Many people struggle with digestive tract health issues. Maintaining the digestive system's equilibrium and functionality without paying close attention to what you eat can be challenging. It might be easy to enhance digestion, though. Maintaining a balance between stomach acids might be the key to this.
Improving digestion greatly depends on establishing the proper acid balance in the digestive system. An extended period of acid excess can lead to poor digestion and unhealthful nutrient absorption from food. In addition to breaking down and absorbing nutrients, stomach acid also forms a barrier that keeps out invading foreign organisms. If all else is in order, it's critical to keep proper digestion out of the way of your overall health.
Symptoms of Poor Digestion
- Gas and bloating after eating
- Heartburn
- Bad breath
- Strong smelling sweat
- Upset stomach
- Brittle nails
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Undigested food in fecal matter
Cause of Poor Digestion
Having low stomach acid can result in malnutrition. An estimated 90% of people living in the United States produce too little stomach acid. This can be caused by several things, including slow metabolism, stress, food allergies, poor diet, excess alcohol intake, nutrient deficiencies, and inadequate protein intake to name a few. Having low acid in the stomach weakens its defense against pathogens, and starts digestion off with a wrong pH, leading to incomplete digestion.
How to Improve Digestion
Low stomach acid will eventually lead to negative symptoms, while strong stomach acid works very well to improve digestion. A common solution to improve digestion is to take a supplement. It is easy to take a pill to try to solve any health issues that you are experiencing. However, this will not solve the problem long-term. It is better to get to the base of the problem to find a permanent fix.
For example, a very common supplement to take to increase stomach acid is hydrochloric acid. However, when you take HCL to increase stomach acid, it really just hides the underlying cause of the problem, which leads to further health concerns. Taking a supplement like this is only finding a way to adapt your digestive system with the use of a supplement. It is also possible to use these supplements improperly, which can lead to even further health complications.
However, there are two natural ways to increase your digestion that come along with no risk. Depending on how poorly your digestive system is functioning, you may only need to take natural precautions when eating food that is especially difficult to digest. If your digestion is strong already, these tips may still help during periods of stress, since stress is very harmful to digestion.
1. Do not drink a lot of liquids with meals.
If you are already under-producing stomach acid and then adding a lot of liquid to your meal, you are then diluting your existing stomach acid. Because the production of stomach acid peaks 90 minutes after a meal, it’s best to drink in between meals instead of during them.
2. Drink apple cider vinegar.
This is an inexpensive and simple way to improve stomach acid. Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 1/4 cup of water or juice and consume it with each meal. This will help to naturally alter the pH of the digestive system, which will help move everything along properly.
Rather than taking supplements that may not work with your body to improve digestion, it is better to find natural ways to help your body out. Don’t go against your body’s natural tendencies for digestion, but give it a natural boost.