Did you know that drinking tea can help improve your digestion?
Digestion is the process by which the food you consume is broken down into smaller parts that can be absorbed into your bloodstream. Your digestive system makes sure your body gets all the right vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for growth, energy, strength, and other important functions.
While it’s true that certain foods are harder to break down and digest, such as fried and processed foods, artificial sugars, dairy, coffee, corn, acidic foods, alcohol, chocolate, and spicy meals, some natural drinks can help improve your digestion.
These are helpful even if you mainly consume healthy and nutritious foods that aren’t hard on your stomach. If your body needs a boost to kickstart the process, here’s what you should consume. Without further ado, these are the best things you could drink to improve your digestion.
1. Peppermint tea
If you enjoy drinking peppermint tea, you’re going to be happy. That is one of the teas you could drink to improve your digestion. It tastes amazing, is refreshing, and can even satisfy your sweet tooth, especially if you pair it with a piece of dark chocolate.
This tea is rich in peppermint oil and is rich in “menthol,” which is derived from the Mentha piperita plant. It can help with digestion problems and functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs).
Moreover, experts say that this miraculous tea can ease bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and any stomach pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) thanks to relaxing the esophageal and intestinal muscles.
2. Ginger tea
Another amazing drink that can help improve your digestion is ginger tea. According to experts, ginger has been shown to boost gastric motility or the flow of food through the digestive system.
Those who suffer from inflammation in their digestive tract, such as those who have IBS, might find that drinking ginger tea helps ease their pain. In certain cases, it can also relieve indigestion, bloating, constipation, nausea, and feeling incredibly full after eating. So if you typically feel like you’re so full you can’t even get up from the chair, ginger tea might be the solution for you.
3. Aloe vera juice
Succulent aloe vera has long been used as a topical remedy for burns and skin conditions. But this wonderful juice, obtained by combining the gel with water, might also help you improve your digestion.
Experts say that aloe vera is mostly useful for lubricating and softening your feces to avoid constipation. But that’s not all, because this special plant can also lower the intensity of your pain-related IBS symptoms.
However, before you go to the grocery store and buy a bottle of natural aloe vera juice, you should talk to your doctor about whether it’s suitable for you or not. That’s because one study discovered that some people who regularly drank aloe vera juice experienced nausea and vomiting, so you should do your research before consuming things your body might not process easily.
4. Celery juice
In 2020, everyone talked about how earthy celery juice tastes but how amazing it’s for your gut health. While it’s true that social media massively contributed to the hype, the benefits of this drink are real.
For instance, if you want to improve your digestion, drinking a glass of celery juice on an empty stomach will do wonders for you. This magical beverage can help you have clear skin thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, boost your cardiovascular health, fight allergies and inflammation in your body, hydrate you, improve your gut health, help you fight against neurogenerative diseases, and help you deal with arthritis.
Have you ever tried celery juice? It doesn’t taste good, but your body will thank you!
5. Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that many consider a fancy drink, thanks to its growing popularity on social media. But the hype is real, and this beverage can quickly improve your digestion.
This effervescent beverage is made with fermented sweetened tea, symbiotic yeast, and bacteria cultures. While the ingredients are left to ferment, they start to produce probiotics, organic acids, vitamins, and enzymes that can boost your digestive system.
Since kombucha is rich in probiotics, this helps your body balance gut bacteria. As a result, your gut is filled with good microbes, which can support nutrient absorption and efficient digestion. If you suffer from gastrointestinal disorder symptoms, kombucha is your best friend!
6. Green juice and smoothies
Some experts say that your body can have a hard time digesting dietary fiber, but it’s one of the most important nutrients you can fuel your body with, as it helps improve your digestion and keep constipation at bay.
You can add more fiber to your diet by consuming fruits and veggies such as raspberries, bananas, oranges, apples, pears, strawberries, baby spinach, green peas, carrots, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. If you want a fiber boost, you can make a delicious green juice or smoothie to drink in the morning.
Experts say that women should consume 21 to 25 grams of fiber daily, and men should eat 30 to 38 grams of fiber daily. All you need to make your gut happy is a powerful blender, water, some greens (my favorites are baby spinach and celery), fiber-rich foods, and some peanut butter and protein powder to add some protein and fats to fuel those gorgeous muscles.
7. Water
Of course, water! We can’t discuss ways to improve your digestion without talking about the most important fluid in the world. Scientists say that the human body is roughly 66% water, and every inch, muscle, and cell needs this liquid to function properly and be healthy.
Unfortunately, millions of people don’t drink the recommended water quantity daily, and they’re more likely to have constipation, kidney stones, headaches, mood swings, and urinary tract infections.
Recent studies have discovered that drinking room-temperature water is better for you than cold water. This can improve your mammal gut microbiota, which is the collection of archaea, bacteria, and eukarya that live in your gastrointestinal tract. This segment includes your small and large intestines, as well as your stomach.
Drinking enough water throughout the day can help you have more energy, relieve constipation or even diarrhea, have glowy skin, strong muscles and nails, shiny hair, balance your gastrointestinal bacteria, improve your digestion, and help your muscles function the way they should.
If you can’t drink enough water daily, you can try to add fruits and herbs to it and make it tastier. One of my favorite recipes includes lemon, mint leaves, cucumbers, and blueberries or blackberries. It’s refreshing and will help you flush out toxins.
What should you avoid?
You can easily improve your digestion by paying more attention to the things you consume. Besides feeding your body with all the right nutrients, like fiber, healthy fats, greens, complex carbs, and lean protein, you should also be mindful of what you drink.
Make your gut healthy by drinking room-temperature water, spiced and herbal teas, natural smoothies, and juices, and avoid alcohol and soda as much as possible. You can still consume them and have good digestion but don’t overdo it.
What do you think about these natural ways to improve your digestion? Would you try any of these teas? If you have other tips for us, share them with us in the comments below! If you enjoyed reading this article and you’d like to check out something else from Healthy Reads, here’s a good post for you: Never Mix These 8 Supplements, Medical Experts Warn
