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Improve your digestion with these healthy food choices


Ang sarap kumain.

It’s a statement that almost anyone will quickly agree to. You may even be guilty of saying it to yourself a lot or saying it out loud a couple of times. While enjoying food is not bad, it’s the kind of food you eat that you should be more careful about.

If you love eating, you should know how to take care of your digestive health. Your body’s digestive system, after all, breaks down the food you eat. Otherwise, you may experience gut problems such as dyspepsia or indigestion, among others.

To better help you with your digestion, make sure to include these foods in your diet:

Love your liver

Berkshire-based nutritionist Christine Bailey says liver “is one of the single best sources of vitamins A and D,” which are the essential vitamins to keep your gut healthy. The taste of liver is not appealing to everyone, so Bailey suggests including it in meals like burgers—and not just serve it on its own.

Find fiber

When your body digests the food you eat, it won’t absorb everything you consume. Those that are not digested are considered waste materials—which will then be pushed out of your body as stool.

To keep waste materials moving, nutritional therapist Kerry Torrens writes about the importance of fiber-rich foods in improving digestion on BBC Good Food, “Aim to include whole grains, nuts and seeds, as well as plenty of fruit and veg.” For sensitive digestive systems, however, Torrens advises to “focus on legumes, oats and brown rice.”

Breed good bacteria with fermented food

Your digestive system has trillions of bacteria—both good and bad. The goal is to get the good ones, known as probiotics, fight off the bad ones.

To help multiply probiotics in your digestive system, eat fermented foods such as yogurt and fermented vegetables like kimchi.

For easier consumption and to get more good bacteria in your body, take probiotic fermented milk Yakult. One bottle contains 8 billion cells of the unique probiotic strain discovered by Japanese scientist Dr. Minoru Shirota, which is scientifically proven to reach the gut alive—bringing in more good bacteria to your body and keeping your belly fit.

Probiotic drinks like Yakult are also suitable for people taking antibiotics, which can wipe out your gut’s good bacteria in the process of getting rid of bacterial infections. Taking probiotics can make up for the protective gut bacteria lost.

But to feel the effect of probiotic-rich foods, it’s better to eat or drink them every day.

Stick to lean meats

If you can't live without meat, make sure to stick to lean meat. Red meat is loaded with fat, which is hard to digest and can lead to stomach pain. Reader’s Digest cites a 2012 report  that says eating lean meats—instead of red meat and processed meat—can even help the body get more protein, zinc, potassium, and B vitamins.

Drink plenty of water

“The most effective way to improve gut health is to drink more water,” shares digestive wellness expert Sam Bearfoot on The Telegraph. Since the gut is a “long slippery tube,” having good hydration maintains its slipperiness, which helps keep your gut functioning well.

So the next time you eat a meal, consider first whether it will do more good or harm to your gut. Eating, especially a lot of food, feels good—but only when you keep your digestive tract healthy.

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