Some people think that having good digestive health just impacts your frequency on the loo. Surely there are more important health-related topics to focus on, right? Actually, your digestive system is responsible for absorbing the nutrients you need, and getting rid of the toxins you don’t need. In other words, every other part of your health is reliant on your digestive system doing its job efficiently. If your body can’t absorb the nutrients that it depends on for fuel, you’ll chronically feel tired, groggy, cranky, and maybe even depressed or anxious. Your endocrine system can’t do its job when it isn’t getting the nutrients it needs, leading to the need for hormonal support supplements. Your immune system can’t fight off illnesses if it doesn’t have the antioxidants needed to function… another important job that your digestive system is responsible for. Your metabolic health relies on your digestive system to rid your body of fat, so if your digestive system isn’t working efficiently, neither is your metabolism. In fact, there are many autoimmune disorders that are thought to be linked to having a “leaky gut,” in which your digestive system absorbs everything, allowing all kinds of toxins and poisons into your system, to wreak havoc on your general well-being. In other words, digestive health should be priority numero uno.
In this line of thought, keep reading to get five simple tips for improving your digestive health:
Four Simple Tips for Improving Your Digestive Health
- Drink water all day long.
There is one thing that unites all creature, human, animal, or plant. We all need water to survive. Your gut is no different. The more water you drink, the more efficient your digestive system can chug along. Your digestive system needs water to pass fats through and eliminate them. It needs water to break down fiber. It needs water to absorb the stuff you need to be absorbing and dump the stuff you shouldn’t absorb.
There is some debate over the proper amount of water to drink. Some people say eight glass per day. Others say a gallon. Others say half of your weight, in ounces. We don’t have the right answer ourselves. Just carry a water bottle with you, and take a sip as often as you remember. If you feel thirsty, you aren’t drinking enough. Try upping your water and see how you feel. Let your body tell you how much you need. - Incorporate digestive health supplements into your diet.
Some digestive health supplements add probiotics to your gut which are basically the good bacteria that help your body eliminate bad bacteria, as well as fight off illnesses. Other digestive health supplements add antioxidants to your digestive system, which helps prevent sickness and boosts your health; a healthy body functions better in every way. Other digestive health supplements simply support the efficiency in which your digestive system does its job on its own. Some digestive enzyme supplements help your body break down food, which assists your gut in absorbing the good guys and eliminating the bad guys. Getting the right supplements for digestion improves your overall health in every way. - Cut those bad habits.
This one probably comes as no surprise to you. As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out. If all you give your digestive system to work with is garbage, it’s only going to function like garbage.
It might be a surprise to you that bad habits that don’t directly touch your digestive system, such as smoking or not getting enough sleep hurt its ability to operate at peak efficiency. When you aren’t healthy, nothing operates as it should. The healthier your life style is, the better your digestive system works. - Work out on the regular.
Once again, getting exercise (or lack there of) doesn’t actually touch your digestive system in the way that something you eat does, but it still plays an important roll in digestive health. When you move your body, it gets your organs moving too. If you suffer from constipation, sometimes all it takes to get stuff moving along is to get up and go for a lively walk. Getting enough exercise also helps you maintain a healthy weight, and being overweight is another factor that negatively impacts your digestive health.
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