11 Best and Worst Digestion Habits to improve your Digestive Health
There are some habits you commit unknowingly which could negatively impact your health. If you’re not cautious about your health, such habits can lead to many health issues.
Occasionally, everyone will experience digestion problems such as upset stomach, gas, constipation, diarrhea, burning sensation and etc. However, when these symptoms occur frequently, they can be a real pain and disrupts your healthy life.
Can Bad Digestive Health lead to serious Health Problems?
Yes, improper food digestion can lead to several health issues. You might experience common problems like flatulence, bloating and diarrhea to serious health problems like gallbladder disease, and GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease).
Hence Gut health is vital to prevent any damage done to your body.
To complete the cycle of the digestion process, we have gut flora or so-called microbiota that lives in our body. That being said, there are trillions of bacteria in our intestines, with the majority of bacteria in the large intestine.
The microbiota is responsible for the breakdown of carbs, uptake of nutrients, and absorption of energy. When you follow bad lifestyle habits then something goes wrong which upsets the colony of the microbiota. Thereby upset microbiota can cause a host of problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, heartburn, weight gain, and other problems.
Fortunately, a few changes to diet and lifestyle can improve your gut health. Scroll down to know some of the best and worst Digestive habits for better gut health.
6 Bad Habits you must stop following
1. Irregular Food timings
Your body must follow a chronological order, especially while having your food and hitting the bed. Do you set a fixed time while having your meal?
I guess mostly the people who work in companies only follow a standard time to have any meal of the day. Whereas others might not follow strict timing as they want to laze around.
Some of the worst habits are skipping breakfast, late dinners, munching late-night snacks, and having heavy meals at night. Such habits must be avoided to prevent indigestion.
Moreover, having no fixed time to have any meal of the day will make your body fail to secrete the right enzymes because your brain often gets confused by the differing timings.
Therefore, fix an ideal time for three meals of the day and never skip breakfast.
2. Not Chewing the Food
It’s not just about when you eat your body or what you eat but how you eat your food is essential because improper chewing leads to bad gut health.
How many times do you chew your food? Most people tend to chew their food 5-6 times but you must chew it for at least 30 times. That’s because the digestive system wants 50% of the food to be digested in the mouth itself.
If you’re not chewing your food properly and swallowing it, your body needs to work harder thereby you will experience a sudden loss of energy.
So, don’t swallow the food instead have it mindfully by eating slowly.
3. Stress
Too much stress or anxiety will be the sole reason for the improper functioning of the digestive system. That’s because the state of your mind is directly linked to the functioning of your digestive system.
Use different stress-busters techniques to control the stress levels such as including breathing exercises to your routine, meditation, sweating it out, enjoying the nature, and most importantly be with yourself and don’t let stress spoil your health.
4. Wrong Food Combinations
Unintentionally, most of the people do wrong food combinations which will hamper the digestive process and also produce toxins in the body.
For instance, milk with fruits, dairy products with salty foods, or any of the wrong food combinations slows down the digestive process.
Moreover, if you’re already suffering from any digestion problems, you must avoid taking foods like milk products, too many nuts, junk foods, refined flours, additives, and others which create problems by not letting the food digest and pass out.
As all such foods are hard to digest, consume fresh fruits, raw vegetables before lunch which will give your body required amounts of fiber to boost the digestion process.
5. Bathing after Meals
Do you have food and a bath? or Bath and have food? Which category do you fall?
If you’re the one who first eats and later have a bath, you’re just messing up your digestive system. Yes, that’s true because when you eat something, your body temperature increases to digest the food.
On the other hand, if you take a bath, it decreases the body temperature making it hard to digest the food.
Similar way, drinking water after meals is a bad practice in Ayurveda. Water immediately after meals acts as a poison since the water decreases digestive fire and hence the food doesn’t get digested properly. Such indigested food instead of providing nutrients and strength to your body, it produces toxins.
So, ensure to take bath before meals and drink water after at least a gap of 20-30 mins for better digestive health.
6. Not Ditching Bad Habits
So-called bad habits such as drinking, smoking, eating late night are not at all good for your overall health. According to a few studies, Smoking will double the risk of developing acid reflux. Therefore, stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal cancers, are some of the common issues seen in people who smoke.
On the other hand, Alcohol also increases acid production in your stomach and perhaps leads to acid reflux (GERD), heartburn, and stomach ulcers. Reducing alcohol helps with proper digestion.
Similar way, eating late night and sleeping can also increase heartburn and indigestion.
Good Habits for Better Digestion
1. Include Probiotics to your diet
Probiotics are healthy bacteria which are capable of killing bad bacteria in your body and hence keeping your digestive system stronger. They help with digestion by breaking down indigestible fibers that cause bloating, gas and other such problems.
So, a weak digestive system is a clear sign of a lack of probiotics. Probiotics are found in foods like yogurts, kimchi, panner, apple cider vinegar, and other fermented foods.
2. Stay Hydrated
Although drinking water right after a meal slows down the digestion process, it’s actually an important part of digestion when taken properly. It helps digest solid foods and absorb nutrients quickly. Water makes your stool softer to easily pass through.
Nutritionists recommend drinking 2 liters of non-caffeinated water per day to avoid digestion problems like constipation. In addition to water, you can gulp down herbal teas, warm lemon water on an empty stomach and other healthy fluids.
You can tell you’re sufficiently hydrated by noticing the color of your urine. If it’s pale yellow in color your body is hydrated or if it’s dark yellow in color, your body is dehydrated.
3. Eat more Fiber
It’s a known thing that fiber is good for digestive health. A high-fiber diet is linked to a reduction of several digestive problems including acid reflux, ulcers, and hemorrhoids. It also promotes regular bowel movements.
There are three types of fibers soluble, insoluble and prebiotics. Prebiotics are found in grains, vegetables, and fruits. Do not avoid spices like ginger, black pepper, and coriander which improve digestive health.
4. Add Ghee to your diet
Did you ever know that ghee can promote healthy digestion?
Yes, if you’re allergic to ghee or have a misconception that it would make you fat, change your ideas immediately. Without ghee in your diet, there are more chances of bloating, gas, constipation, indigestion, and acidity.
Ghee is rich in butyric acid which is an energy source for colon and large intestine. When these two organs are strong, they absorb nutrients and eliminate waste or toxic particles.
So, all you fitness freaks don’t worry about consuming ghee. Every person must have an intake of 2-4 tablespoons of Ghee every day.
5. Have a Good Quality Sleep
When you wake up after a good quality sleep, your body gives the urge to empty the bowels immediately. Goodnight sleep has the ability to keep up the digestive fire.
Don’t compromise on your sleep as a good night’s sleep is equal to good digestion. Furthermore, when your body sleeps digestion happens faster because sleep allows the digestive system to heal itself.
So, quality sleep is important to maintain better digestive health. Also, remember left side sleeping is an ideal position to prevent acid reflux.
6. Include a Detox Drink to Ease Digestion
One detox drink a day is the ticket to healthier, stronger, and fitter you. That’s because detox drinks eliminate toxins from your body and reduce major health ailments.
One such amazing drink is Detox organics Chocolate delicious Shake. It contains 25 superfoods to ease digestion, increase energy, reduce inflammation, boost mood, promote weight loss, and change your life.
You can get the Detox Chocolate Shake here with upto 35% off by using the code: SLM65
Up to the very end!
These are some of the best and worst digestion habits to maintain good gut health and prevent your body from digestion related problems like constipation, bloating, gas, acid reflux, etc.
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