Learn how to optimise your diet and reduce stress to improve your digestion.

Digestive problems can be frustrating, impacting everything from your energy levels to your mood. But there are ways to deal with them.

By making a few changes to your diet, reducing stress, and adopting new habits, you can take back control. Let’s start with food choices.

Diet and Digestion

If you want to improve your digestion, the obvious move would be to eat more unprocessed foods, like lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. That’s because processed foods contain additives and sugars that can affect your gut microbiome—the balance of healthy and unhealthy bacteria in your digestive system.

But even some relatively clean foods are hard to digest. That’s because of molecules in those foods, the three biggest being lactose, gluten, and FODMAPs. We’ll take a look at what each one is, what foods they’re in, and how to manage your intake.

1. Lactose

Lactose is a sugar found in dairy products like milk, cheese, and ice cream. If you’ve ever felt bloated or gassy after eating those, it might be because you’re lactose intolerant. If you’re lactose intolerant, it means you don’t produce the lactase enzyme, which is needed to digest lactose. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up dairy products completely.

Nowadays, there are plenty of lactose-free options out there. Certain dairy products, like whey protein and cheddar cheese, are naturally lower in lactose too. So you might not have a problem with those. But if you do, you can get lactase enzyme tablets, which can help you digest normal dairy products.

2. Gluten

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. That means products made from those, like bread, pasta, and cookies, also contain gluten. Gluten can make you bloated, cause stomach pain, and can even make you feel fatigued. It’s harder to digest for everyone, but even more so for people with gluten intolerance. Like with lactose, though, there are plenty of alternatives out there.

You can get gluten-free bread, pasta, cakes, cookies—everything. The issue with those, though, is they’re still processed foods. Like I mentioned earlier, processed foods can negatively impact digestion. So if you’re gluten intolerant like me, just use that as another reason to say no to processed foods.

3. FODMAPs

FODMAPs are carbohydrates that are poorly digested in the small intestine. They can cause bloating and gas, especially for those with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Foods high in FODMAPs include onions, garlic, beans, lentils, apples, and many more. But you might be okay with some.

The only way to figure out which foods you’re okay with is by going on the low FODMAP diet. That means cutting out all high FODMAP foods entirely. Then, once your digestive system feels normal, you can slowly reintroduce high FODMAP foods. As you do, take note of which foods you don’t agree with and avoid those in the future.

It sounds like a lot of restriction. Be careful with lactose, stop eating gluten, and avoid high FODMAP foods that you struggle to digest. If you didn’t have any digestive issues, then you wouldn’t have to worry about any of that. But if you’re reading this, then you do. So really, you have two options: either continue eating those foods and deal with the consequences, or avoid them and feel better.

But even if you’re very careful with your food choices, if your mind isn’t right, your digestion won’t be either.

Stress and Digestion

We see the mind and body as separate, but they’re connected. That’s especially true when it comes to your mental and digestive health because the two are connected by the gut-brain axis. We won’t get into how that works, but what that means is if you improve your digestive health, you’ll also improve your mental health. The same is true the other way around, which is what we’ll be focusing on.

The biggest mental factor impacting digestive health is stress. Because when you’re anxious, you release stress hormones, which affect your gut’s functionality. Then, because your stomach isn’t right, you get more anxious, creating a cycle. To break out of that cycle, learn how to destress your mind. Here are three ways how.

Meditate

Meditating enables the third-person perspective, which will help you be calmer. You can do that by sitting down with your eyes closed and observing your breathing and thoughts like they’re not yours. That allows you to detach from your body and mind. From that point of view, you don’t care about what’s happened or what’s going to happen, so you feel less stressed. It’ll also help you act more rationally.

Exercise

Exercising releases endorphins, which are like your body’s natural painkillers. The more intense the workout, the more endorphins you’ll release. So something like weight training is highly effective. But even a 20-minute walk can help you destress.

Sleep

Stress makes it harder to sleep, and a lack of sleep makes you more stressed, creating a cycle. One way to break out of it is by increasing the quality and quantity of sleep. You can achieve both by practicing good sleep hygiene. That includes no big meals before bed, no screens, no caffeine, and no alcohol. Put in the effort to improve your sleep, and you will also feel less stressed.

By meditating, exercising, and sleeping better, you will destress your mind. That will improve your focus, creativity, mood, and digestion.

Habits and Digestion

We’ve covered some diet and lifestyle changes that you can make to improve your digestion. But getting into the habit of doing those things is a challenge in itself. So here are three methods you can use to make habit change easier.

Journal

Habits are automatic behaviors. They’re things you do without thinking. That’s why they’re so hard to change. But journaling can help. At the end of each day, reflect on what you did, focusing on the habits you want to change. Doing so will make you more conscious of those actions. And if you’re more conscious, you’re more in control.

For example, if you’re trying to avoid lactose but keep reaching for it, make a note of that. Then the next time you reach for it, you’ll be more aware, and you can bring yourself to stop. The same goes for stress management. If you forgot to meditate, make a note of that. Then when it’s time to meditate again, you’ll be less likely to forget.

Starting Slow

Your mind loves patterns. When you try to change your behavior, you’re going against those patterns, and alarms start going off. The bigger the change, the louder the alarms, and the harder they are to ignore. So if you want to change your behavior, start small.

Let’s say you’re trying to cut back on gluten, lactose, and FODMAPs. Instead of doing that overnight, start with gluten, then lactose, and eventually move on to FODMAPs. That gradual approach will result in lasting change. And the benefits you feel will also help you stay on track.

Manage Your Environment

Your environment shapes your behavior. It influences your actions more than motivation or willpower ever could. That’s why changing your environment is one of the most effective ways to change your habits.

If you’re trying to cut back on processed foods, don’t keep them in your kitchen. Instead, fill your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. Or if you want to exercise more, make it easier to do so, like having your gym bag ready the night before.

Changing habits is hard. But by journaling, starting slow, and managing your environment, you can make it easier.

Takeaway

Reducing processed foods, lactose, gluten, and FODMAPs will improve digestion.
Destressing your mind will too. You can do that by meditating, exercising, and sleeping better.
To make habit change easier: start slow, practice journaling, and put effort in to managing your environment.

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How to Improve Your Digestion