If you have been following along on instagram for awhile you know that I experienced stomach issues ever since I was a child. From hurtful burps to even sometimes accidents, my digestion struggled for years. It was so bad as a kid that I ended up getting my stomach tied off to help food stay down and not come up. Luckily over the years I have tried many different things to help with this and finally figured it out for myself.
Below I put together 5 things that I do that have helped my digestion. Note, this is not medical advice, I am simply just sharing what has worked for me.
6 Things That Have Helped With My Digestion
I stopped drinking water or any liquids with my meals:
- This one is HUGE! I would find myself way too often burping loudly after eating and even sometimes throw up a little in my mouth (so gross!) It turns out the liquid would help my food slide back up in my throat. Now I do not drink any liquid 20 minutes prior and 20 minutes after eating.
I started using bitters:
- Bitter tonics have been known to help with digestion. I use a dropper full of them prior to eating. I use this BRAND. This has helped my stomach stimulate my natural digestive enzymes. Even eating more bitter foods has helped me. I love incorporating foods like arugula, ginger (in so many of my recipes), dill, kale, and dandelion greens. These foods are naturally bitter. I sometimes switch the bitters off with digestive enzymes. I use these ones HERE.
I chew my food:
- Prior to doing what I do now, I was a paramedic. Working in EMS you sometimes do not have much time to eat which meant that I learned to chow down my food in between calls or even when I was driving to calls! Chewing helps stimulate natural digestive enzymes. I like to chew my food until it becomes a puree, like baby food. I found that when I was not chewing my food enough I was extremely gassy. My doctor then told me the gas was probably the undigested food rotting in my stomach, YUCK!
I take a good probiotic:
- I only use this BRAND. Note that not all brands are created equally so it is important to buy supplements that come from a reputable brand.
I avoid foods I am sensitive to:
- As life changes, you change. While I will always be gluten free because of celiac disease and mostly dairy free because it makes me bloat, I will go through seasons where I avoid other things if I am experiencing digestive issues. Right now I am avoiding all grains because they were giving me issues. Aside from the celiac diagnosis, the best way I found to figure out what I was sensitive to was by doing an elimination diet.
I eat regular meals:
- As someone who used to be an avid intermittent faster, this one came shocking to me. I still fast 12-14 hours(ish) by not eating after dinner but I eat regular meals throughout the day. As much as I like the idea of intuitive eating it does not work for me and my body. I have tried it in the past and would find myself missing meals because things got busy, then I would eat a really big meal which my stomach would not agree with. My meal schedule is as follows:
- Breakfast: protein, grain free carb (sweet potatoes, cassava noodles) and a vegetable
- Mid morning snack: kale salad with fruit and nuts
- Late lunch: protein, grain free carb, and vegetable
- Dinner: protein and vegetable
- This is what I have found that works for me for both my digestion and weight management.
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