Digestive Do’s and Don’ts
In order to be really healthy, you need to make sure you have good digestion (and good elimination). Unfortunately there is a long list of common digestive issues that many people can’t resolve and just resign themselves to live with the issues. No digestive issue will be healed overnight, and there’s no magic pill to make it go away. Although they may help with the symptoms, it’s key to get the issues under control. Here are a few do’s and don’ts. Read more about digestive issues here.
Do’s …
- Eat a lot of dark leafy greens will not only help you feel better, they also help with digestion, detoxify your body and help you loose weight.
- Increase your consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, including salmon and other wild-caught cold water fish, eggs from cage-free chickens, walnuts, flax seeds and flaxseed oil.
- Include coconut oil and butter as they are not only anti-microbial, but they also help heal the lining of the intestines.
- Use Fermented Cod Liver Oil as it is not only high in special anti-inflammatory omega-3s but also has fat-soluble vitamins A and D. Both of these vitamins help fight inflammation and build the immune system, which is critical to restoring digestive health.
- Use oregano and parsley because of its high enzyme content benefits digestive activity and elimination.
- Use Cinnamon as it is well known to work well as a digestive aid.
- Use raw honey. The enzymes in raw honey with activating a number of biochemical reactions within the body, notably those associated with digestion.
- Use MCT oil as your fat of choice in cooking. It not only improve digestion, but it also increases energy, stimulates the metabolism and release fat cells!
- Eat good fats. They help support normal liver function and aids in the balance our digestive track.
- Eat avocados as they are full of enzymes which are good for the digestive system.
- Drink lemon water daily. It can improve digestion and increase your metabolism. The warm lemon water also promotes peristalsis, the contraction of muscles in the bowels that keeps waste (and fat) moving along the digestive tract and out of the body for elimination.
- Eat cooked onion as all the alliums (onions, garlic, leeks, etc) have healing properties to the digestive system.
- Avoid carageenan (a food additive used for thickening and increasing shelf life) because of it’s harmful effect on the digestive system.
Don’ts …
- Consume artificial sweeteners. Artificial chemicals cannot pass safely through the human body.
- Over consume omega-6s (link to page) which can be very irritating to the digestive system, cause inflammation which can result in weight gain.
- Don’t consume unsaturated oils as they block protein digestion in the stomach and are loaded with toxins and free radicals.
- Over consume sugar as it can lead to digestive disorder as well as a number of other health issues.
- Don’t drink cold water with meals or directly after. The effect of the coldness shuts down normal digestion.
- Don’t eat a lot of meat protein as is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to toxic buildup
- Try “cali kickers” as it is not healthy for digestion and it also sabotages our metabolisms. It is better to loose weight in a healthy fashion rather than a “quick fix” to weight loss.
- Over consume raw fruit as raw pectin can irritate the digestive tract, although occasional small amounts of cooked fruits or dried can enjoyed.
- Remove unfermented or non-cultured dairy products such as milk, soft cheese and ice cream. Many people do not produce the enzymes needed to break down the lactose (milk sugar) in these. Fermented dairy products such as kefir, yogurt, sour cream and some hard cheeses might be tolerated as the lactose that they contain are broken down into simple sugars during the fermentation process.
- Eat these vegetables raw if your digestion is really under stress as they are difficult to digest. So, limit or avoid until your digestion has begun healing. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, spinach, beet tops, Swiss chard and rhubarb. These contain abundant oxalic acid, which irritates the lining of the stomach and can restrict calcium absorption.