Digestion is a complicated process, and one that impacts our lives in a variety of ways. The digestive system breaks down food, absorbs nutrients, and eliminates waste. It’s also responsible for regulating hormones and maintaining the immune system. Because of all this, it’s important to make sure your digestive system is in good working order.
Right here on Foodkeg, you are privy to a litany of relevant information on vegetables good for digestion, what to drink after a meal to help digestion, how to keep stomach healthy and clean, and so much more. Take out time to visit our catalog for more information on similar topics.
Fruits That Are Good For Digestive System
Highlights
- Stomach problems and digestive issues can really take a toll on our body.
- Poor eating habits can often trigger indigestion.
- Several fruits that have a high fibre content can help aid digestion
Stomach problems and digestive issues can really take a toll on our body. Your last night’s heavy meal could have tasted heavenly, but now it seems to be giving your tummy a hard time. Poor eating habits can often trigger indigestion. Indigestion can result in stomach pain or bloating, heartburn, nausea, vomiting and let’s not forget the irritability it brings along. There is lots that you can do about keeping your digestive system running smooth naturally. Several fruits that have a high fibre content can help aid digestion. Some of the fruits that have been known to improve digestion are as follows:
1. ApricotsThe fuzzy fruit is loaded with vitamin c which is critical for boosting immunity and skin health. In addition to this, apricots also boast of a high fibre content that maintains bowel regularity, which can prevent constipation and boost your colon health.
Apricots prevent constipation and boost your colon health
2. Apple
Weather or not the apple can keep the doctor away, it can surely keep a host of your digestive woes at bay. Apples are high in pectin fibre. Pectin can provide relief from both constipation and diarrhea, depending on the body’s need. Pectin helps improve digestion because of it’s soluble nature and ability to bind to cholesterol or toxins in the body and eliminate them out of your system.
Apples are high in pectin fibre
3. KiwiEating kiwi fruit can help in better digestion. Green kiwi fruit has an enzyme called actinidin which may deliver enhanced digestion of protein. Kiwi is also known to have a mild laxative effect which is linked to its high fibre content. According to the book ‘Healing Foods’ by DK publishing, two kiwis provide 20 percent of the daily recommended amount of fibre, aid digestion and facilitate colon health.
Eating kiwi fruit can help in better digestion
4. Bananas Its high fibre content facilitates bowel regularity and thus, fastens the digestion process. According to the book ‘Healing Foods’, it also has “anatacid effects that protect the stomach from ulcers that build in the stomach lining, and eliminates the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers These antacids are also good for easing heartburn .”
Banana’s high fibre content facilitates bowel regularity
5. GuavaThe crunchy and delicious winter fruit can be the solution to many of your tummy issues. Guava is one of the richest sources of dietary fiber, shares Bangalore based nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood. In fact, in comparison to other fruits, just 1 guava fulfills about 12% of your daily recommended intake of fibre, which makes it extremely beneficial for your digestive health. In addition to this, guava seeds, if ingested whole or chewed, serve as excellent laxatives too, aiding smoother passage of stool.
Guava is one of the richest sources of dietary fiber,
6. MangoesMangoes contains enzymes that aid the breakdown and digestion of protein, and also fibre, which facilitates smoother flow of food and wastes through the digestive tract, notes the book ‘Healing Foods’. The long term benefits of dietary fibre in lowering the risk of developing colon cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes are added bonuses.
Mangoes contains enzymes that aid the breakdown and digestion of protein,
Include these fruits to your daily diet to avoid digestion problems. Have them raw or in salads. Blend them into smoothies or juices. You can also carry them to work and snack on these nutritious wonders.
Vegetables Good For Digestion
Healthy digestion is the foundation of good health. Not only is the digestive tract responsible for processing and absorbing nutrients, it also eliminates waste and plays a major role in immunity.
Unfortunately, many people struggle with digestive problems caused by diet, stress, or other underlying health conditions. This can lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or constipation.
Eating more vegetables is a great way to support healthy digestion, but which ones are best?
Why Are Vegetables Good for Digestion?
Vegetables are hands down the healthiest foods on the planet. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that help nourish the digestive tract, reduce the risk of disease, and keep the body healthy.
Vegetables are also a great source of fiber. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate found only in plants. It cannot be broken down by our digestive tract, so it passes through undigested. This provides bulk to stool and helps maintain normal stool consistency. It has also been found to help reduce the potential risk of infections and supports a healthy inflammatory response in the gut.
Although humans cannot digest fiber, the bacteria that live inside our gut can. Eating a high fiber diet provides food for the friendly bacteria that play a role in keeping us healthy. A diet high in vegetables is the best way to nourish the body and feed the healthy microbes in the gut.
Best Vegetables for Digestive Health
While adding pretty much any vegetable to the diet can help support health, certain ones stand out for their digestive health benefits:
Green leafy vegetables
Dark green vegetables are rich in nutrients and an incredible source of insoluble fiber, the type of fiber that helps feed gut bacteria and can also help with constipation. Green vegetables are rich in magnesium, which has muscle-relaxing properties to help with normal bowel relaxation and healthy digestion.
When choosing green leafy vegetables, the darker the better. Think kale, collard greens, or mustard greens; these all taste great in soups, casseroles, or pasta dishes.
Fennel
While fennel may never win any popularity contests due to its quite odd and pungent flavor, it is a rich source of fiber as well as certain compounds that help relax the smooth muscle in the digestive tract. This may help with some common digestive complaints, like bloating, constipation, and gas. Fennel can be added to soups or salads, or roasted to bring out its licorice-like flavor.
