The reins of our health lie in the hands of your digestive system. A healthy digestive system promotes the synthesis of healthy tissues, efficient elimination of toxins and wastes, and boosts your energy level. It creates that vital essence essential for a clear perception, high immunity, and wonderful physical strength. Sadly our unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, and lack of adequate exercise and sleep have impaired our digestive power. And, when this happens, our body starts producing Ama, or the toxic residue, which accumulates and causes various dis-eases, including obesity and cardiac ailments.
But there is a good news! There are certain techniques and lifestyle solutions that you could adopt so as to improve and pace up your digestion. The article has been divided into four different sub-categories – lifestyle changes, yoga poses, super foods, and quick fixes. Fasten your belts and get ready to dive into a new world of goodness right now!
Lifestyle Changes For Better Digestion
1. Drink water generously!
Start your day with water. Enjoy a glass of warm water with 1 tsp of carom seeds or fenugreek seeds to give your digestive fire a good wakeup call. Sip warm water throughout the day. Drinking a glass of warm water 30 minutes before your meal creates an environment that is suitable for quick and effective digestion.
2. Sleep regularly!
An upset sleeping routine is one of the most common causes of poor digestion. Inadequate and improper sleep disrupts your circadian rhythm, which in turn, upsets your digestion. Hence it is always essential to create a sleeping routine. Try to get to bed around the same time.
3. Wake up before sunrise!
According to Ayurveda, waking up before sunrise helps in boosting the agni or the digestive fire. Your body finds it easier to align itself with the natural rhythms of the nature, thereby setting the stage for powerful digestion. Just 20 minutes before sunrise would do the job. Try it!
4. Say goodbye to refined foods, aerated drinks, caffeine, and sugar!
Eliminate these four groups of foods from your diet and you will find the difference in the pace of your digestion. All these food categories are known to slow down your digestion.
5. Exercise moderately!
Over exercising is as bad as not exercising. Hence, strive to create a balanced exercise regimen. A moderately paced jog for 30 minutes or a quick walk of 45 minutes would be an ideal place to begin. You could also include yoga in your regimen. There are certain yoga poses that are known to be beneficial for digestion.
6. Cut away that stress!
Stress induces the release of cortisol, which is known to be one of the deadliest enemies of digestion. Practice meditation or breathing exercises to keep your stress at bay. Breathing in through your nose and breathing out through your mouth consciously would help you eliminate stress in no time.
Yoga For Digestion
Yoga is a great, yet moderately heavy exercise form that could be adopted at any stage of your life. The various twists and bends help in stimulating the circulation, thereby gifting you better digestion.
1. Vajrasana – Diamond Pose
Vajarasana is the best among the yoga poses to enhance your digestion. Bend your knees and sit on your thighs. Since the body rests on the thighs, blood supply to the lower body is cut off for a short period. This helps to boost the circulation to the upper part of the body, thereby ensuring more effective digestion. This is the only yoga pose you need to practice after your meal to speed up digestion.
2. Marjaryasana Bitilasana – Cat Cow Breathing
Come on all your fours. As your inhale, push your core towards the mat, while your chest and head goes up towards the sky. Exhale, round your back, and push your hips to the sky. In simple words, you move your body to resemble a cat and a cow. This lovely breathing technique needs to be done after your empty your bowels in the morning. It massages the digestive system by compressing and lengthening the intestines, promoting better circulation to the area. In short, it presents you with a stronger gut!
3. Ustrasana – Camel Pose
This is a subtle backbend that helps in stretching the stomach and intestines, in turn alleviating constipation and irritable bowel syndrome and promoting better digestion. Sit on your knees, front of the foot placed firmly on the mat. Place your toes flat on the mat. Inhale and as you exhale, bend backward, allowing your hands to rest on the waist. Hold the pose, breathing deeply, for 15 breaths.
5 Super Foods For Faster Digestion
1. Ginger
It is miraculous rhizome whose digestion and metabolism boosting properties have received rave reviews. Chew a slice of raw ginger after your meal to allow the secretion of those digestive enzymes and eliminate any gas.
2. Yogurt
Ensure that all your meals contain yogurt, the unsweetened and unflavored variant. Rich with probiotic bacteria, yogurt helps in easing your digestive issues, thus bestowing better digestion in the process.
3. Turmeric
It’s anti-inflammatory action soothes your gut, creating an atmosphere favorable for efficient and fast digestion. Add it to your curries and dishes or just add it to your buttermilk along with ginger for quick and powerful digestion.
4. Peppermint
This is yet another herb that is known for its stomach-friendly properties. Sip a cup of warm peppermint tea half an hour after your meals and put your worries about indigestion to rest.
5. Beets
These deep red root veggies are not just for iron. They contain various powerful antioxidants that help in warding off any digestion related issues, including bloating and flatulence. Start including a glass of freshly prepared beet juice and sip it with your food.
Quick Fixes For Faster Digestion
1. Carom Seeds – Ajwain
These pungent smelling seeds, according to Ayurvedic texts, help in eliminating the Vata and Ama. Boil 1 glass of water with ¼ tsp Ajwain and simmer for 10 minutes. Sip the drink once it turns warm to hasten your digestion.
2. Fenugreek Seeds
These are bitter, but they give you instant relief from indigestion. Boil 1 cup of water with 1 tsp fenugreek seeds for 10 minutes. Sip the drink to release the gas trapped in the stomach.
3. Black Pepper
Black pepper stimulates your metabolism with this hot, properties. Sprinkle a little black pepper powder atop your salad or mix it in ginger tea along with one tablespoon honey for quick digestion.
4. Orange
Sip freshly squeezed orange juice or include a few slices of oranges in your meal to enjoy effective digestion and ward off indigestion and related issues.
5. Lemon
The astringent and anti-bacterial properties of lemon along with its acidic nature ensures that indigestion keeps away from you. Squeeze in a lemon into 250 ml warm water and grate 1 inch ginger piece into it. Mix 1 tbsp of honey. Sip this mixture 30 minutes prior to your meals to enjoy hassle-free digestion.
These were some of the natural ways you could speed up you digestion. What do you do?
