If you want to improve your digestion, pay attention to your eating habits. How do you eat? Do you eat on the run, because there is always no time? Do you drink plenty of fluids during lunch and dinner? Do you like very hot food?

We all have different habits, but they do not benefit us always. To be healthy, you need to eat smart, slowly, and calmly. You need to chew your food thoroughly and follow other helpful tips that we will give you in this article.

How To Improve Your Digestion?

Good digestion is not only the choice of healthy food but also the practice of certain rituals. Let’s talk about them further in this article.

1. Stay Away From Harmful Substances

Abuse of harmful substances, such as opioids and alcohol can affect the digestive system. Their long-term abuse can slow down bowel function and even lead to bloating, constipation, and nausea. Apart from these, it can also damage the functioning of the liver and heart. 

However, you can prevent such diseases by getting help from a nearby rehab center. You can search for opioid treatment programs near me on your browser and get a list of all nearby facilities. Then you can choose the rehab center that fits you the best.

2. Eat Slowly

This advice may seem strange to you. What are the relationship between eating slowly and a good digestive system? Everything immediately becomes clear if you carefully understand this issue:

• The satiety signal enters our body 20 minutes after the start of a meal. At this point, as the walls of the stomach stretch, it stops producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. That is, if you extend your meal (stretch it in time), then you will eat less than you eat in a hurry. 
• If you constantly eat in a hurry, you tend to overeat and force your body to start a long and difficult process of digestion.
• Remember that the process of digestion begins in the mouth, not in the stomach, so be sure to chew your food thoroughly.
• Saliva forms in the oral cavity – a natural alkali that envelops every piece of food and helps it to be better digested.

By chewing food thoroughly, you can enjoy its taste better. And at the same time, the body sends a signal to the pancreas and gallbladder that food will soon enter the stomach. As a result, the body secretes bile and other substances that facilitate the process of digestion.

3. Water Intake

There is a belief that liquids prevent salivation during meals. But, while there is some truth in this statement when we talk about alcohol that reduces salivation, not all liquids are the same. You should know that:

• The body adapts its fluids to the type of food it processes. Drinking water with meals does not significantly affect stomach acid or digestive enzyme concentrations
• In addition, drinking water with meals can make you feel full faster and thus help you lose weight

So if you feel thirsty while eating, drink as much as you need.

4. Raw Or Cooked Foods?

Of course, we do not advise you to eat raw fish or chicken. However, eating raw vegetables is very beneficial for digestion. There are many different foods that, during the cooking process, lose most of their protein and enzymes that facilitate the digestion process. Not to mention the loss of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

On the other hand, we know that the human body secretes enough enzymes to digest any food. And while we lose nutrients when we cook food, we also increase its bioavailability. That is, the body can use the nutrients contained in cooked foods much more efficiently than in raw foods.

What is the conclusion? Include both raw and cooked vegetables in your diet, which improve digestion and provide the body with essential nutrients.

5. Choose Fermented Foods

In our articles, we often advise you to drink kefir, eat Greek yogurt, or eat any other probiotic.  These should be rich in beneficial bacteria that help improve digestion and maintain normal microflora in your intestines. Each country has its fermented foods, such as miso noodles, kefir, sauerkraut, yogurt, which are easy to find in the supermarket today. You can even make your own if you have time.

6. Eat Whole Grains

Oatmeal, whole grain rice, and bread are sources of fiber, minerals, and B vitamins. Fiber regulates intestinal transit and nourishes bacterial flora. And maintaining a healthy bacterial flora is important not only for digestion but also for the health of our immune system. Rye bread or whole-grain desserts may taste a little different, but they are full of vitamins and minerals.

7. Avoid Convenience Foods

Convenience foods and products with chemical additives are best eaten in moderation. We are talking about products such as sodas, processed foods, and chips containing processed carbohydrates. There is nothing wrong with eating them from time to time. But you need to pay attention to those foods that get poorly digested and cause inflammation in our intestines.

8. Fight Stress

If there’s one thing that hurts your digestion the most, it’s stress. The digestive system is as controlled by the nervous system as it is by hormones. Any problem, such as the release of cortisol into the blood, makes it difficult for the body to perform well. This hormone affects your blood sugar levels, the amount of fat you store in your belly, or even your stomach acid levels. To protect yourself from this, learn how to get rid of stress:

• Take time to focus on yourself
• Walk outdoors, swim, or do yoga 
• Cultivate inner peace and keep your peace of mind. All this affects your physical and emotional health and, of course, affects digestion

Take Away

It is important to keep your digestive system healthy or your whole well-being would suffer. We mentioned some practical tips in this article that will help you keep your gut healthy. So follow them and notice positive changes yourself.