Artichokes
One artichoke is loaded with 7 grams of fiber. The type of fiber found in artichokes, known as prebiotics, is the preferred food of gut bacteria. Artichokes may also help with occasional symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). One study found that artichoke leaf extract was able to reduce IBS symptoms by 26%. Artichokes can be enjoyed steamed or roasted. Canned artichokes can easily be added to salads or other dishes for extra fiber and nutrition.
Beets
This deep red root veggie is packed with fiber and other nutrients critical for good digestive health. The fiber in beets helps with constipation and feeds healthy bacteria in the gut. A compound called betalain in beets helps support a healthy inflammatory response in the gut and beyond, which benefits digestion and overall health.
Beets can be added to salads or soups. They taste delicious sliced and roasted, which help bring out their sweetness.
Ginger
Although ginger is more of a root than a vegetable, it is still worth mentioning for digestive health. Ginger has been used for centuries to support digestion, and is particularly known for helping with occasional nausea, and vomiting. It helps speed up how quickly food exits the stomach, which aids periodic heartburn and indigestion. Ginger can be added to soup, stir-fry, and smoothies, and can be used to make tea.
Tips for Adding More Vegetables in the Diet
One of the main benefits of vegetables is their fiber content. Although fiber is incredibly beneficial, adding in too much at once can make digestive issues worse. One to two servings of vegetables can be added at a time until the body can properly adjust to the increase in fiber. Fiber also needs water to move through the digestive tract, so when fiber intake is increased so should water consumption.
Cooked vegetables are generally better tolerated than raw, although lightly steaming or roasting your vegetables is fine. Although ideally a combination of raw and cooked veggies should be consumed, it is more important to eat some vegetables rather than avoiding them because of digestive discomfort. Finally, being adventurous is key. Most people tend to eat the same four to five vegetables over and over, but consuming a wide variety of vegetables will make it easier to take in a much greater array of health-supportive nutrients and compounds.
What To Drink After A Meal To Help Digestion
If it feels like your digestive system is—uhh—underperforming, these drinks might help. That’s right, elements of each of these drinks could help you get your digestion back on track and, pun intended, running smoothly. Your gut health plays a role in many other parts of your body—your mood, your heart, your immunity—so keeping it in good shape is important. While what you eat matters, drinks can help too. Whether you’re feeling bloated, backed up or nauseous—try one of these 7 research-backed drinks to help improve your digestion. One word of caution: there is such a thing as too much of a good thing in this category. So, start slow. And maybe roll your cart through the paper goods aisle too for some extra TP. (Yep, we went there.)
7 drinks for better digestion
1. Prune Juice
If you thought this was an old wives’ tale, guess again. Turns out prunes, and the juice they’re made into, are a great source of sorbitol—a naturally-occurring sugar alcohol that is typically not absorbed and draws water into your large intestine. And that extra water helps to keep things moving along through your GI tract. Prune juice also retains some of the fiber from the whole fruit: in a cup of prune juice, there’s about 3 grams fiber.
2. Kombucha
This fermented tea beverage is loaded with probiotics—and a recent study, published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, found that consuming probiotics reduced ‘gut transit time’ (aka how long it took for things to pass through subjects’ systems), upped stool frequency and decreased bloating. But the findings were most significant when multiple strains of probiotics were consumed (not just one). Fortunately, kombucha offers various probiotic strains and a high quantity.
3. Kefir
Similar to kombucha, kefir delivers probiotics, and more than one strain. That alone is good for digestion. But also, another recent study— in the journal Nutrients—looked at kefir specifically. When animals were fed kefir every day for a month, the makeup of their gut microbiome improved, and that has big-picture gut and digestive health benefits. Try kefir in this Berry-Mint Kefir Smoothie recipe.
4. Smoothies
The key to making a smoothie good for your digestive tract is to make sure it delivers a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber. Research shows that combination helps with consistency and improves gas. In fact, that combination is just as effective, if not more so, than a psyllium fiber supplement (a common OTC laxative).
Soluble fiber absorbs water and softens things, and makes it easier to pass. It’s in fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. Insoluble fiber is in the skins of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, and it doesn’t absorb water, but acts as ‘roughage’ in your GI tract and shuttles things through.
Want to up your smoothie for better digestion? Add a couple of kiwis: eating 2 a day for two weeks helped participants of one study boost their bowel movements without causing adverse GI symptoms.
5. Chia seed tonic
Similar to how smoothies (with the right ingredients!) can be beneficial for your digestion, so can chia seeds. That’s because they deliver both soluble and insoluble fiber—and you now know that combination helps to keep your digestive tract humming along as it should. But also, chia seeds are really quite high in fiber. In a single tablespoon, there’s about 4 grams fiber, which is 14 percent of your daily recommended amount. Our chia seed tonic uses a whole tablespoon of chia seeds, so you get all that healthy fiber when you drink up.
6. Ginger tea
Well-known for its ability to quell nausea (which is scientifically accurate, btw), ginger has also been found to help with digestion. According to a 2020 review study in the journal Nutrients, ginger helps with digestion by encouraging GI function and emptying, while also stabilizing overall GI motility so it’s not over- or under-active. Stick to ginger tea, as most ginger ales aren’t made with real ginger.
7. Water
We left the most basic (and best) for last. But sometimes the most expected and common advice is truly the best. Water falls into that category. Not drinking enough water or other liquids is the second-listed contributor to constipation, per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. So, stay hydrated by aiming for about 15½ cups a day, men. Women, your target is around 11½ cups a day, per the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. That said, about 20 percent of our water needs comes from foods, so you can probably knock off 2 to 3 cups from that total count.
