Bloating, an unsettled stomach, and feeling disproportionately full after eating small meals are some of the major signs that your gut could use some extra TLC. Here are expert-backed ways to speed up digestion and get back to feeling like yourself: But you don’t have to stick to these two modalities if they aren’t your thing. Here are some other types of exercise you can try: Research suggests4 that taking a 15 minute, leisurely walk right after eating can help move food through your stomach more quickly. The keyword here is leisurely, though. Going too hard can have the opposite effect. Yoga can also indirectly speed up digestion by promoting relaxation. When you’re relaxed, your nervous system is in a parasympathetic state. This calming state, aptly nicknamed “rest and digest,” is critical for proper digestion. If you don’t do dairy, or you just like options, you can, and should, also try kimchi, natto, kefir, pickled vegetables, miso, tempeh, and sauerkraut (FYI: Just 2 tablespoons of raw sauerkraut contain about 1 million colony-forming units [CFUs] of good bacteria). mindbodygreen’s probiotic+, for example, contains four targeted probiotic strains that have been clinically shown to support gut health and maintain a variety of key daily functions of the digestive system.* In addition to reducing gas and bloat, these strains also help improve total digestion time (i.e., gut transit time), increasing regularity and promoting healthy bowel movements.* “Insoluble fiber is not digested by the body or absorbed into the bloodstream,” Amy Shapiro, M.S., R.D., CDN, and founder of Real Nutrition previously told mbg. “Instead, it forms the weight and bulk of stools in the body, acting as a broom.” In other words, insoluble has more of a laxative effect6, pulling water into the stool and pushing things out. Pay special attention to prebiotic fibers, too. These types of fibers, which you can get from a variety of sources like garlic, onions, leeks, Jerusalem artichoke, and jicama, serve as a food source for probiotics, helping them grow and colonize the gut. And don’t forget to actually chew your food (read: Don’t just chomp a couple of times and then swallow). “Not chewing thoroughly causes more work for your stomach, which further impedes the digestive process down the line—it’s a negative ripple effect,” says functional medicine doctor Frank Lipman, M.D. “Aim to chew until your food is liquefied, which is usually about 20 to 30 chews.” Stay away from drinking too much caffeine, though. “A cup of coffee is not going to dehydrate you that much,” integrative medicine doctor Bindiya Gandhi, M.D., says, “but many cups of coffee without water intake will.” A good rule of thumb is to drink an extra cup of water for every cup of coffee you drink. She has written twelve books and has had more than 2,000 articles published across various websites. Lindsay currently works full time as a freelance health writer. She truly believes that you can transform your life through food, proper mindset and shared experiences. That’s why it’s her goal to educate others, while also being open and vulnerable to create real connections with her clients and readers.
