How to Support your Digestion

Foods | Herbs | Lifestyle

From protecting against invaders, breaking down and absorbing nutrients, to eliminating waste, our digestion system has many crucial functions that keep us healthy. When functioning properly, the digestive system repairs and rebuilds tissue, builds energy, fights infections, supports mental health, and much more. It is important to show your guts some love by eating foods, incorporating herbs, and practicing lifestyle habits that support digestive tissue function. Improving gut health should be a priority in healing digestive associated conditions, including Allergies, Energy Level, Immune Function, Autoimmune Conditions, Musculoskeletal Pain, and and Mental health. The main culprits that inhibit digestive function include refined foods, long-term antibiotic and NSAID use, and, you guessed it, stress.

The following recommendations are meant to reduce our overall stress load and improve our digestive health. I suggest reading through, and selecting 2-3 reasonable tips to adapt into practice. If anything contradicts a recommendation from myself or another health practitioner, please reach out for further guidance.

Foods for Digestive Wellness

Nutrient & Mineral Dense: Bone broth, colorful fruits and vegetables like dark leafy greens, and sea vegetables restore reserves and boost immune system

High in Fiber: Whole grains, nuts and seeds (i.e. flax seed), legumes, fruit and veggies (carrots, apples, kale) aid digestion by keeping everything moving at a manageable pace (Murray, 2005).

Purified Water: Along with fiber, your small intestine requires pure water free from environmental and added toxins like chlorine to aid digestion.

Cultured: Unpasteurized yogurt, kefir, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, miso, pickles, sauerkraut and other cultured vegetables contain probiotics that restore and balance digestive bacteria. If considering a probiotic, reach out to Megan for recommendation. Learn how to make your own Fermented Pickles in Megan’s upcoming Sustainable Kitchen Workshop: Simple Pickle 101.

High Quality Protein: Wild caught, omega-3 rich fish (i.e. salmon, mackerel, and sardines) and organic, collagen, free range animal meat and eggs from trusted source (when possible!) are great examples of high quality protein that supplies the intestine with the building blocks to keep cells healthy and able to absorb nutrients. High quality proteins can often be more expensive, so do the best you can given your budget and resources.

Trace minerals: Use natural sea salt over table salt for trace minerals and hydration. Mineral broths and seaweeds are great ways to ensure trace mineral absorption.

FOODS & SUBSTANCES TO AVOID

Alcohol

Excessive amounts of caffeine (1–2 cups, 6 oz each, per day ok)

Hydrogenated fats

NSAIDS

Processed foods

Refined oils

Sugar

Tobacco

Allergenic & intolerable foods

BEVERAGES

Filtered water; add slices of citrus, stone fruit, cucumbers, or berries

Coconut water

Green tea (if caffeine is tolerated)

Herbal tea (hot or iced): carminative spices, licorice, chamomile, slippery elm, peppermint**, ginger. See full list of herbs for digestion above.

Probiotic beverages: Water kefir, ACV tonic, kombucha, natural fermented sodas.

Herbs for Digestive Wellness

The following herbs and spices are wonderful digestive aids. You can gain their benefits by supplementing, drinking as tea, or incorporating into favorite recipes:

Aloe Vera

Bitters

Caraway

Cardamom

Chamomile

Cinnamon

Fennel

Ginger

Licorice*

Marshmallow Root

Peppermint**

Slippery Elm

*Avoid if taking a corticosteroid.

**Peppermint relaxes the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach, so be mindful that it can cause reflux and heartburn.

See MKN’s highlighted Supplements for Digestive Wellness. If pregnant or nursing, please consult health provider before starting any herbal regime.

Lifestyle Tips for Digestive Wellness

Follow MKN’s Eating for Health & Wellness Tips

Eat mindfully: relax, chew, enjoy. Remember to slow down and chew your food thoroughly until fully broken down into liquid.

Reduce stress and overall load with daily calming practice that works for you.

Exercise with enjoyable movement at least 30 minutes everyday.

Incorporate easy to digest foods into diet: cooked vegetables, slow cooked proteins, soups, smoothies, etc.

Heal gut barrier. Drink bone broths which are rich in collagen and other amino acids to repair digestive lining.

Stimulate bile production. Eat bitter foods like citrus, beets, burdock, dandelion, arugula, and other cruciferous vegetables.

Avoid raw vegetables if they are more difficult to break down. Consider adding digestive bitters and/or enzymes to increase breakdown of macronutrients. Take digestive enzymes or HCl as needed. Keep scrolling for an at home Stomach Acid Test that indicates low stomach acid.

Identify allergenic foods and begin to eliminate from diet.

4R Protocol - What is the 4- R Protocol?

The Baking Soda Stomach Acid Test

This test works by drinking baking soda and creating a chemical reaction in your stomach between the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and hydrochloric acid (HCL). The result is carbon dioxide gas that causes burping. Many people choose to try this test first because it’s safe, inexpensive, and highly informative.

Of course, there are problems with this test because there are a lot of variables to control. Minimize the variables by performing the test 3 consecutive mornings to find an average, a pattern. To increase the accuracy, test as soon as you wake up in the morning before putting anything in your mouth:

1. Mix 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 4-6 ounces of cold water first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything.
2. Drink the baking soda solution.
3. Time how long it takes you to belch. Time up to five minutes.

If you have not belched within five minutes, stop timing. If your stomach is producing adequate amounts of stomach acid you’ll likely belch within two to three minutes. Early and repeated belching may be due to excessive stomach acid (but don't confuse these burps with small little burps from swallowing air when drinking the solution). This test is not accurate enough to rule out low stomach acid, however it can help guide your work in knowing how to move forward. To rule out low stomach acid, you will need to try the Heidelberg test or Betaine HCL challenge test. Please contact Megan if you have further questions about conducting the test or understanding your results.