10 Health Tips to Prevent Digestive Problems

As we age past the robust health of our youth, certain health problems start appearing on the horizon of our everyday attention. Digestive problems are one of them. Though not seemingly debilitating, digestion problems can definitely disrupt daily activities and make you think twice about taking an unplanned trip if you suffer from them.

So, what determines the health of this system that keeps us running? The food you eat and your daily lifestyle have a direct impact on the health of your digestive system. Over time, factors such as lack of activity, medications, and every day habits can take their toll and contribute to digestive issues. When there is something that disturbs your digestive system, you will most likely experience unpleasant symptoms. While some problems require a visit to your gastroenterologist, others may be related to your lifestyle and can be prevented.

Taking caution and steps to improve your digestive health can not only protect and improve your long-term digestive function, but have a positive impact on your overall health as well.

The following are some effective strategies and tips to help prevent digestive problems:

1. Track and avoid triggers that create digestive problems for you

Various things, that vary from person to person, can trigger digestive problems. You will have to identify what kinds of eating patterns, habits, and foods trigger digestive issues for you in particular. For some people, tricky foods can be dairy. For others, it can be gluten. Coffee, fizzy/ carbonated drinks, and dairy products are common causes for gas and diarrhoea.

Over the counter or prescription medication can also cause digestive upsets. Since such triggers can vary from person to person, it is best to track your diet and medication to identify your personal triggers. For instance, you can try an elimination diet to identify foods that irritate your digestive tract. You can also talk to your doctor to help identify any potential allergies and other food sensitivities. Inquire about any known side effects of any medication you are currently on to see if that is the culprit.

Certain activities such as travel and events such as menstrual hormones can affect your digestion also. If you suspect a connection, start taking note of foods and drinks, medication or supplements, and daily activities and events. You may start finding correlations between these tracked factors and digestive issues.

2. Make fibre a major portion of your diet

Fibre-rich food is highly beneficial to digestive function. Fibre adds bulk to your stool and keeps it moving smoothly through your digestive tract. A high-fibre diet is a key component in alleviating and preventing constipation. Increasing fibre intake prevents gas, bloating, and diarrhoea. A fibre-rich diet also helps maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria that play a big role in the overall health of your digestive system. So, consuming a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes can help improve your digestive health and prevent many digestive ailments such as heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), haemorrhoids, diarrhoea, gas, nausea, and intestinal cramps.

3. Incorporate both soluble and insoluble fibre

You may have heard of soluble fibre with its growing popularity in food trends. It is a reputation, that is thankfully, well earned. Though dietary fibre is part of food that mostly passes through your system without being broken down too much, it plays an important role in our digestive function. In addition, fibres play an important role in maintaining healthy body weight.

Dietary fibre is of two kinds: soluble and insoluble fibre; both have unique benefits.

• Soluble fibre, mostly in the form of gums and plant pectin, dissolves in water into a gel-like substance in our digestive tract and aids in digestion by bulking up watery stools. Soluble fibre helps in regulating blood glucose levels and reduces the risk of diabetes. It also helps reduce cholesterol in the blood and is heart-friendly. Good sources of soluble fibre are nuts, seeds, legumes (kidney, black, and lima beans), fruits (avocado, apricots, pears), and vegetables (carrots, turnips, ladies fingers).
• Insoluble fibre, also called roughage, helps food pass through your digestive system with less strain and helps improve bowel regularity and health. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels and prevent diabetes. Good sources of insoluble fibre are whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.

4. Drink adequate water

Water is essential for good health and bowel function. It helps cleanse the digestive system and prevents constipation by softening stools. It aids the digestive function by helping break down food and improving the absorption of nutrients by your body. Drinking plenty of water will help you avoid dehydration and help you stay hydrated if you are suffering from diarrhoea.

Your aim should be to drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. However, you should avoid sugary and caffeinated drinks – they can make digestive problems worse. Also, to prevent ‘traveller’s diarrhoea,’ drink water from known sources when you’re on the road to avoid contaminated water. Stick to sipping on bottled or filtered water.

5. Consider a probiotic

Consider incorporating probiotics into your diet. Probiotics are a combination of live beneficial bacteria and yeasts that live naturally in your digestive tract. They are the ‘good’ bacteria that help your body function well and also fight the ‘bad’ bacteria.

They combat the ill effects of a poor diet, stress, and antibiotics. Probiotics can help break down lactose, strengthen your immune system, help treat IBS, and improve nutrient absorption. Fermented foods such as yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea) and kefir (fermented dairy drink) are good sources of probiotics.

6. Be active and exercise regularly

Regular physical activity has many bodily benefits which include maintaining a healthy weight, the most well-known use of exercise. But getting at least 150 minutes of muscle-strengthening and cardiovascular exercise every week will do more than get you on track of an overall healthy lifestyle. Exercise can, in fact, help maintain a healthy digestive function and aid bowel regularity by preventing issues such as constipation. Further, maintaining a healthy body weight can also aid your digestive system.

7. Limit foods high in fat

It is no secret that high-fat food or foods with high amounts of saturated fats are bad for you. They increase blood cholesterol, increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, hypertension, and have many debilitating effects on your body.

Unsurprisingly, fatty foods complicate normal digestive activity also. Fatty foods strain the digestive process and slow it down. That is why digesting fatty foods when you have an upset stomach is much harder. They also make you prone to constipation. However, it is important to get healthy or good fats, especially those high in omega-3 fatty acids, in your diet, and accompanying such food with high-fibre foods will help in easy digestion.

8. Manage stress

Stress can cause and aggravate gastrointestinal problems. In fact, research has found that digestive problems are one of the most common symptoms of anxiety and stress. Stress can cause a host of digestive issues such as loss of appetite, bloating, cramping, and inflammation.

Practicing stress-relieving activities such as exercise, yoga, meditation, and hobbies can reduce long-term or chronic stress and help alleviate many long-standing gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, indigestion, and diarrhoea.

9. Avoid or stop bad habits

Excessive alcohol and caffeine consumption and smoking interfere with digestion and can cause many common disorders of the digestive system. Smoking can contribute to acid reflux/ heartburn, stomach ulcers, liver disease and can increase the risk of gallstones. Alcohol consumption can cause bloating, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and flatulence. Drinking large quantities of alcohol regularly affects your gut’s ability to absorb nutrients and proteins and reduces the secretion of digestive enzymes into your gastrointestinal tract.

10. Maintain a regular eating schedule

Eating your meals on a set schedule can help your digestive system stay healthy and aid in the regular flow of your digestive secretions. Look to have meals such as breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner around the same time every day. Eating several small meals throughout the day instead of a few large ones can also prevent digestive strain that large meals can cause.

Digestive problems can be an embarrassment as well as an impediment to daily activities. You are definitely not alone if you suffer from them regularly. Changing unhealthy habits and inculcating healthy diet and lifestyle changes can be powerful steps towards improving digestive health. If you are experiencing any symptoms related to digestion that warrant a visit to a specialist, or want to know more about the risks, treatments, and various procedures related to digestive conditions, consult the best gastroenterologists in Bangalore at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Sagar Hospitals.