing the body of nutrients rather than nourishing. This also causes your body to expend more energy than it should. More processed foods = less energy for you. Stick to whole foods as much as possible.

6  Exercise

Yes, exercise is good for just about everything, including digestion. It takes healthy muscle tone all around the abdomen to help move food through our digestive tract. Increasing exercise can improve digestion, even if you don’t change what you eat!

7  Don’t Eat Too Much

Overeating of any food is taxing on the digestive system. It requires the body to expend a lot of energy, adds stress on the system and forces the body to try to use too many nutrients at once. Slow down, and only eat until you are three-quarters full.

8  Practice Gratitude

Digestion actually begins in the brain. When you take a few moments before you eat to pause and reflect, either with blessings, gratitude, or a few deep breaths, you are activating the brain signals for saliva to release and get the digestive system prepped and ready! It also allows you to relieve stress, eliminating another problem area for the digestive system!

9  Eat More Fiber

Fiber helps keep your colon healthy by speeding up the transit time through the body. A faster transit time means any toxins you’ve taken in spend less time in the body. Fiber also helps remove the bad bacteria and toxins from the colon. Make sure you get both soluble fiber (think beans, lentils, peas, oat bran, fruits and veggies), which absorbs toxins and unneeded cholesterol and insoluble fiber (nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruit skins, green veggies), which speeds up elimination.

10  Add in digestive enzymes

Our body produces these naturally but aging and a compromised system can lead to less production. In addition to probiotics, this might be another supplement you want to consider if you feel your digestion is compromised. Natural sources of digestive enzymes come in the form of raw and fermented foods as well. Fruits like pineapple, papaya and avocado are great sources, as are kefir, sauerkraut and miso.

How many of the tips do you already put into practice? Where do you need to improve? Let me know in the comments!

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