A healthy body has a healthy gut and a sound mind. Your health, typically, depends on how effective your digestion is. However, due to our bad habits, our digestive system suffers. Symptoms like heartburn, gas, nausea, and diarrhea result from those bad habits.

• Gut bacteria communicate with your brain via the gut-brain axis, influencing mood and digestion.
• Spices like ginger and turmeric naturally support digestion by reducing inflammation.
• Eating fermented foods like yogurt or kimchi boosts healthy gut microbiota.
• Gut health can influence skin conditions like acne due to the gut-skin connection.
• A disrupted gut microbiome can weaken your immune system, making you more prone to illness.
• Chewing your food longer can release enzymes in saliva that aid in digestion before food reaches your stomach.

Here are the 12 habits affecting our digestive systems; you might know this or not.

How does your plate look? Does it have white foods such as white pasta, white bread, pizza dough, and white rice? 

If yes, then there are higher chances that you’re consuming less fiber and more refined carbohydrates, processed flour and sugar, which is not good for digestion.

You need 25g of fiber daily to improve your digestion as fiber helps regulate bowel movement and prevents constipation and acidity. Fiber also works on blood sugar stabilization and reduces the chances of more serious digestion problems like diverticulosis.

Soluble fiber: absorbs water; helps add bulk to your stool.

Insoluble fiber: insoluble fiber helps keep your digestive tract to keep moving.

High-fiber foods are mostly found in fruits, whole grains, legumes, and vegetables. Some great choices are oats, apples, sweet potatoes, beetroot, bananas, and beans – to name a few.

How much eating is enough? Everybody has a unique structure; thus, his needs are different. Some feel full after eating one bread, and for some, a full meal is necessary to feel full and satisfied. 

But eating too much in one sitting without paying attention to it can get your digestive system in trouble, such as bloating, gas, reflux, and indigestion. 

Overeating can put a strain on your intestines and tract.

If you don’t have a problem with over-eating but eat fast, it also has unhealthy effects on your digestion health. You swallow air with your food, leading to bloating and belching. You are eating faster than giving your stomach time to expand, and it’s harmful.

You should chew your food thoroughly. When you chew food, 50% of digestion could be completed as your stomach would use less effort to turn solid food into a liquid mixture to enter the small intestine.

Scarfing down close to bedtime, whether a proper meal or just a snack, is not healthy. The feeling of heartburn can disturb your sleep. Your stomach can push back the food consumed into the esophagus more easily when lying down.

You should instead set up an eating chart and make your whole day eating and snacking plan. Try to avoid eating 3 hours before your bedtime. 

Eating in small bites slowly will keep your digestion health in excellent condition.

Dehydration makes your stool difficult to pass. It can also cause other problems, such as anal fissures or hemorrhoids. Water is essential for your digestion and overall health. It softens your stool and relieves chronic constipation due to poor gut health. 

If you’re hydrated, your intestines function effectively by moving your food waste through your body to discard.

Three liters of water are recommended to ensure digestion health. Fruits and vegetables with rich water also play a huge role in healthy digestive functioning.

Your digestion health mostly depends on stool’s natural, timely, and smooth discard. When you don’t act upon the urge to pass bowel, you get a little backed up, which can give rise to the problem of constipation because you cannot make it happen when you desire.

Make a habit of going to the toilet whenever your body calls for it. Also, urination shouldn’t be ignored as it can affect your kidneys.

Drinking a glass often doesn’t harm, but excessive drinking can cause gut bacteria imbalance inside the body, called dysbiosis. 

The stomach lining also gets affected. Too much alcohol in the body can cause ulcers and also prevent the existing ulcers from healing. It can also cause stomach and liver discomfort, leading to diarrhea. It is also dehydrating, and the problem of constipation can also occur.

Chewing gum gives freshness of breath, but it can also damage your digestive system functionality. Because when you chew, you swallow air, which can increase the bloating, burping, and gas. 

The artificial sweetness in the gum is also neither good for your teeth nor your stomach.

Smoking is harmful to your liver, heart, and digestion. It weakens the valves of the esophagus. It can give rise to ulcer development and heartburn. There are higher risks of gastrointestinal cancer as well when you smoke.

Where your body needs good fats, some fats can damage the stomach lining, from where bacteria can leak into your blood and cause inflammation. High-fat diets can increase the risk of colon cancer, and fats also slow the process of digestion. 

Fried foods, processed meats, and sausages can lead to bloating, gas, heartburn, and constipation.

Stress can create an imbalance of bacteria in your gut as the stress hormones affect your stomach health. When your body is in flight or fight mode, it thinks you don’t have time to rest or eat. Your brain and gut are directly linked, so what affects your brain also impacts your digestion.

Learn to manage stress through meditation and different relaxing techniques.

When you don’t get your body moving after eating and lie down flat with a full stomach, there is no way you won’t feel heartburn, bloating, or gas. To digest food naturally, you need to do a little of exercise. 

Exercising regularly is the best and most natural way to improve your digestion. Moderate exercises like walking, jogging, or cycling promote effective digestion.

Digestion is one of the most vital parts of our body, and if it doesn’t work well, you can suffer from all kinds of health issues. The small intestine is very sensitive to any change; if it’s not functioning well, you will experience some of these symptoms. Eat slowly and drink enough water. Also, make sure your food is well chosen. 

Following the precautions will help boost stomach health while keeping gut problems at bay. If you suffer from any of the following symptoms and are having trouble with digestion, it is a good idea to call your doctor to find the best course of action.

Small bad habits make our bodies suffer silently, but it’s not something we cannot control or ditch. 

Digestion can be improved by following a healthy diet plan, avoiding sugar, and exercising regularly.