Your Digestive System: How to Promote Gut Health
Great health begins in the digestive system. Your brain and gut are connected. Your digestive tract is not only home to your enteric nervous system (aka the gut brain); it’s also the gateway to your bloodstream. Everything that happens in your body is connected — what’s good for the gut is good for the rest of you. Which habits prompt gut health? Read on to find out.
At mealtime, focus on the task at hand.
Stop multitasking at mealtimes! It takes time for hunger and satiety signals to travel from belly to brain – and external influences can interfere with those messages. Eating too fast or while scrolling your phone can distract you from noticing your hunger cues. Spend about 20 minutes at the table for each meal, pausing occasionally to notice your hunger cues.
Chew your food thoroughly.
Chewing is an important early step in the digestive process. Scarfing down food and barely chewing means your body has to work harder to break down the nutrients — and you might not give your body time to release digestive enzymes. Chew each bite until it is consistently softened into a liquid.
Fill in the ‘fiber gap’ with plant-based and functional foods.
Fiber promotes fullness and regularity.* Women need about 25 grams daily; men need about 38 grams a day. Fiber is only found in plants (e.g., whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables and legumes). Dietary fiber comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber attracts water and forms a gel during digestion. Insoluble fiber bulks up the stool, making it softer and easier to pass. If you’re not eating enough plants in your diet, functional foods and supplements can help bridge the gap.
Find ways to deal with daily stress.
Why do we say “trust your gut” or “a gut feeling”? Over 100 million nerve cells line your gastrointestinal tract, forming the enteric nervous system. This “gut brain” manages your digestion: swallowing food, physically moving it along, releasing the enzymes your body needs to break down nutrients, etc. Dealing with your daily stress can promote healthy digestion.*
Track when and how you go to the bathroom.
There’s a “normal” range for the time it takes for food to digest and be eliminated. Overall, times range from 10 to 73 hours. With that in mind, start to pay attention to your bathroom trips. Are you going daily, less than three times a week or a few times a day?
Pay attention to the foods that give you trouble.
Even “healthy” foods can lead to occasional digestive issues, like gas, bloating and constipation.* That’s why there’s no one single best diet for everyone. Start to track when you experience occasional discomforts (like gas, bloating, indigestion or constipation), then notice what you ate beforehand.
Know the difference between prebiotics and probiotics.
They’re both helpful, but they have different jobs in the digestive system. Prebiotics are a fiber that also supports gut health by helping the microbiome flourish.* Probiotics are the “good” or beneficial bacteria in your microbiome.
Get to know digestive enzymes.
Probiotics don’t break down food – but digestive enzymes do. Enzymes help your body break down the food you eat. Specific enzymes target specific macronutrients. They’re specialists, so you can find the right formula to break down the foods or nutrients that give you trouble, whether that’s gluten, vegetables and beans or dairy in all forms.