Deloitte_YW August-2018 Dummy

30 wellness
focus
Ways To Improve
Digestion Naturally
There are simple steps that can
be taken to deal with digestive
issues that will not only bring
about ease and comfort but overall
health and wellbeing too. Follow
these five easy ways to improve
digestion naturally:
Eat consciously – It’s
not just what you eat but how
you eat that can have a huge
impact on how your digestive
system works. Being mindful of
your eating habits can improve
digestion dramatically. Firstly,
where you eat: Don’t eat on the go,
standing up or hunched over your
computer. Turn off the TV, your
phone, and any other distractions
and concentrate just on eating.
Relax, don’t eat when stressed
or in a bad mood; your digestive
system cannot be switched on if
you are in ‘flight or flight’ mode.
Chew your food. The more you
chew your food the better it will
be broken down which will make
the stomach’s job easier. The
presence of saliva also stimulates
the stomach to produce stomach
acid and more digestive enzymes
for the next phase of digestion. Sit
for some time after you finish to
allow your stomach the chance to
churn the food with its juices and
continue the digestive process.
Boost your gut
bacteria – Probiotics
are strains of
beneficial
bacteria that live
in your digestive
tract. They are
vital to a healthy gut
aiding in digestion,
helping to prevent
infection, reduce
inflammation,
metabolise drugs,
and they even
produce some
nutrients. Enzymes
produced by intestinal bacteria
are important in the metabolism
of several vitamins. The intestinal
microflora synthesises vitamin
K, biotin, vitamin B12, folic
acid and thiamine. Bacteria can
help to ferment indigestible
carbohydrates to short chain fatty
acids, which can be used as a
source of energy.
Remove the toxins
from your diet – Excess
toxins can be the cause of
digestive disturbances so
eliminating the foods that create
inflammation in your body and
replacing them with nourishing
foods is one of the best ways to
help heal your gut. Try to avoid all
processed foods that offer little or
no nutrition and are mostly full of
refined sugars, artificial flavours,
colours and preservatives. Try to
eliminate gluten from your diet
if you are experiencing digestive
symptoms as it is a common gut
irritant. Try gluten-free grains like
amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa,
millet, rice and sorghum. Avoid
processed soy (soy protein isolate
found in drinks and processed
foods) that interferes with nutrient
absorption and causes hormone
imbalances.
Boost stomach acid –
For food to go through from the
stomach to the small intestine,
where most of the nutrient
absorption takes place, it needs
to be in a liquid state. If you don’t
chew your food properly, and
you have low stomach acid, you
stomach has a harder job to do
to mechanically churn and break
the food down. To naturally boost
stomach acid try adding freshlysqueezed
lemon juice to your
water between meals, drink 1-2
teaspoons of raw unfiltered apple
cider vinegar in water before each
meal and remember to chew your
food properly. Don’t rush your
food; take your time.
Remain hydrated –
Water is very important to health
but is often over-looked. You need
to drink at least 2.5 litres of
water daily to keep your
intestines and entire body
hydrated. Dehydration
can lead to constipation
as well as a whole lot of
other issues. However,
don’t drink too much
with meals as this can
dilute the digestive juices.
Your water intake should
be between meals. Noncaffeinated
drinks like
herbal and spice infusions
can also count towards
your daily water intake and
help with digestion.
yourwellness.com • Volume VII • Issue III • August 2018