You probably know that the food you eat travels through your digestive system. Through a series of processes your body extracts nutrients and it can take 6 to 8 hours for a regular meal to make its way through all of them. Depending on what you eat and drink, you may be able to speed up the amount of time it takes for your body to digest a meal.
Ginger
This tangy root is famous for being a natural digestive aid, fighting everything from nausea to vertigo. Whether you sip on ginger tea, add fresh ginger to a smoothie or munch on a few pieces of candied ginger, it may help improve your digestive mojo.
Wheat Bran
Insoluble fiber is the type of dietary fiber that speeds up digestion. Increasing the amount of wheat bran (an excellent source of insoluble fiber) will likely lead to an uptick in the speed of your digestion. You can also increase insoluble fiber by upping the amount of beans and vegetables in your diet on a regular basis.
Coffee
Research dating back 20 years points to coffee triggering the muscles in the lower intestine. For some people, this neurological trigger revs up digestion, which can lead to that post-morning-coffee trip to the restroom.
Nuts
Nuts are another food that offers plenty of insoluble fiber. Types of nuts with the most of this type of hunger-fighting nutrient includes cashews, almonds and pistachios.
Water
It’s not fancy, but it sure is reliable! Staying hydrated helps keep your fluid status on par and digestive tract moving. Aim for drinking 1/2 your body weight in fluid ounces each day, for example — 75 ounces for a 150-pound person. Be sure to increase that daily quantity even more if you exercise regularly, especially when the conditions are hot and humid.
Yogurt
Eating yogurt regularly allows for a steady intake of digestion-promoting probiotics, the good bacteria that promote digestive health. Choose regular yogurt for a quick snack or higher-protein Greek yogurt for a satisfying breakfast or post-workout snack.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods like kombucha and kimchi are also filled with probiotics. Spicy kimchi and delightfully fizzy kombucha offer more diverse ways to get more probiotics in your daily diet.
Chia Seeds
Achieving status as a major superfood, these tiny seeds pack in the fiber for digestion, plus omega-3 fats to fight inflammation and can help keep things delightfully regular.
