Do you have digestion issues? As it turns out, a lot of people do. But guess what? It’s not normal!

Your digestive system breaks down the foods you eat into nutrients your body needs. If you neglect your digestive health, your body could run into problems digesting foods and absorbing those nutrients.

And when your digestive system is off, your health can suffer in all sorts of ways. In addition to digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, or gas, you may also experience food allergies, weight gain, eczema, exhaustion, asthma, and more.

So what are some natural ways to help improve your digestive system? Let me tell you!

1. Exercise: It takes healthy muscle tone all around the abdomen for food to digest properly to help food move through the digestive tract. Exercise can improve digestion by increasing muscle tone.
2. Don’t over eat: Overeating can affect the digestive system and affect the rate of digestion. It causes the body to use a lot more energy, it adds stress on the digestive system and the body will try to use too many nutrients at once.
3. Reduce or eliminate processed foods: The body has a hard time digesting these foods causing more energy and nutrients to be used for breakdown, so the body actually uses more nutrients than it receives from process foods.
4. Chew your food: Take time to actually chew and enjoy your food. Digestion actually begins in the mouth because saliva contains digestive enzymes. Eating on the run makes digestion harder.
5. Eat more fiber: Fiber keeps your colon healthy. Besides making stool soft and bulky, it also speeds the process through the colon, it dilutes toxins and eliminates bad bacteria from the colon.
6. Take probiotics: We need good bacteria to help support our immune system, decrease inflammation, help heal leaky gut and aid in digestion. About 80% of our immune system comes from our gut!
7. Drink water: The stomach needs water for digestion to help protect the lining of the stomach. Lack of water in the digestive tract can lead to ulcers, indigestion, heartburn, fatigue, brain fog, memory loss and constipation.
8. Boost stomach acid: Most people have low stomach acid levels, which could result in heartburn, belching or gas, headaches, fatigue and much more. To help boost your stomach acid, squeeze fresh lemon juice in your water each morning.
9. Acupuncture: Acupuncture helps improve the body’s function and promotes self-healing. I have a few acupuncture patients right now that are seeing me for this very issue!
10. Chiropractic: The nerves that go to your digestive tract come from your spine. By removing nerve interference from misalignments in the spine, we are able to let the brain and the digestive tract communicate optimally to allow the digestive system to function like it should.
11. Watch what you eat: A lot of us might have food sensitivities, with gluten and dairy being the most popular, that could cause digestive issues, skin issues or even asthma. Take a food sensitivity test to help narrow down specific foods that might be causing problems.

There are natural ways to help with your digestive problems so you don’t have to reach for over-the-counter medications and maybe even help skin problems! So start treating your body by treating your gut!

Dr. Jess

Dr. Jessica Stensland is a busy family wellness Chiropractor in Urbandale, Iowa. She spends her weeks taking care of dozens of families.  Not only does Dr. Jessica specialize in pediatric and pregnancy chiropractic care, but she’s a board certified Acupuncturist.  Dr. Jessica believes that a healthier community means taking care of all ages.   She is a Minnesota native and enjoys seeing family and friends in her free time, in addition to staying active and reading the many books she has on her kindle.