Stress, lack of digestive enzymes, too little stomach acid, and an imbalanced gut flora are causes that can lead to poor digestion. This can manifest as diarrhea, a gassy and bloated stomach, constipation, stomach pain, acid reflux, and so on.
Many of these symptoms can be alleviated quite simply by adopting certain habits and routines or with the help of specific supplements.
Digestion
Let's take a look at digestion and how it works.
From the oral cavity via the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum, your food travels on a seven-meter-long journey that takes approximately one day if everything functions optimally.
Along the journey, glands, the gallbladder, and the pancreas help with fluids that break down the food so that we can more easily access the nutrients. During the journey, digestion occurs, when the body absorbs the nutrition and energy it needs from the food and releases the rest.If food travels faster than one day and appears as loose stools or diarrhea, it's moving too quickly and the body may not have time to absorb all the nutrients from the food.
If you have a hard stomach and it takes longer than one or a couple of days, you have constipation, which can burden the body's detoxification system.
We'll take a tour through the system and along the way you'll get tips on what can help the different stages of digestion.
The Mouth
Digestion starts already in the oral cavity when you chew food and simultaneously mix it with saliva that contains an enzyme called amylase that breaks down carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are later converted to glucose and provide the body with energy (Avoid processed carbohydrates, such as white bread, pasta, white rice, and sugar which have low fiber content and can therefore contribute to constipation).
Amylase is denatured when the food and saliva reach the stomach with its low (acidic) pH value created by hydrochloric acid, and then the enzyme can no longer break down starch.
1. Chew Your Food Thoroughly
That's why it's so important to take time to chew your food properly before swallowing and not eat hastily!
Depending on what you're eating, it can vary how many times you need to chew something. But at least 25 chews is usually sufficient per new bite.
You'll experience flavors and textures in a different way, and if you've previously suffered from a bloated stomach and gas, these symptoms can decrease or even disappear.
2. Drink Enough Fluid – Between Meals!
Drink as little as possible while eating. Fluid causes you to produce less saliva and the enzymes can't work as effectively. Wait at least 30 minutes before drinking anything after meals.
Instead, drink between meals, preferably 1.5 to 2 liters of water per day. If you don't drink enough, the body will compensate by taking fluid from your intestines, which can cause constipation.
Drinking plenty of fluid is even more important if you eat a diet high in fiber.
The Stomach
When you swallow food, the lower esophageal sphincter opens and lets the food into the stomach. If it doesn't close properly, you can get problems with acid reflux.
This is common if you have too little stomach acid, but can in some cases also be due to too much stomach acid. However, that's more uncommon.
The acid in the stomach is strong and kills most bacteria. The more protein and fat you've eaten, the longer the food stays in the stomach to be processed and begin breaking down. Beverages, however, can quickly move on.
3. Supplement with Digestive Enzymes
Supplement your meal with a good digestive enzyme. Here are some tips on digestive enzymes and stomach acid supplements that you can use to facilitate your digestion.
Stomach Acid Balance
A unique dietary supplement that provides a vegetable plant and enzyme blend with betaine and protease that contributes to normal stomach acid balance and supports digestion. Protease are enzymes.
Take 1-2 capsules at the beginning of the largest meals. They should be swallowed whole with water. Do not chew the tablet!
Enzymedica Digest Spectrum
A dietary supplement with a unique blend of enzymes that break down problematic foods. This is a product for you who are sensitive to gluten, dairy products and casein, but still choose to eat them on certain occasions.
Note! This product does not replace a gluten-free diet for people with celiac disease.
AlphaPlus Proteazym
A dietary supplement of enzymes that helps you break down protein. Proteazym contains proteases, papain, bromelain and ginger among other things. Protease is a group of enzymes that break down proteins when taken with meals.
Global Healing Enzymer
Vegan-friendly digestive enzymes with a very broad spectrum of plant-based enzymes, specially selected to help your body absorb and digest food.
These vegan-friendly enzymes are stable and function in a broad pH range, including the acids found in our digestive system to improve nutrient uptake.
Enzymes help relieve food sensitivity, break down protein, increase metabolism, and contribute to energy production.
The Duodenum
When the stomach acid has finished its work, the food moves on to the duodenum, which is part of the small intestine. In the duodenum, the body uses pancreatic juice from the pancreas and bile from the liver via the gallbladder, which together break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Proteins are converted to amino acids that are absorbed by the body and function as the body's building blocks. They build up and repair the body's cells, tissues, and muscle mass.
Amino acids also help build hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. Proteins are essential nutrients that play crucial roles throughout the body.
Fats are broken down with bile from the gallbladder. The digestive enzymes in the intestines further break down the fat into fatty acids and cholesterol, which is a protein that helps transport fat into the bloodstream.
Fat is an important energy source and the right type of fat in the right amount is important for our well-being. Fat is also needed for the immune system, blood pressure, and for building up and repairing the body's cells.
A healthy dose of good fats helps lubricate the intestines and makes stools softer. Different types of fats have varying temperature tolerances, which is important to consider when cooking.
