How does the digestive system work ? when it comes to your health, the main defining factor is nutrition.

 

 

While exercise is essential, it is ultimately what you put in, rather than how you work out that will tip the scales.

 

 

That means eating the right foods is important. Getting the right nutrients into your mouth is one thing, but getting them into your body is a completely different story.

 

 

That's because your gut is the threshold between the food you eat and what it does for your body.

 

 

The Importance of Digestive Health

 

When we eat food, it travels down the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract for short.

 

 

This is the long pipe that runs from your mouth to your rectum and is the central point of contact between nutrition and your body.

 

 

We can go on and on about what is or isn’t healthy to eat, but it counts for nothing without a healthy digestive tract.

 

 

Nutrients from food are absorbed through this long canal, and at the same time, waste and toxins are removed.

 

 

Its therefore fair to imagine that when things aren't working well with your digestive system, nothing else will.

 

 

What Happens with an Unhealthy Gut

 

An unhealthy gut leads to poor nutrient absorption in most cases. The ineffective uptake of the stuff you need to maintain health and wellness is an obvious drawback of bad digestive health.

 

 

But that’s simply one aspect. Poor gut health also leads to the uptake of the stuff you don't want or are trying to get rid of.

 

 

How does the digestive system work ? this is the case with conditions such as leaky gut syndrome, where the intestinal walls become permeable, allowing both the good (nutrients) and the bad (waste and toxins) to pass into your blood.

 

 

The effects of the leaky gut syndrome are too numerous to mention, but the reality is you’re not going to be doing so great.

 

 

These include:

 

• Chronic diarrhea,
• constipation,
• Chronic bloating.
• Symptoms of malnutrition.
• Poor immune system.
• Fatigue
• Skin conditions (rashes, eczema, psoriasis)
• Chronic inflammation

 

Poor gut health can result in chemical reactions that cause an abnormal rise in toxins. It can also cause a system malfunction such as acid reflux.

 

 

This article will help you shed some light on healthy habits you can add to your lifestyle for improved digestive health.

 

 

In a previous article, we spoke about supplements that can help you treat poor gut health. This time, we want to focus on lifestyle habits that add to the gut health game plan.

 

 

Before we do that, make sure you check out the Life Renu store for some amazing wellness products. We are always deep in research and development, finding new ways to improve the quality of your health through natural supplements.

 

 

And without further ado, let's take a look at the health of your digestive system.

 

 

5 Habits To Improve Digestive Health

 

How Does The Digestive System Work

 

Eat Whole Foods

 

Food is the reason you want to improve your gut health, and food is most often the cause of and digestive health issues.

 

 

One common reality we face is the problem with processed foods. Processed food by definition includes a broad spectrum of foods that have undergone modifications in several ways.

 

 

Many processes that food goes through are harmless, especially when it comes to mechanical processing. But in this case, we’re referring to harmful chemical processing methods.

 

 

These methods strip away the good and often replace it with the bad.

 

 

Eating whole foods, as nature intended, is a great way to stave off any potential risk factors to your digestive health.

 

 

Foods that have undergone mechanical processing (grinding, pressing, squeezing or juicing), thermal processing (cooking or freezing) and biochemical processing (fermentation) are usually good as long as they remain additive-free.

 

 

Avoid foods that are heavily processed using chemicals or radiation and contain a large number of additives.

 

 

Get Enough Fiber

 

Fiber is the key to the door of gut health. How does the digestive system work ? It keeps everything moving, especially at the tail end.

 

 

Fiber is a nondigestible form of carbohydrates. It is found in plant tissue and is responsible for stimulating regular bowel movements.

 

 

When there isn’t enough fiber in your diet, the digestive process gets backed up.

 

 

This not only causes the healthy absorption of nutrients to slow down, but it also causes an unhealthy and likely dangerous accumulation of waste.

 

 

Frequent Exercise

 

Frequent exercise is a key factor to any health question in general. Our bodies are mechanical units that require and are rewarded by physical activity.

 

 

When it comes to your tummy, regular exercise helps keep things moving.

 

 

In a mechanical sense, the stimulation of movement means that all the substances you ingest and the waste you need to get rid of will move more regularly and effectively.

 

 

From a metabolic sense, regular exercise means a faster turnover of nutrients and waste which keeps the digestive process ticking and healthy.

 

 

Hydration is Key

 

Another gut healthy habit that's just a general consideration for your health. Staying hydrated means all your cells responsible for the absorption of nutrients and transit of solid matter are firing away.

 

 

 

Hydration is also a key factor in keeping the gut lining adequately lubricated.

 

 

Not only is water itself a good lubricant and solvent for solid material, but it's also a major raw material in the intestinal mucus which gives solid material a clean ride.

 

 

Hydrating also improves circulation for more effective nutrient absorption across the blood/gut barrier.

 

 

Train your Brain

 

One key indicator of poor digestive health is elevated stress, inversely, elevated stress is a risk factor in poor digestive health.

 

 

How does the digestive system work ? that's because the hormone cortisol plays havoc to normal digestive function. Digestion takes place as a response to your parasympathetic nervous system.

 

 

This “rest and digest” neural pathway is the state you need to be in for proper GI tract function.

 

 

When you are stressed, the hormone cortisol is released, which shuts down normal digestive activities during this “fight or flight” mechanism.

 

 

Stress in this way is not so bad under isolated circumstances. The problem comes in with chronic stress.

 

 

This causes a sustained shut down in the correct function of the gut.

 

 

You must train your mind just as you recognize the importance of training your body. Strengthening your mind, relieving mental strain and exposing yourself to more positive thoughts will help reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Gut health is important to manage, and easy to slip up on if you don't understand what’s going on.

 

 

But with these simple and somewhat obvious lifestyle hacks, you can begin to feel a new and improved you from the inside out!

 

 

So that's it for this one. We do discuss topics around digestive health in other articles, but if you have any questions not answered by this, please leave a comment below, and we’ll be sure to get back to you.