The foods in your diet have a direct impact on your digestive system and can contribute to digestive problems, if you have erratic eating patterns in your schedule. To minimize the digestive problems like indigestion, acidity, constipation, bloating, stomach cramps; few steps can be taken which can help improve overall health and well-being and aid in smooth digestion.   

Mentioned below are do’s and don’ts which can help prevent digestive issues – 

Do’s

•    Eat a high fibre diet – Increase in fibre intake will help improve the bulk and softness of the stool, making it easier to pass through your system and prevent constipation. Increase fibre in your diet by including whole grains like oats, legumes like lentils, fruits, vegetables, nuts like walnuts or almonds. 
•    Choose lean meats – Opt for lean cuts of meat as these have lesser fats. Fatty cuts of meat can be difficult to digest and can make you feel uncomfortable, causing bloating or acidity. 
•    Add probiotics to your diet – These are the good bacteria naturally present in the digestive tract. They aid in digestion and help strengthening your immune system. It prevents gas, diarrhoea and other digestive problems. Foods like low fat yogurt, buttermilk, sauerkraut, kefir are good sources of probiotics.   
•    Stay hydrated – Water enhances the body’s ability to digest food and absorb nutrients properly. It also helps flush out toxins which can interfere with natural digestion. 
•    Exercise regularly – Exercise helps improve gut motility, and blood circulation to the intestine; thereby aiding proper digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. 
•    Check for food allergies. Avoid consuming foods that you are allergic to; the allergic reactions can range from stomach cramps, vomiting/ diarrhoea to rashes on the skin. 
•    Always eat on time, so that your body gets adjusted to the time gap you give. Too long a gap in between meals can give you issues like acidity, gases or bloating. 

Don’ts

•    Avoid diets high in fat – It is difficult to process fatty foods and it takes longer to digest and makes you more prone to constipation. Avoid fried foods, processed and frozen foods as these tend to be high in fat.
•    Keep away from bad habits like smoking and excessive drinking. These interfere with normal functioning of digestive system. 
•    Avoid packaged foods and sodas, these can make you feel bloated.
•    Sometimes stress can also affect the digestive system. It can cause acidity issues and loose stools sometimes.

We can modify our lifestyle to keep our digestive tract healthy and keep up overall health. These digestive issues can be fixed by changing our eating habits.

Healthy lifestyle can prevent a lot of digestion issues.