The Small Intestine
The small intestine's function is to absorb nutrients from the food we eat and regulate hormonal pathways. Nutrients are absorbed by the small intestine's surface, which is an impressive 300 m².
Vitamins are absorbed in the small intestine and transported to the liver, or stored in the body's various tissues.
SIBO is an intestinal condition that means you have an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, which normally should be in the large intestine. Symptoms are stomach pain, gas, and bloating.
SIBO can be caused by antibiotic use, long-term use of medications for heartburn and acid reflux, as well as intake of food containing a lot of sugar or refined carbohydrates.
The Large Intestine
In the large intestine live your hundreds of millions of bacteria. It's only one meter long and in it water, salt, and minerals are absorbed.
It's extremely important to exercise and move around for the intestines to function optimally and to prevent constipation. Exercise at least 30 minutes every day!
But beyond that, there are also some other tricks you can think about if you easily get constipated.
4. Maintain Good Consistency
Fiber increases the volume and weight of intestinal contents, which improves bowel movement and facilitates elimination. You also get more stable blood sugar levels and better levels of blood fats!
Eat cauliflower, broccoli, beans, and peas.
Remember to increase fiber intake slowly and drink enough between meals. Otherwise, it's not uncommon to get a temporarily gassy or bloated stomach.
Holistic Prebivitalis Pro
A fiber-rich powder blend for the intestine's butyrate-producing bacteria and gut flora diversity. The powder consists of 12 different plant-based fibers broken down into various long and branched polysaccharides that become food for different types of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Prebivitalis contains Sunfiber®, resistant starch from green banana, and arabinogalactan from larch tree, among other ingredients.
Enzymedica Gut Motility
A dietary supplement that supports the intestines and their movement. Gut Motility contains ProDigest®, a combination of extracts from artichoke leaf and ginger root. The product also contains apple cider vinegar.
Magnesium has a mildly laxative effect when you take enough, especially magnesium oxide.
Holistic UltraTarm
A dietary supplement for constipation and sluggish bowel. UltraTarm contains magnesium oxides with low bioavailability that can be used by those experiencing temporary problems, for example when traveling, or those who have had sluggish bowel for a longer period.
Holistic UltraTarm is gentle and also suitable for people with sensitive intestines.
5. Feed Your Gut Bacteria
Gut bacteria handle fermentation and breakdown of food. Add healthy bacteria to your intestinal tract by eating garlic, onions, plain yogurt, and various types of probiotic foods.
Thorne FloraMend
A dietary supplement with stable lactic acid bacteria for gut flora. It doesn't require refrigerated storage and the bacteria survive body temperature and stomach acids, the capsule is acid-resistant. Each capsule contains 5 billion beneficial lactic acid bacteria from three different strains.
Dr Mercola's Complete Afterbiotic
Healthy homeostatic soil-based organisms make Dr Mercola's Complete Afterbiotics a high-quality product for gut flora. Three types of bacteria have been combined into a unique formula with six probiotic strains. Each capsule of Complete Afterbiotics provides at least 18 billion CFU probiotics (live bacteria) with a prebiotic citrus bioflavonoid complex.
Tesseract ProButyrate
A dietary supplement with short-chain fatty acids of butyric acid. The methodology for ProButyrate means that the capsule with butyric acid is released only when it has reached the large intestine, where it is released molecule by molecule through the effective distribution form CyLoc.
6. Take Care of Your Intestines
Today, IBS, IBD, and leaky gut are common conditions. When we eat food that we don't tolerate, it can irritate the intestines and create inflammation, disrupting what are called "tight junctions." Then larger particles begin to "leak through" the intestinal wall, which can make things really difficult for some people.
Global Healing Aloe Fuzion
A powerful concentrate of organic and bioavailable aloe vera with a very high concentration of acemannan. The gel from the aloe vera plant helps heal a leaky gut.
Holistics L-Glutamin
A dietary supplement that's popular among those who exercise a lot, as glutamine supports muscle repair and recovery after training. Glutamine is used as an energy source in cells and the brain, but the intestinal mucosa is also dependent on glutamine as fuel. It's also very good for healing the intestines in cases of IBS, IBD, and leaky gut.
Holitic UltraBalans
A detox herbal blend with 8 herbs specially developed to cleanse the intestines and balance gut flora. Take 2 capsules 2 times per day for 3–6 weeks.
The Rectum
Finally, the finished stool travels to the rectum, which signals that it wants to be emptied. Don't save it for later, but listen and visit the toilet. And let it take the time it needs.
7. Squat Down
Several health experts believe that the modern toilet has contributed to more and more people getting intestinal and pelvic problems. By squatting over the toilet, you speed up the process and it becomes easier to achieve complete emptying.
What happens is that the angle of the rectum becomes wrong in a sitting position, and then a muscle creates pressure on it that makes us have to strain more. When we instead squat, that muscle relaxes and the rectum straightens out.
You can also make it easier by having your feet on a stool in front of the toilet to get more into a squatting position. Squatting reduces constipation, hemorrhoids, and bloated stomach.Squatting reduces constipation, hemorrhoids, and bloated stomach.
