How to Have a Healthy Digestion

Americans - we are fast paced and movers and shakers. We want everything quick and easy. This may be the reason why an antacid is one of our nation's top selling OTC! Here's the skinny on keeping your digestion healthy to improve overall health and (believe it or not) your beauty! Improvement can be seen in the following; Bad Breath !? (Yes, it’s true-your bad breath, probably the cause of digestive issues) Acid Reflux Heartburn GERD Acne constipation diarrhea Yeast overgrowth fatigue depression food sensitivities PMS mood swings

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Enzyme rich foods such as; bananas, mangoes, avocados, plantain, papaya & so forth.
• Probiotic rich foods such as; yogurt, kefir, kombucha and so forth.

1. Eliminate refined flour, refined sugar and un(pre)soaked beans.
   Overeating these foods, antibiotics and laxatives for many years can put a heavy strain on your digestion.
2. Eat nutrient dense foods such as;
   Whole grains (fermented or sour leavened - ie: natural sourdough breads)
   Free range meats (more of the good fats - omega 3)
   Organic fruits & vegetables
3. Slow it down, your not trying to win a race! Relax & CHEW your food.
   Proper digestion (beyond nutritious foods) is to slow down to eat it & chew it well, this allows your stomach to catch up and produce the digestive “juices” to digest properly.
4. Smaller portions (yes, I know this is difficult with all the super sizing). Eating huge amounts of food puts your digestion through a lot of stress and it’s unable to complete its task well or barely at all. Basically all that food you ate (even it’s healthy) will not be absorbed and utilized very well and neither will the nutrients from it.
5. Cut back on that big soda! Keep your drinks at meals down to about 1/2 a cup (4 - 6 oz). Don’t wash it down with a ton of tea, water, milk, etc.! All this excessive liquid dilutes your digestive juices! So, drink a small amount with your meal and then wait about 20 - 30 minutes to suck down your big glass of whatever.
6. Enzyme rich foods: They are a beautiful longevity food!
   (NOTE: See above for a list.)
7. Probiotics: The Healthy Bacteria!
   It's good to populate your gut with these friendly little guys.
   Probiotics not only help digestion, but naturally help your body to fight disease.

Tips & Warnings

• Yogurt is a friendly probiotic product, unfortunately it has a limited amount of probiotics and if your lactose intolerant it is not a good option. Try kombucha tea or take a good probiotic supplement---there are a few that are dairy free.