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Heal Your Gut With 7 Digestive Supplements
Village Green Nutrition Team on
The body’s digestive system is complex. People must take extra care with what they eat and drink every day so that they are getting all the nutrients their bodies need. The digestive system is linked to many important processes in the body, which is why diet has a big effect on overall health.
Tens of millions of Americans suffer from digestive issues, including acid reflux, Crohn’s disease, chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is important to create healthy eating and lifestyle habits to ensure your digestive system is functioning optimally. This guide will cover tips for keeping your system working at its best, plus explain how you can give yourself a serious boost in this process by taking the right digestive supplements.
What Is Digestive Health?
Your digestive system breaks down the foods, liquids, and other nutrients you consume so that your body can use them to repair your cells and give you energy. Your body requires a balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and nutrients to maintain healthy energy levels, fight infection, repair tissue and function properly. Here’s what you need to know:
- The digestion process weeds out the important components from the food you eat and enables them to enter your bloodstream.
- Gut health focuses on ensuring these processes take place effectively.
- The digestive tract must be healthy for food to be broken down properly.
- Common digestive issues that people experience include IBS, heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), constipation, diarrhea, and gallstones, among other ailments.
- Gut health has been linked to other conditions, including skin conditions such as eczema, cancers and a poor immune system.
- A properly functioning digestive process is therefore crucial to a healthy body and life.
Lifestyle changes like diet and exercise can promote a healthy gut, as can avoiding harmful habits like smoking or eating a lot of unhealthy foods. The right supplements can also help ensure that you are getting the necessary nutrients for a healthy digestive tract.
Why Are Digestive Supplements Important?
Everything consumed affects health, and issues may arise in the digestion process if you don’t get all the nutrients you need from food. Certain nutrients are especially important when dealing with digestive health, since it must be a regular, smooth process. Taking supplements can help in the following ways.
Filling Nutritional Gaps
Sometimes the diet just doesn’t provide everything a body needs. The gut and digestion process can be negatively affected if harmful elements – such as fried, high-sugar and fatty foods – are ingested, which in turn impacts the function of other bodily processes. An unhealthy gut may also not process the nutrients you’re ingesting even if you start eating healthier foods, but supplements can help balance the body and make up for dietary deficiencies.
Enhancing Digestive Function
There are many factors that can affect digestive health, including age, diet, lifestyle and health conditions. Supplementing with enzymes or herbs can help break down foods, as well as enhance nutrient absorption.
Helping to Resolve Specific Digestive Issues
Supplements can help address a myriad of digestive symptoms from gas and bloating to GERD and constipation. Sometimes the body needs a little assistance so that it can function properly. Taking digestive supplements can help with chronic constipation or frequent heartburn, for example.
If you experience digestive health issues or just want to boost your digestive function, supplements may be of benefit to you.
7 Supplements for Digestive Health
Finding the right digestive health supplements will depend on your specific issues or goals. The following supplements are commonly used to support digestive health.
1. Fiber
Taking dietary fiber is a great way to ease digestive issues, such as constipation or diarrhea, because fiber is not digested like normal food. A fiber supplement is easy to take with food or beverages and provides the body other health benefits as well, such as supporting healthy cholesterol levels.
Many people do not get enough fiber in their diet, and if you are one of these people, be careful not to add too much fiber all at once. Increase slowly and make sure you are drinking enough water to help with passage through your digestive system.
2. Probiotics
Your gastrointestinal (GI) tract processes and breaks down food, and it requires the right balance of gut bacteria to stay healthy and properly provide the vitamins the body needs. Taking probiotics helps maintain a healthy bacteria level in the gut to aid digestion. Poorly balanced gut bacteria has been linked to obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and other health issues. Taking probiotics can help you maintain healthy gut bacteria and may help with digestive issues such as IBS or diarrhea.
3. Bromelain
Bromelain is an extract taken from pineapple that can be beneficial for several health issues, including showing promise for osteoarthritis, heart disease and ulcerative colitis. It has anti-inflammatory properties that can help with bowel disorders, so taking a bromelain supplement is one approach to supporting digestive health.
4. Boswellia Extract
Boswellia is an Ayurevedic herb that has been shown to help ease pain associated with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and stomach issues. The anti-inflammatory healing properties in Boswellia supplements may provide support for gastric issues such as ulcers, or inflammatory bowel diseases, like Crohn’s disease.
5. Digestive Enzymes
Enzyme supplements, such as Pathway Superzymes, help the body absorb certain foods more efficiently and can aid digestion of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. This formula contains hydrochloric acid (HCl) for extra support, boosting stomach acid levels to help with protein digestion and ox bile to aid in fat digestion.
6. Glutamine
The body naturally produces the amino acid glutamine, a building block of protein, which contributes to organ health, the immune system and intestinal health. Taking a glutamine supplement has been found to help ease digestive issues such as diarrhea and leaky gut, and to improve the digestive tract. It can help nourish the stomach and intestinal lining, and its nitrogen composition can help the body recover from injuries or surgeries, since nitrogen is crucial to repairing organs.
7. Herbal Digestive Blend
Bitter formulas, such as Pathway Digest-Ease, contain a combination of herbs such as gentian, ginger, Oregon grape, fennel and peppermint, which can provide immediate support for GI distress, such as gas, bloating and stomach pain. These herbs stimulate the body’s ability to secrete more digestive juices to enhance digestion. It is best taken right before a meal for optimal efficacy.
Nutritional supplements can provide support for a variety of digestive symptoms. It is important however, to understand the root causes of your digestive issues, and therefore consulting with a healthcare practitioner is important, particularly if your digestive issues are serious.
Contact the Supplement Experts With Questions
Taking the right supplements can aid in improving your digestive system health, which is one of the most important ways to stay healthy. Our experts at Village Green Apothecary include nutritionists, pharmacists and clinical herbalists who are ready to assist you with learning about these and other supplements to improve your health and wellness.
Contact us to speak with an expert regarding questions about supplementation.
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