From experience, I know that dealing with poor digestion can be an extremely frustrating and painful process. Healing the gut to improve digestion takes time and diligence. Sometimes the number of opinions on how to go about improving digestion can be really overwhelming!
I started out with a gluten-intolerance in college, which later became a major yeast and bacterial overgrowth in my gut, and a long list of foods my body couldn’t digest. I’ve seen a digestion specialist and a naturopathic doctor, and I am still not quite “there yet” when it comes to having a normal, high-functioning digestive system. However, my digestive system is working much better now than it has in years! You can read more about My Food Journey in my post if you’d like to.
From several years of experimenting with different methods of improving my digestion, as well as learning as much as I can about it, I can highly recommend these 8 simple ways to improve digestion naturally!
The best thing about these methods for improving digestion is that they really are simple. While you work on figuring out the root issues of what’s going on with your gut, these things can help with your journey and your symptoms immensely. Do please keep in mind that I am not a health care professional. Please consult a professional health care provider before making changes to your lifestyle or if you have any concerns about your health.
Just a heads up: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. That means if you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. Thanks for supporting me!
1. Eat real food.
Feeding your body real, unprocessed foods is the #1 thing you can do to improve your digestion. Processed foods usually have added artificial ingredients including preservatives and chemicals that your body doesn’t know how to digest.
Do any of these sound familiar: high fructose corn syrup, monosodium gulatamate, aspartame, maltodextrin, or artificial flavors?
Those are chemicals. And those few I listed barely scratch the surface of the long list of chemicals commonly found in our food. Many of those chemicals are known carcinogens, hormone disrupters, and toxins.
Your body is meant to digest food, not substances created in a lab! It doesn’t know what to do with artificial ingredients, and they wreak havoc on the body over time. And so, when you feed your body a lot of processed foods with those kinds of ingredients, your digestion suffers. It makes sense, right?
Ideally, cook your own food as much as possible from fresh ingredients. You can find a lot of amazing real food recipes in our Food Archives! When you do buy pre-made or processed foods, the fewer ingredients, the better. Avoid high fructose corn syrup at all costs. You can read more about common chemicals in food to know better what to avoid.
2. Eat fermented and probiotic foods.
Fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and kombucha are excellent for gut health. These foods contain bacteria called probiotics which improve digestion and help your body break down the foods you eat, while helping to prevent infection and reduce inflammation.
Have you heard of kombucha before? It’s a fizzy tea drink that contains probiotics and is really great for gut health. You can read my Introduction to Kombucha post to learn about what it is, and my Best Kombucha for Your Health post for help knowing which kind to buy. You can also learn how to make your own kombucha and spend a lot less than you would on store-bought.
3. Drink apple cider vinegar water.
Every morning the first thing I do is drink a glass of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in it. Apple cider vinegar boosts your stomach acid and helps to kick-start your digestion and metabolism. You can also drink some apple cider vinegar in water before meals to aid digestion.
Make sure you get raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar to have all the health benefits! Raw and unfiltered means it hasn’t been processed. Processing it removes some of the beneficial components. I personally love Bragg’s Organic Raw and Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar.
If you’re new to apple cider vinegar you can read my post to learn about 3 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar Daily for better health!
4. Manage your stress levels.
High levels of stress not only take a toll on emotional and mental health, but stress also negatively effects the physical body. Specifically, living with high levels of stress puts a lot of strain on the digestive system.
Learn to better manage stress levels by making time for yourself to relax and unwind. Literally schedule in time for self-care when you need to, and it will improve digestion as a result! For ideas, I’ve written a post with 35 Self-Care Ideas to Refresh Your Mind, Body, and Soul.
5. Stay hydrated.
Drinking enough water is essential for good digestion. Water helps your body break down food and process the nutrients in food so that it can actually use them. Dehydration can lead to constipation, so drinking adequate water and non-caffeinated fluids helps keep you regular.
The biggest help for my hydration is learning to keep a water bottle on me at all times. This Healthy Human stainless steel water bottle is my favorite. It has double-walled insulation that keeps cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours and hot drinks hot for up to 12 hours. Plus, I can vouch for it that it does not leak or sweat at all, and your drink never touches plastic, which I also love. Last thing: a lot of water bottles leave the part you drink off of exposed, so it can touch a lot of stuff, then you touch your mouth to it. Yuck. But with this one the lid covers the part you drink from, so it’s much more hygienic. Regardless of what water bottle you use, get in the habit of taking it with you in the car or when you do errands, and it will help you drink so much more!
Another one of my favorite ways to make sure I’m drinking enough water is by drinking a lot of herbal tea. Herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free, but can be extremely flavorful, with a ton of additional health benefits. I’ve written a post about my top 9 Favorite Herbal Teas if you’d like to try some new ones!
6. Consume bone broth.
Bone broth, which is made by boiling chicken, beef, or fish bones in water for extended periods of time, is full of beneficial nutrients including gelatin, collagen, and amino acids that improve digestion and gut health. The nutrients in bone broth are easy to digest, and they also aid your body in digesting other nutrients. Plus, bone broth helps to heal your gut if you have food intolerances or leaky gut. I’ve written all about the Health Benefits of Bone Broth if you want to learn more!
7. Consider taking a probiotic supplement.
For a lot of us, the essential bacteria in our gut gets out of balance pretty easily. Antibiotics, for example, tend to kill both the bad bacteria and the good bacteria in our gut. Replenishing that good bacteria is essential for digestion to work optimally!
Plus, have you heard the phrase, “All disease begins in the gut?” Taking a probiotic will not only improve digestion, but can also boost the immune system and prevent other kinds of illnesses. I am not a health professional, but I would highly recommend taking a probiotic supplement to everyone.
The naturopathic doctor I’m seeing recommended switching probiotics every bottle or couple of bottles, because different ones will provide different needed strains of bacteria to the gut. It’s also important to know that not all probiotics are created equal. Some may help balance your gut, and others may not do much for you. It’s important to do your research and helpful to consult a health professional before you buy one. This post about How to Choose the Best Probiotic is a helpful starting place.
8. Boost magnesium intake.
Magnesium is one of the most critical minerals for optimal bodily function. And yet, it is estimated that around half of adults have a magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is especially helpful for the body’s process of moving food through the digestive system. Increasing magnesium intake is a known way to combat frequent constipation and improve digestion.
Some of the best food sources of magnesium are: leafy greens, nuts and seeds (especially almonds and pumpkin seeds), yogurt, black beans, and dark chocolate.
I personally started taking a magnesium supplement a few months ago to help with my digestion and to help me sleep better. I honestly can say that I have noticed positive changes in both areas! This magenesium glycinate supplement from Amazon is the one I purchased after doing a lot of research into what others recommend. It is a form of magnesium that is easy for the body to process and use.
