A season of thankfulness, gratefulness, and relationships are upon us. The atmosphere will transition to be lighter and graceful with sentiments of peace. The food we intake will also go through a transition. It will move away from lighter summer meals to heavier hearty meals to help keep us warm in the cold months. To glide through these transitions we need to pay particular attention to our digestion, which can either keep us comfortable or make us ill-at ease.
The symptoms that can cause varying degrees of digestive discomfort are constant belching, acid indigestion, stomach pain from inflammation, constipation, and flatulence, which are common problems that can wreak havoc on our holiday cheer.
Here are some products for digestion that can possibly help ease discomfort, so you enjoy your holiday and winter meals:
Digestive Enzymes – If undigested food is seen in the stools, then extra help might be necessary to break it down. Digestive enzymes generally help breakdown the proteins with protease, carbohydrates with amylase, and fats with lipase. There are broader spectrum enzymes supplements that will include enzymes to help breakdown cellulose from vegetable fiber with cellulase, and lactose from milk sugar with lactase.
Digestive Bitters – Low stomach acid can cause food to stagnate and rot in your stomach causing bitter smells, gas, bloating, and belching. Digestive bitters can help by initiating the secretion of HCL from your parietal cells to help denature proteins and help release iron and calcium from foods.
Probiotics and Prebiotics – The gut flora or microbiome as it is currently called is critical to the health of the gut and immune system. These friendly microbes also help to create vitamins and keep bad bacteria under control thus keeping gas and belching in check.
Digestive Fiber – Fiber is necessary to keep food moving through the small and large intestines while picking up toxins, bacteria, and wastes. Fiber keeps the intestines clean by assisting to increase the bowel transit time in the removing of wastes matter from the colon.
Herbal Support – Herbs such as ginger root is not only an anti-inflammatory for pains, but also good for digestion helping to ease an upset stomach and to reduce flatulence.
This is a short list of different types of digestive supplements that can be kept on hand for extra help with digestion making it possible to enjoy all the cookies, cakes, turkey, dressing, casseroles, and buffet items that are generally prevalent during this time of year. Think ahead and prepare to avoid those food items that are offensive and cause the discomfort. Some foods that may offend are dairy, sugary foods, gluten, fried, salty foods, and bubbly drinks. Plan in advance to have substitutions that you can eat without problems and enjoy your holiday without any food-related stressors. If you need further help with your supplement choices contact a nutritionist.
