7 Ways to Improve Digestive Health
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Do you have trouble with your digestion? It is a common problem these days.
There are many things you can do that do not involve taking medications! You can add nutrient dense, easily digestible foods to help nourish and settle your gut.
Here are 7 of my favorite ways to improve digestive health:
1. Homemade bone broths
Bone broths are an easy food to add to your repertoire. Bone broths can be sipped or added to other foods such as stews, soups, vegetable sautés and more. Use bone broth to cook your grains and legumes. There are many benefits of bone broth but one is that gelatin in the broth helps line the gut and promotes healthy digestion. Oh Lardy has recipes for both chicken and beef bone broths. You can also buy bone broths online and have them shipped to you!
2. Garlic
Garlic can aid in the digestive process and increases the secretion of digestive juices. Try to choose raw or fermented garlic whenever possible.
3. Cooked vegetables instead of raw
Many people have trouble digesting raw vegetables. If that happens to you, try adding some lightly cooked veggies to your diet. Cooked veggies can be easier to digest because heating neutralizes and breaks down the cell walls of the plant.
4. Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented tea that is full of healthy bacteria and helps promote the pH balance of your digestive tract. This helps keep the gut healthy. You can make your own kombucha at home easily with your own brew kit.
5. Ginger
Ginger is an anti-inflammatory root that is calming to the digestive tract and helps the intestinal contractions to push food through. You can make a very simple ginger tea and sip. This ginger tea from Living the Nourished Life is also great for digestion problems.
6. Bitters
Classic ‘bitters' (angostura, horehound, peppermint, wormwood, etc) as well as bitter food (endive, arugula, dandelion, etc) all help prime our digestive systems and have been known to cleanse the body. The bitter reflex we experience when we eat bitter foods stimulates and strengthens the digestive system and organs. Taking bitters before meals or simply having a green salad before main course will help keep digestion strong. You can also make your own bitters at home!
7. Fermented foods
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, berries, carrots, etc. provide beneficial bacteria to enhance digestion and balance the digestive tract. Oh Lardy eats fermented foods daily and has lots of recipes on our site! There are numerous benefits to eating fermented foods. These are some of the best foods to add to your diet to maintain healthy digestion. Also, if you have been taking antibiotics, you definitely need to help to replenish your gut bacteria. Here is a great article on how to restore gut health after antibiotics.
Here is a great post from my friend at Holistic Health Herbalist on how to relieve gas!
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Digestion is a common problem of people at now. And I think junk food and routine less food is the major cause for this. I also think your instruction may help us to keep control the digestive problem. The instructions are not too hard to maintain for us. Everyone should follow those for reducing their digestive problem.
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