A balanced diet and regular exercise are the keys to good health, but did you know these lifestyle habits can also help regulate your digestive tract? Good digestive health truly depends on how well you take care of yourself overall.
Digestive Tract Health: Eat the Right Diet
Not surprisingly, what you eat makes a huge difference in how efficiently your digestive tract works. "People eat a lot of junk — highly processed food with preservatives — which contributes significantly to maldigestion and irritable bowel," explains Francisco J. Marrero, MD, a gastroenterologist with the Digestive Disease Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
Relying on vending machine fare, junk foods, and fast foods instead of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains gets many of us into trouble. "People have fallen away from the very healthy, well-balanced, home-cooked meal. In general, people need to take stock of what they're putting in their bodies," notes Dr. Marrero.
For better digestive tract health, make these changes to your diet:
- Eat plenty of fiber; think fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.
- Eat three to five servings of fish each week.
- Choose lean cuts of meat and remove the skin from poultry.
- Stay well hydrated — water is best.
- Avoid high-fat, processed, and fried foods.
- Don't overeat at any one sitting; stick to smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day.
Digestive Tract Health: Maintain the Right Weight
Eating the right foods not only makes it easier for your body to digest meals and absorb nutrients, but it can also help you achieve a healthy body weight, another essential for good digestive tract health.
"People who maintain a healthy weight and exercise and keep themselves busy with constructive things have less trouble with their bowels," says Marrero.
Obesity, he notes, is linked to a number of digestive problems such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hemorrhoids, and even esophageal cancer. "Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight can prevent a lot of problems from happening down the road," Marrero adds.
Digestive Tract: Make Better Exercise and Lifestyle Choices
Getting regular exercise can keep your digestive tract healthy by warding off constipation and other problems such as weight gain and stress. Be sure to engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.
Avoiding tobacco and minimizing your alcohol intake are also important for keeping your digestive tract running smoothly. "Smoking is so devastating to just about every system in your body," says Marrero. Protect your digestive tract by quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke, since tobacco exposure has been linked to many conditions including heartburn, indigestion, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colon cancer.
Digestive Tract Health: Manage Stress
Stress can also play a big role in how well your digestive tract functions. "People should always find constructive ways to deal with their stress — having close family relationships, people to talk to, and things to do that are healthy and creative," Marrero notes.
Keeping stressful situations in perspective and maintaining positive outlets for stress relief is probably some of the best advice anybody can follow to protect both their digestive tract and overall health, Marrero says.
Return to the Digestive Health Awareness Center.