Foods That Promote Digestive Health

Too many of us live on an inferior, low quality diet that is much too high in processed junk instead of eating good foods that promote digestive health. At some point, usually after experiencing one or several digestive symptoms or disorders, something will need to be done if getting back to good digestive health is of any concern to you. Usually diet is the problem that got you there and will be the thing that can help get you back on track.


It's very simple but not always that easy for many people to do. Whether it's a lifestyle change or simply just refusing to eat certain foods. We've all heard the proper advice from doctors and nutritionists as early as grade school but we don't always do it, sometimes hardly ever do it and that can be a problem to our health.

Advice like "eat your vegetables" or "eat more fiber" or "chew your food slowly". Instead we gobble down processed foods that don't promote digestive health.

Can proper chewing make a difference?

Yes. If we don't chew our food well enough it will create more work for the digestive system, which will slow down the entire process. A meal that takes too long to digest can create digestive problems.

Foods That Promote Digestive Health

The other statements regarding good nutritional advice, eating vegetables and more fiber, can be summed up in one word; carbohydrates. Many of the foods in the carb group fall into the prebiotic foods category. Prebiotics are important because they feed and support the good bacteria in our intestines.

Feeding this good bacteria (probiotics) is how we can make sure it grows and outnumbers the bad bacteria. Letting the bad bacteria grow faster than the good can create some problems. This bad and dangerous bacteria, also called pathogens, thrives on processed junk foods that have a lot of sugars and unhealthy animal fats. Probiotics, or the good bacteria thrive on prebiotics. 

What exactly are prebiotics?



Prebiotics are nutrient or components of certain foods that do not get digested, but do a very important job in the large intestine. We find prebiotics in many of the foods in the carbohydrate food group such as raw oats, unreflned barley and other grains such as brown rice, raw onions, many fruits and raw vegetables.



The key fact you should know about prebiotics are that they feed the good and beneficial intestinal bacteria, while inhibiting the growth of the bad bacteria.



How do they work?



When prebiotic soluble fibers reach the large intestine (colon), they will ferment, and it's this process that feed the good bacteria. It also produces molecules called short-chained fatty acids. These acids stop the pathogens from sticking to the colon wall, which prevents any cell growth from this bacteria. It's these cells crerated by the bad bacteria that can form polyps, which are the precursors to colon cancer.



There is much ongoing research about prebiotics and how they effect the digestive tract because scientists know that whatever happens there, good or bad, will have a big effect on our health.