How to Have Better Digestion Starting NOW! (part 1)
(Updated: 9/4/2023)
We all want better digestion, right? Poor digestion, no matter how it shows up, can leave us feeling lousy and eventually lead to everything from skin conditions to achy muscles and joints.
That famous Hippocrates quote, “All disease begins in the gut”, even though probably not 100% accurate, has stood the test of time. The idea that gut health is very important to the health of our whole body is true.
Signs of poor digestion include:
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Bloating
- Flatulence
- Bowel urgency
- Reflux or indigestion
- Brain fog
- Fatigue
And since poor digestion is linked to an unhealthy gut, the question we really should be asking is:
“What can I do to have a healthy gut?”
That’s a loaded question, and there’s a lot to it!
First and foremost we need to eat a balanced diet. We’ve all heard that term, but what exactly IS a balanced diet? And how does one go about starting to eat one?
In no certain order, I’ll break down a few things that comprise a healthy and balanced diet. Choose one thing and work on it. Then choose another and keep going until you’re pretty much–at least 80% of the time–eating a balanced diet!
1. Eat the colors of the rainbow in your fruits and vegetables. This is challenging, but take a stab at it! The next time you go to the store or order online, try to get at least half of these colors in your shopping cart.
The different colors of fruits and vegetables provide different types of antioxidants called polyphenols and flavonoids. And each different type has its own role in supporting our health.
I remember the colors of the rainbow by ROYGBIV. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.) But then there’s also white. Which is not a color of the rainbow, but white foods supply some very important flavonoids and polyphenols too!
- RED–red bell peppers, grapes, radishes, raspberries, tomatoes, cherries, strawberries, watermelon, pink and red grapefruit, etc.
- ORANGE–orange bell peppers, mango, carrots, acorn and butternut squashes, pumpkin, peaches, etc.
- YELLOW--yellow bell peppers, pineapple, Yukon potatoes, lemons, golden delicious apples, etc.
- GREEN–lettuce, green onions, leafy greens (kale, spinach, collard greens, etc.), cabbage, broccoli, etc.
- BLUE/INDIGO/VIOLET (these all kinda go together)–blueberries, Belgian endives, plums, blackberries, purple cabbage, eggplant, etc.
- WHITE–bananas, brown pears, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, jicama, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, potatoes, turnips, etc.
2. Choose organic food as much as possible. These are often more nutrient-dense and can reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. When deciding what fruits and vegetables to buy organically or conventionally grown, I use the Environmental Working Group Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists. These lists are updated every year with the best and worst produce to buy conventionally grown.
Likewise, choose your protein sources carefully. When at all possible, choose grass-fed beef and dairy (cheese, milk, butter), pastured or free-range chicken and eggs, and wild-caught fish. I am convinced that obtaining these types of “clean” protein sources is very important, and so I go to great lengths to find these sources. In fact, I really cannot say that eating conventionally raised meat or dairy is good for you, though I know it is sometimes necessary.
3. Avoid foods that are damaging to the gut lining such as:
- the empty calories in sugar, refined carbs, and overly processed foods,
- (too much) caffeine and alcohol, and
- trans fats (hydrogenated oils) found in baked goods such as cakes, cookies, and pies, shortening, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough like for biscuits and rolls, non-dairy coffee creamer, stick margarine, and fried foods like doughnuts and fried chicken
Let me know in the comments what colorful fruits and veggies you filled your shopping cart with!
In my next post I’ll talk about another aspect of your digestive health (and this is a hot topic right now!)–your gut bacteria, or microbiome.