We don’t have to tell you that your gut health is important. Digestion is the way your body breaks down food into carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals to fuel every cell in your body. Your gastrointestinal tract, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder all play a role, and your hormones and nerves work together to control the process.
If you’ve ever laid awake with digestive issues, you know how important your digestive health is to your overall health and wellbeing. Even if you’ve never experienced anything more than a minor upset stomach, you don’t want to take your digestive health for granted. Supplements can play an important role in keeping you healthy.
Popular digestive health supplements and digestive help products include:
• Probiotics
• Prebiotics
• Cleansing and detox supplements
• Enzymes
• Fiber
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast that can be beneficial to digestion. Your digestive tract is teeming with microorganisms, including bacteria and yeast, which play a role in keeping your entire body healthy. Probiotic supplements are one way to help you maintain a healthy community of microorganisms. You can also eat probiotics in foods such as yogurt, kefir, or naturally fermented sauerkraut or kimchi. But when you take them in a supplement, you know the exact types and quantities of microorganisms you’re taking.
A lot of people know about probiotics, but prebiotics are also important. They’re basically carbohydrates that your body can’t digest. They feed the beneficial microorganisms in your digestive tract. You can find prebiotics in many common fruits, vegetables, and grains, and you can also take them in supplement form to make sure you’re supporting your gut bacteria.
Sometimes your body needs a reset, which is when you may want to reach for cleansing and detox supplements. These types of supplements can support your gastrointestinal tract, liver, skin, and lungs to perform the crucial jobs these organs do day in and day out to detoxify your body and eliminate waste products.
Gut enzymes are an important part of the digestion process because they help your body break down food. Your gall bladder and pancreas release enzymes, and you can also find them in your saliva. Different types of enzymes break down different types of nutrients. Manufacturers source many enzyme supplements from foods that contain enzymes, such as pineapples and papayas. Animal-sourced enzyme supplements can also be helpful to support digestion and improve the absorption of nutrients.
Fiber is essential for a health digestive system. Some people call it roughage, and most vegetables and fruits are rich in it. Paradoxically, your body doesn’t digest fiber. It remains intact through the digestive process, and it supports digestive health and the healthy elimination of wastes. Fiber can be divided into two types: soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, and insoluble fiber, which helps food move through your digestive tract. You can consume more fiber by eating a diet rich in plants, but you may also want to take a fiber supplement to promote digestive health.
In summary, your gut health impacts your entire body, and you can support it with the right supplementation. But not all supplements are created equal. Be sure to choose brands and ingredients that you trust.
