6 Healthy Foods That Can Help With Digestion
Everyone experiences tummy troubles from time to time. Whether it is gas, constipation, diarrhea, cramps, or stomach pain, digestive problems can be incredibly uncomfortable and downright embarrassing at times.
What you eat plays a vital role in your digestive health, and adding foods that are high in nutrients like fiber, healthy bacteria like probiotics, or digestive enzymes can help ease many digestive issues and make you feel better in the long run.
Here are 6 healthy foods that can help with digestion.
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Ginger
Ginger is a popular spice that can help with digestion and nausea.
Research shows ginger can help food move faster through your stomach into your intestines. By doing so, ginger can help ease both stomach discomfort and nausea (1).
In fact, ginger’s anti-nausea properties may help treat morning sickness during pregnancy (2).
Summary: Ginger can help with digestion because it helps food move faster through your stomach. It also has anti-nausea properties.
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Apples
Apples are great for digestion because they’re high in fiber.
Just one medium-sized apple contains a healthy 4 grams of fiber (3).
Apples contain a special kind of soluble fiber called pectin, which absorbs water as it moves through your gut. By doing so, soluble fiber helps soften stools and encourages regular bowel movements (4).
Summary: Apples are high in soluble fiber like pectin, which promotes regular bowel movements.
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Yogurt
Yogurt is made by fermenting milk with a certain strain of healthy bacteria.
Because it’s made by fermentation, it’s packed with friendly live bacteria called probiotics. These bacteria can help improve digestion and the overall health of your gut (5).
Research shows probiotics can help with bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and even ease lactose intolerance (5, 6).
Summary: Yogurt is a good source of probiotics, which can help with many digestive issues.
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Chia Seeds
Despite their small size, chia seeds are packed with fiber, making them great for digestion. In fact, just one ounce (28 grams) of chia seeds packs a whopping 10 grams of fiber (7).
As with apples, the fiber in chia seeds forms a gel-like substance that absorbs water as it moves through your gut. This helps stool pass more easily and feeds healthy gut bacteria (8).
Summary: Chia seeds are packed with fiber, which helps keep your bowels regular and supports gut health.
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Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is made from cabbage that is fermented with lactic acid.
Because it’s fermented, sauerkraut contains healthy bacteria that can help aid digestion.
Research shows that just half a cup (71 grams) of sauerkraut can contain up to 28 different strains of healthy bacteria that improve gut health (9).
It also contains digestive enzymes that help break down food into more easily digestible particles (10).
Summary: Sauerkraut is packed with probiotic bacteria and digestive enzymes that help make food easier to digest.
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Peppermint
Peppermint is a delicious plant that has properties to help with digestion. Its leaves contain essential oils like limonene, menthone, and menthol (11).
Peppermint oil is especially high in menthol, which can help treat bloating, ease stomach pain, relieve constipation, and even reduce IBS symptoms (12, 13).
It does this by relaxing the muscles in your digestive tract (14) and by helping food move faster through your gut (15).
Summary: Peppermint, especially peppermint oil, can aid digestion by relaxing gut muscles and speeding up food transit.
