Digestion Supplements
If you choose to eat your steak and potatoes, consider taking digestive enzymes to ensure you have adequate levels of stomach acid and alleviate your digestion problem.
Do not eat fruits with meals. Dr. Rubman recommends eating fruits as an appetizer a half-an-hour before a meal, rather than as a dessert. He explains that fruits are normally digested very quickly. For example, when you eat fruit, just half an hour later you’ve digested it. When you eat fruits with other foods, however, you slow their digestion. The fruit sits and can ferment until all foods are ready to move on together. This, again, can allow damaging microorganisms such as Candida to gain a foothold in the body, warns Dr. Rubman.
When you belch after a meal, he points out that it is often not from swallowed air, but from gas and fermentation in the stomach due to improperly combined foods.
Just say no to dessert. The worst thing you can do to start a digestion problem is to put a simple carb on top of a healthful, balanced meal, notes Dr. Rubman. Sugary sweet high-glycemic desserts, which would normally be digested rapidly, instead sit and ferment while the whole meal undergoes lengthier digestion.
If you’re going to eat sweets, it’s best to eat them on an empty stomach for optimal digestion (of course, this is not so good for blood sugar, but that’s a discussion for another day). Treat sweets as special treats rather than every day events, chew them slowly and thoroughly so the pleasure lasts longer.
A good digestion supplement is to combine foods that contain different amino acids. Especially for the vegetarians among us, it’s important to combine grains, fruits and vegetables — which contain different amino acids — in order to complete the essential amino acid profile, says Dr. Rubman. They do not need to be eaten together in one meal (although that’s fine too). However, eat portions within a four hour time period. A black bean chili or white bean soup, and a healthful grain such as brown rice — will do the trick. To learn more about these combinations,
People experiencing digestion problems must Chew foods very thoroughly. Chew foods until they are virtually in liquid form before swallowing. The more food is broken down in the mouth, the more readily it can pass through the rest of the gastrointestinal tract.
OPTIMIZE YOUR DIGESTION
Of course, combining foods correctly is only part of an overall digestive strategy for digestion problems that also entails a diet filled with a rich variety of whole foods, with more healthful fats (wild salmon, avocados, olive oil, flaxseed, etc.) than saturated ones (hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, etc.), and complex carbs such as whole grains and starchy vegetables instead of simple carbohydrates from white sugar.
When the goal is healthful digestion without the need for digestion supplements, Dr. Rubman also strongly cautions against antacid use. Clever advertising seduces many consumers with digestive challenges to reach for these, when in reality Americans suffer from a shortage of, rather than excess, stomach acid. Also: Limit beverages during meals. They dilute digestive enzymes.
Whatever your digestive challengesand digestion problems, rest assured that there’s a solution for you, and very often all that is entailed is making simple, healthful, common sense choices. When in doubt, consult a trained physician to help you devise a sensible plan.
