Our digested food moves along through the stomach and the intestinal tract, which includes the small and large intestines, with the help of a natural muscular movement called peristalsis. We don't feel it and it happens naturally with the stomach and intestines. One cause for slow digestion problems is when the stomach can no longer perform this function and this disorder is called gastroparesis.
What symptoms can you expect because of slow digestion?
- nausea
- upper abdominal pain
- bloating
- acid reflux
- heartburn
Other causes for slow digestion problems
Gastroparesis will normally require a physician to treat, the symptoms can be severe in some people, but not so in others. Other, reasons for slow digestion are during pregnancy, in which case there's not too much you can do about it.
Dehydration can cause slow digestion. If the digestive tract is properly lubricated then the time food takes to digest is quicker.
Some foods are very hard on the digestive system and normally take much longer than others. Red meat digests very slowly and makes the system work extra hard to do it so that is a good one to cut back on or avoid for a while and see if that helps. Many people have a hard time digesting dairy products and soy as well.
How about the all-important fiber?
Many digestive disorders are caused by a diet that is far too low in fiber. If you don't get very much fiber, this could help speed up your digestion, but if you are eating way too much fiber, then this is what could be slowing down your digestion.
There are some foods that contain a lot of fiber such as bran cereal, oats, and black beans. If you are eating a lot of these try and eat some good fiber foods that are of a lower fiber bulk, such as apricots and cantaloupe, cashew nuts and peanuts. These are healthy dietary fibers but not too heavy.
Kiwifruit is almost perfect
Considering the amount of insoluble and soluble fiber found in the kiwifruit (including skin), the fact that it has more variety of vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes than any other fruit, and healthy fatty acids, it's a fact that all these nutrients aid greatly in the digestion process. So start eating a few of those furry little kiwifruits everyday for a better balanced digestive system.
