How to Deal with Poor Digestion Problems

• There are measures that you can initiate to help your digestive system work more efficiently resulting in better health.
• Poor digestion can result in constipation, gas, water retention, and abdominal pain.

Poor digestion has been a problem for all of us at one time or another. Depending on the specific foods you eat, the lifestyle you live, and your physical and medical condition can determine and have a direct effect on the efficiency of your digestive abilities. There are measures that you can initiate to help your digestive system work more efficiently resulting in better health. Give yourself plenty of time to eat your meal. With people in such a hurry all the time, we often find ourselves rushed and eating according to a timeclock. Do not swallow large pieces of food as this is harder on your system to digest. While you are eating, make sure you chew each bite thoroughly. This helps to start breaking the food down before it even goes to your stomach, so that digestion is much more efficient. Anytime food is not chewed properly, there is a risk of choking and the digestive process has to work harder in completely breaking the food down. This results in the poor absorption of all the vital minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients in the food. This is why it is so important to slow down, take smaller bites, chew completely, and then swallow. This will help your digestive system do the job it was intended to.

Poor digestion can result in constipation, gas, water retention, and abdominal pain. Malnutrition, as well as other serious health problems, can occur if your digestive system is not working properly. You can help eliminate poor digestion and put yourself back on the road to a healthy and more efficient digestive system by taking some deliberate steps. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Water is crucial in that it helps the body to absorb the nutrients from the food and then to efficiently and comfortably eliminate any waste build up. When there is an inadequate water intake, your elimination process is compromised. Constipation is a very likely the most common response to insufficient water consumption and can also affect the balance of bacteria in your system. This may allow harmful bacteria to build up and irritate your bowels. We all have beneficial bacteria in our digestive system that serves a purpose, but when the balance of bacteria changes we can end up with constipation and other symptoms that follow.

Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fiber is important if you suffer from poor digestion. Fiber helps keep your digestive system working and promotes the proper elimination of wastes. Constipation again can result if you do not have enough fiber in your diet, but that is not the only problem a lack of fiber can cause. Many doctors believe that cancer of the colon and intestines may possibly be one of the results of not eating enough fiber.

Relieving stress before you eat can also have an effect on your digestive system. Stress causes changes in your body, and has a direct relation in causing the cravings for high fat and high sugar foods. Stress also has an effect on how your body digests food in that the digestive process slows down when your body is stressed out. This causes food to stay in your system longer, clogging it up, fermenting, and the results are normally negative. These results can include acid reflux, heartburn, nausea, and weight gain. Try to relax before eating so that your digestion process is relaxed and stimulated properly to work more efficiently.

Probiotics can play a big role in proper and healthier food digestion. Probiotics (for life) are healthy bacteria that work to improve the overall digestive system. The digestive system contains more than four hundred types of yeast and bacteria that are beneficial and necessary for digestion. Probiotics can definitely help keep your intestines clean and healthy. Many yogurts in the grocery stores now contain some of these bacterias, but it is important to determine if these foods have live cultures. Some yogurt makers use organisms that are not active or live, or add the cultures before the product has been pasteurized, which are then destroyed in the process of pasteurizing because of the extreme heat. For those who do not particularly like yogurt it is not the only product or way that you can get these probiotics. Most health food stores and now some grocery stores carry these supplements as well.

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.