You need to pay close attention to your digestive health if you’re going to live a long and healthy life. Food selection and lifestyle choices matter! Here are a few easy changes you can make.
Eat a High-Fiber Diet
According to Dr. Gurunath Reddy from Txgidocs.com, a well-known center to look for Digestive and Liver Disease Consultants, eating food that is high in fiber can help a lot in maintaining digestive health. Fiber helps food continue to move through the digestive tract and helps prevent constipation.
Of course, you should maintain a balanced diet in general, one rich in whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
Control High Fat Food Intake
Fatty foods slow down the digestive process, which risks constipation. The right fats are important to your health, but you need to take care. Make sure you balance fatty foods with other, healthier foods.
This is especially important for people with IBS. Fat stimulates intestinal movement, which can create conditions conducive to diarrhea. Some people with digestive diseases can’t absorb fat very well at all.
Manage Meat and Dairy Consumption
Meat is a healthy protein source, but take care. You need to go for lean cuts like skinless poultry. Fatty cuts can have a negative impact on the digestive process.
Managing meat consumption can help foster the growth of helpful gut flora. As scientists learn more about the microbes in our gut it’s becoming apparent that promoting a healthy environment for these helpful bacterial is vital to many aspects of our health. However, scientists have also linked these foods to an increase in gut flora which promote inflammation.
Drink More Water
Don’t get dehydrated! When you drink water, fiber pulls it into the colon, softening your stool and easing its passage through the body. Water also helps your body do a better job of absorbing certain nutrients, which means it helps you get more benefits out of the foods you consume.
Of course, staying properly hydrated saves your body from many other health conditions as well.
Manage Your Stress
Stress impacts the body as much as it impacts the mind. Many of those impacts target the digestive system.
“Stress can affect every part of the digestive system,” says Kenneth Koch, MD, professor of medicine, section on gastroenterology and medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Wake Forrest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great German writer and philosopher, believed that the gut was the seat of all human emotions.” –Everyday Health.
Find ways to relax and recharge. Even deep breathing can help set your mind and body at ease.
Exercise Regularly
You already know most of the benefits of exercise, but did you know it eases the passage of food through your digestive system too? This means it can ease constipation. It can also strengthen your digestive tract. Finally, it can help you manage stress (see above) and make it easier for you to avoid unhelpful foods by helping you reduce and manage the impacts of emotional eating.
It also helps you stay fit, and keeps weight levels normal, which helps your whole body.
Don’t get overwhelmed!
Diet and lifestyle changes aren’t easy to make, but they’re worth it! The alternative could be disease, medication, and expensive surgeries. Make your choice while you still can!
