Strong and healthy digestion is fundamental to great health. That’s because the building blocks of every cell, tissue, organ, gland, bone and other components of your body come from nutrients found in your food. If you don’t eat healthy foods or your body isn’t adequately able to break them down into their nutritional components like amino acids, sugars, essential fats, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients you’ll lack the building blocks needed to build and restore a healthy body.
When you consider that your cells regularly die off and are replaced with healthy new cells, you’ll want to give your digestion a boost to ensure your body can create healthy new cells for a strong and healthy body. Here are some of my preferred ways to build digestion.
EAT MORE FERMENTED FOODS
Whether you choose kimchi (a Korean condiment), yogurt or vegan yogurt, sauerkraut, fermented pickles or some other type of fermented foods with live cultures you’ll give your gut a boost. By boosting the beneficial microbes in your gut you’ll improve your body’s ability to extract nutrients from food. Most people don’t realize that the bulk of the nutrients you eat are extracted from your food in your intestines. You need plentiful amounts of beneficial microbes that help to digest the food you eat.
Be sure the foods you choose contain “live cultures” or state “unpasteurized” on the label. Pasteurization kills all the beneficial microbes in food and won’t help your digestion.
SUPPLEMENT WITH A FULL-SPECTRUM ENZYME FORMULA
Most people’s digestive enzymes begin to wane as they get older or eat foods that require high amounts of digestive enzymes. To replenish, take an enzyme supplement that contains protease to digest proteins, lipase to digest fats, amylase to digest carbohydrates, and cellulase and hemicellulase to digest fiber. Be sure the product you choose is free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).
DRINK SOME APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Add a tablespoon of unfiltered, unpasteurized, organic apple cider vinegar to a half cup of water and drink about 10 minutes prior to eating. This will help boost your body’s ability to digest foods. Avoid apple cider vinegar if you have a stomach ulcer.
EAT MORE PLANT-BASED FOODS
Contrary to popular belief, animal products are difficult to digest, require more hydrochloric acid and enzymes to break down, and lack the water and fiber needed to keep food moving through your digestive tract. Conversely, plant-based foods are high in water and fiber, and when eaten raw (such as raw fruits and vegetables) contain all the enzymes they need to digest themselves without using your own stores.
CHEW YOUR FOOD
Most people think digestion begins in the stomach but it doesn’t. It actually begins in the mouth where a substance called ptyalin in your saliva begins to break down carbohydrates—starches and sugars. By chewing your food well it will leave your mouth already predigested.
SIP SOME PEPPERMINT TEA
Peppermint tea has been a popular digestive aid for many years, probably because it works. It aids digestion, and helps alleviate nausea and digestive upset. Add one teaspoon of peppermint leaves per cup of boiled water and let steep for at least 10 minutes. Alternatively, use prepackaged peppermint tea bags and allow to steep for at least 10 minutes.
DRINK ELECAMPANE TEA
While the herb elecampane is most known for its respiratory benefits, it also helps a sluggish digestive system. Use one teaspoon of herb per cup of water and allow to steep for at least 10 minutes. Alternatively use one half teaspoon of elecampane tincture (alcohol extract) three times daily.
MAKE A GINGER DECOCTION
Ginger is a well-known remedy for nausea, which is a common symptom of indigestion. Coarsely chop a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger and add to a pot with 1 quart (or 1 liter) of pure water. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes. Strain and drink 3 cups daily. You can add a small amount of the herbal sweetener stevia if you’d like.
SUPPLEMENT WITH PROBIOTICS
Take a supplement that contains a wide range of probiotic strains. Ideally, it would contain: L. acidophilus, L. brevis, L. bulgaricus, L. plantarum, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus, L. salivarius, B. bifidum, B. breve, B. lactis, and B. longum. L. stands for Lactobacillus and B. stands for Bifidobacteria.
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