They are also added to many processed foods, even when you wouldn’t expect it — like pasta sauces, salad dressings, and soups. Healthy eating isn’t only about your food choices, it’s also about how you prepare them.

Fried and grilled foods are tasty treats but have a downside. Fried foods have unhealthy fats, while high-temperature grilling can create carcinogens cancer-causing chemicals.

Good choices are: steaming, stewing, poaching, braising, boiling, or microwaving. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that keep bad bacteria in check and nourish your gut for healthy digestion.

Good choices are: yogurt, kimchee, raw apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, and sauerkraut. If you get constipated, you may not be drinking enough.

Drinking water helps prevent constipation and supports healthy bowel function. How much water you need per day depends on many factors like your size, activity level, and health.

In general, adults need cups of water per day. Good choices are: water, green tea, black coffee, fat-free milk, fresh-squeezed juice. Regular exercise helps food move through your digestive system faster, reducing the risk of nausea, bloating, constipation.

Regular exercise can also improve the symptoms of constipation and inflammatory bowel disease. Good choices are: taking a walk after meals or 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise daily.

Maintaining a healthy weight reduces your chances of developing GERD, gallstones, some digestive cancers, and more. Following suggestions for a healthy diet and regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight.

You know smoking is bad for your lungs, but you might be surprised to find that it’s also bad for your digestive system. Smoking has been found to significantly increase your risk of developing acid reflux, and quitting has been shown to improve symptoms.

Research has also found a link between smoking and stomach ulcers and an increased need for surgery for gastrointestinal cancers and ulcerative colitis. Good choices are: talk to your doctor about help for quitting, or visit Smokefree. gov for information and help. Lack of sleep affects every body system, including the digestive system.

Sleep deprivation may lead to inflammation in the bowel, which can cause gastrointestinal symptoms. You can also eat smaller, more frequent meals more slowly — to avoid overloading your digestive system. Getting into a routine with smaller meals may also gradually reduce your stomach volume — making you feel full when eating less.

Fluids for constipation Fueling your digestive system with plenty of fluids helps remove waste and curb constipation. Water and juices work well, along with foods that have a high water content, such as salad. Drinking plenty is especially important if you are increasing your fiber intake in order to counteract constipation.

Talk to your doctor about how much fluid is right for you but the general recommendation is about 1. Exercise for bloating Staying active is excellent for your digestive health.

Taking a brisk 20 — 30 minute walk, 4 times a week, can improve your bowel function and reduce bloating. Exercise, along with sufficient hydration, keeps things moving and helps eliminate waste.

Exercise is also an excellent reliever of stress that can be a key trigger of digestive problems. They are microorganisms that are similar to helpful bacteria found in the body. They occur naturally in fermented foods like some yogurts and may be added to juices, snacks and supplements. Some research suggests that probiotics may help stomach upsets, such as diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome IBS and inflammatory bowel disease IBD.

Stress and your digestive system Stress is a well known trigger of tummy trouble. Intense emotional states can cause chemical changes that interfere with the normal working of your digestive system. Stress management is important to help avoid aggravating problems like IBS or indigestion.

Exercise, relaxation techniques like massage or meditation, and getting plenty of sleep can all help keep stress under control. Foods for tummy trouble What you eat is obviously one of the most important factors in your digestive health. Avoid, or severely limit, foods that trigger unpleasant symptoms such as wind, bloating, constipation or diarrhea.

Foods like beans, fizzy drinks, and fatty or fried foods, can all result in excess wind. Also go easy with acidic choices like grapefruit juice, coffee, tea or foods loaded with spices, in order to reduce the risk of heartburn and tummy ache. Heartburn and smokin g If you smoke — you increase your risk of more than 50 serious health conditions — and your digestive system is not immune from the effects.

Smoking can weaken the valve at the end of the oesophagus triggering acid reflux and heartburn. See your doctor, pharmacist, or clinic for help to quit now — for the good of your gut.

Drinking and stomach problems Regularly drinking more than the recommended daily limit for alcohol compromises your health — including the health of your digestive tract.

Drinking too much hinders your ability to absorb important nutrients, and can increase stomach acid secretion which can damage the lining of the stomach. Excess alcohol also increases your risk of constipation, diarrhea, heartburn and liver problems, as well as esophageal cancer.

Diverticulitis can lead to severe complications, such as abscess, perforation tears in the colon wall , intestinal blockage from internal scarring, or fistula, an abnormal connection between two organs. The most common symptoms of diverticulitis are abdominal pain and tenderness, pressure in the lower abdomen, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, constipation, and diarrhea.

Inflammatory bowel disease IBD. IBD occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the intestines and triggers inflammation of the tissues.

These areas can thicken or wear away in spots, which creates ulcers, cracks, and fissures. Inflammation can allow an abscess a pocket of pus to develop.

With UC, inflammation in the lining of the large intestine the colon causes ulcers. This can cause bleeding, diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue. Other symptoms can vary depending on the severity of the inflammation and where it occurs in the large intestine.

