1. Take Your Time Eating
Do you scarf your food down as quickly as possible?
Instead, take time at each meal to bless your food, pause for gratitude, or notice what’s on your plate. Thank the person who prepared the meal and cultivate gratitude for the animals, plants, and people who helped bring you this nourishing meal. Try putting your fork down between bites.
Not only does this practice encourage gratitude and help you enjoy your meal more, it actually helps your body digest food (5)!
2. Avoid Processed Foods
Most of us know the adverse effects that processed and refined foods have on our bodies, and digestion is just one more system these foods affect. Your body does not digest fake food easily, which slows down the absorption of nutrients from healthy foods in the process and hurts your immune system in the long run (6).
3. Eliminate Troublesome Food Groups
Dairy, grains, and legumes are difficult to digest for those with compromised digestive symptoms. Try eliminating these foods from your diet, at least for a few weeks, to see how you feel. You might be able to slowly add raw dairy products back into your diet, especially fermented dairy products like kefir.
4. Chew Your Food
This tip seems simple—but don’t underestimate the power of properly chewing.
Digestion begins in the mouth, where enzymes are secreted by your salivary glands to help break down food. This helps prepare the food to be further digested in the stomach, making digestion easier for your system down the line.
Studies show that the popular technique of “grazing” is actually quite harmful to your health (7). Instead, try sitting down for meals and chewing your food 32 to 36 times per bite (8). This brings awareness to how much you chew (or don’t chew) your food and forces you to eat at a slower, healthier rate.
5. Eat More Fermented Foods and Probiotics
Sauerkraut, kimchi, and other fermented foods are great to use as condiments with your meals. These foods are rich in probiotics, a kind of good bacteria that aids in digestion (9). If you can’t find them at your local supermarket, try making them at home.
Not a fan of sauerkraut? If you feel you aren’t getting enough probiotics in your diet through fermented foods, try a probiotic supplement to rebalance and restore gut health.
6. Drink Bone Broth Daily
Bone broth is packed with gelatin—a nutrient that is a potent mucosal barrier protector for our intestines. It can also help reduce inflammation and heals the intestinal tract, even after an injury. (10).
Best of all, it’s a tasty way to start your day and is easily made at home in a crockpot or Instant Pot.
7. Practice Womb Squatting
Have you ever wondered how humans pooped before toilets? That’s right—they had to squat! Womb squatting is shown to be an effective way to improve digestion by promoting proper elimination (12). It also opens up the hips and ankles after a long day of sitting at a desk, while helping to relieve constipation and decreasing menstrual cramps.
Here’s a tutorial on how to safely and effectively do the womb squat.
You can also catch my podcast interview with Wellness Force Radio to learn more about the womb squat as a pain relief tool.
8. Learn to Belly Breathe
Belly breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, is a technique used to manage gastrointestinal stress. This form of deep, meditative breathing has been shown to reduce stress, support the immune system, decrease muscle tension, improve digestion and even increase energy (13, 14).
Try belly breathing if you’re feeling stressed or frazzled throughout the day. To start, lay flat on your back. Take a few minutes to completely relax and focus on the breath as your stomach rises and falls. Most of us take very shallow breaths, so work on slowly and intentionally letting the air in and out of your mouth or nose.
Want to try it for yourself? Dr. Walding, DPT recorded a short video to help you get started with diaphragmatic breathing.
