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Do you suffer from a lack of good digestion?

Is eating on the go giving you a bad stomach? Good digestion, or the lack of it, appears to be the new health issue of the century. It really isn’t a surprise considering our modern fast-paced lifestyle and the way our diet and nutrition has adjusted over the years to fit around the way we live our lives.

Avoid Foods that Impair your Digestion

While fast foods are convenient, eating it constantly can overburden your digestive system, and avoiding processed or fast foods can be difficult. These foods play havoc with the body’s neurotransmitters like dopamine, the “feel good” hormone, which can be addictive. Processed foods are also harder to digest as is more difficult for the digestive system to break down the food correctly, consequently putting stress on your immune system by:

  • Causing fermentation in the gut. This will have a knock-on effect on things like yeast growth, known as Candida. Once this gets out of control, your immune system will weaken and you’ll start to feel the unhealthy benefits of having an impaired digestive system along with a multitude of other things like lack of concentration, or “brain fog”.
  • Contributing to inflammation. Processed foods are high in sugar and fat, which can exacerbate inflammation, causing damage to the lining of the gut. When this occurs, you start to develop intolerances to food. It also increases acidity in the body.

Yeast, the Hidden Culprit

Yeast is something we all have in our digestive tract, and in small amounts contributes to healthy digestion. When yeast growth gets out of control, this condition is known as Candida, which can be caused by:

  • Overuse of antibiotics. This kills the good bacteria as well as the bad. The good bacteria usually keep yeast growth in check.
  • Drinking too much alcohol. Alcohol contributes to fermentation in the gut, which leads to an increase in yeast.
  • A compromised immune system. It can also happen when someone immune system is compromised, as in the case of those suffering from critical illness such as AIDS or cancer.

If you are on a course of antibiotics, taking a probiotic supplement may help to support your good gut bacteria. Just make sure you leave at least 3 hours between taking the antibiotic and the probiotic, otherwise the antibiotic will kill the probiotic before it can help.

Other contributory factors for a weak digestive system?

There are other culprits at hand that can sabotage your digestive system, such as leaky gut. This is when the lining of your gut develops holes by conditions like Candida or a food intolerance, allowing undigested food molecules to penetrate the intestinal wall and directly into the blood stream. Imagine a hose pipe that has a puncture, causing water to leak out.

Parasites are also one of the usual suspects when it comes to weak digestion. People who eat a lot of sushi can develop problems with parasites if not careful.

Food is your Best Medicine to Strengthen Digestion and your Immune System

To improve your digestion and your immune system with it, make sure you are eating a variety of fresh ingredients like:

  • Probiotic-friendly foods. As discussed previously, good bacteria have many benefits. For one they help us fight infections and disease, increase and support your immunity, and keep yeast growth in the digestive system in check. It also does wonders for bowel health. Foods rich in probiotics include kefir, sauerkraut linseeds
  • Essential fatty acids. Eat foods rich in essential fatty acids, like your oily fishes such as salmon, tuna, and trout to support anti-inflammation and gut health.
  • Colour is also important. Dark vegetables and fruit tend to be high in antioxidants which strengthen the immune system against inflammation.
  • Alkaline v acidic foods
  • Soluble fibre. Helps fuel your bowel, if your bowels are not working properly, then you will not be eliminating toxins in your body correctly including things like cholesterol. You should aim for eating about 30 grams of fibre a day. Adding things like oatmeal to your diet reduces the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream. Other good sources of soluble fibre are beans and pulses, apples, and root vegetables.

 

Supportive Supplements to Help with Digestion

Caprylic Acid is an antifungal supplement and is used as a colon cleanse. It will also support any overgrowth of yeast. Taking this for a few months with every meal should help deal with reducing Candida.

 

You Hold the Key to Improving your Digestion

We tend to be our own worst enemies in terms of keeping ourselves healthy, by the way we eat, what we eat and how we generally live our lives.  So just take a few steps back to review how much processed foods you are eating vs fresh ingredients.  Treat your body with respect, give it what it needs, and you will shine!

If you like the article, please share it on LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media avenues. If you try any of these suggestions, please do leave me your comments, would love to hear how you get on.