They include:. Irritable bowel syndrome IBS. IBS is characterized by recurrent bouts of constipation or diarrhea or both , abdominal pain, bloating, and gas.

The severity and duration of symptoms vary. Some are mild and come and go, while others are severe and last several weeks. Some people can go months or years between episodes.

Most people are never cured of IBS, but dietary changes, medication, and stress management can help manage the condition. Gallstones are hardened bits of bile that form inside the gallbladder, a pear-shaped pouch that sits just below the liver.

Bile makes it easier for the body to digest fat. Small stones can pass out of the body through the intestines. However, gallstones can cause symptoms if they get caught in the narrow outlet of the gallbladder or in the ducts that drain the gallbladder.

Symptoms include abdominal pain, usually high in the abdomen and often in the center or on the right side where the gallbladder is located , and can spread to the area of the right shoulder blade. When symptoms recur or the gallbladder becomes inflamed, the gallbladder needs to be surgically removed.

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What are common digestive diseases and conditions? Digestive Health Your digestive system breaks down food and liquid into their chemical components—carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals—so the body can absorb these nutrients, use them for energy, and build or repair cells.

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Fill up with fiber-rich foods like cherries, peppers, beans, wholegrains, lentils, and nuts to help the digestive process. Fiber may have other health benefits too, including staving off weight gain, heart disease, blood sugar swings. Weight loss and heartburn Fatty foods and rising levels of obesity have been linked to the rise in heartburn cases.

Carrying extra weight can worsen digestive issues like heartburn and some research suggests that obese and overweight men and women who suffer from heartburn may get relief by losing some weight. A healthy diet and regular exercise are a critical part of any weight loss program.

Check with your doctor to ensure any new weight loss plan is right for you. Eat less to beat bloating A simple step to curb the discomfort of bloating, indigestion, and heartburn is to eat a small amount often. You can also eat smaller, more frequent meals more slowly — to avoid overloading your digestive system.

Getting into a routine with smaller meals may also gradually reduce your stomach volume — making you feel full when eating less. Fluids for constipation Fueling your digestive system with plenty of fluids helps remove waste and curb constipation.

Water and juices work well, along with foods that have a high water content, such as salad. Drinking plenty is especially important if you are increasing your fiber intake in order to counteract constipation. Talk to your doctor about how much fluid is right for you but the general recommendation is about 1.

Exercise for bloating Staying active is excellent for your digestive health. Taking a brisk 20 — 30 minute walk, 4 times a week, can improve your bowel function and reduce bloating. Exercise, along with sufficient hydration, keeps things moving and helps eliminate waste.

Exercise is also an excellent reliever of stress that can be a key trigger of digestive problems. They are microorganisms that are similar to helpful bacteria found in the body. They occur naturally in fermented foods like some yogurts and may be added to juices, snacks and supplements.

Some research suggests that probiotics may help stomach upsets, such as diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome IBS and inflammatory bowel disease IBD. Stress and your digestive system Stress is a well known trigger of tummy trouble. Intense emotional states can cause chemical changes that interfere with the normal working of your digestive system.

Stress management is important to help avoid aggravating problems like IBS or indigestion. Exercise, relaxation techniques like massage or meditation, and getting plenty of sleep can all help keep stress under control.

Foods for tummy trouble What you eat is obviously one of the most important factors in your digestive health. Avoid, or severely limit, foods that trigger unpleasant symptoms such as wind, bloating, constipation or diarrhea.

Foods like beans, fizzy drinks, and fatty or fried foods, can all result in excess wind. You may also need a vitamin D supplement if you have an inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease , which is often associated with low vitamin D levels, according to a study in the May Nutrients.

Other people who are at a greater risk for a vitamin D deficiency include:. If you aren't getting enough vitamin D from sunlight and food , talk to your doctor about a supplement.

Keep in mind that you may already be taking a supplement that contains vitamin D. For example, many calcium supplements also contain vitamin D, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Vitamin A is involved primarily in boosting vision , bone, and reproductive health, as well as the immune system, according to the NIH.

Colorful fruits and vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, kale , and other dark greens, as well as liver and milk, are rich sources of vitamin A.

Although vitamin A is not directly involved in digestion, some gastrointestinal diseases can leave you vulnerable to a vitamin A deficiency.

The researchers noted that a lack of vitamin A can worsen the imbalance between the formation and destruction of free radicals in the intestinal mucus lining of people with Crohn's.

This deficiency is also common in people with celiac disease. Health Conditions A-Z. Best Oils for Skin Complementary Approaches Emotional Wellness Fitness and Exercise Healthy Skin Online Therapy Reiki Healing Resilience Sleep Sexual Health Self Care Yoga Poses See All.

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By Chris Iliades, MD. Medically Reviewed. Ira Daniel Breite, MD. B Vitamins: Energy for the Day These vitamins are found in proteins such as fish, poultry, meat, and dairy products, as well as leafy greens and beans, and help your body form red blood cells and get energy from the food you eat, the NIH explains.