Without any doubt, your individual health relies heavily on what you are eating, but what use are healthy eating habits if your digestive system can’t keep up and properly absorb what you are eating? There is a lot of marketing around health foods, and a lot of hype surrounding them, but we need to stop and realise for a minute that an inefficient digestive system can be the biggest hindrance to our achievement of optimal health.

No matter how healthy the food you eat is, if your digestive system isn’t operating on par, this food will not be absorbed and metabolized effectively, meaning it will not be utilized by the body. For those thinking that digestive problems are a rare issue, think again. Specific digestive system diseases already affect one in four people, and thats not counting the amount of other conditions and symptoms caused by poor digestion, which are almost countless. A digestive system that is not performing optimally can be responsible for a wide variety of conditions ranging from skin conditions, lethargy, headaches and even insofar as depression (to name a few).

There are many simple methods to improve your digestive function tenfold and help your body aid in its digestion and absorption of food, and the good news is they aren’t expensive and you probably already have a few in your house. Here are some good choices...

Gentian: (Botanical Name - Gentiana Lutea)

 _{Photo Courtesy of Teun Spaans}

The king of digestive herbs and is the prime ingredient in Swedish bitters. The bitter gentian is best taken in the form of a tincture (a special type of liquid extract, which can be found commonly for sale at your local health food store) ten minutes before meals. 

Ginger (Botanical Name - Zingiber Zingberaceae)

_{Photo Courtesy of vieux_bandit}

Is one of the best known most commonly used culinary herbs. For digestive purposes, a ginger tincture is the best option, but a more common and easy idea that works well is to grate fresh ginger root into a tea, and drinking before breakfast or after dinner. 

For those less adventurous, some companies make pre-made ginger root teabags, or ginger root capsules.  

Lemon Juice

Photo Courtesy of ^Vanessa^ 

A freshly squeezed lemon in a glass of water upon waking is one of the best liver cleansing and digestive system aids you can take.

Apple Cider Vinegar: One tablespoon of apple cider vinegar taken ten minutes before meals is as a powerful digestive aid as they come, especially for fatty food.

 References

1. Bone, K., 2003, A Clinical Guide to Blending Liquid Herbs, Australia.

2. Bowen, R., 2004, Microbial Life in the Digestive Tract, Colorado State University.

3. Johnson, D.R., n.d, Introductory Anatomy: Digestive System, Faculty of Biological sciences, University of Leeds.

4. Kumar, P. & Clark, M. 2005, Clinical Medicine 6^th edn, Elsevier Saunders, Spain.

5. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, 2005, Digestive Diseases Statistics, National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.

6. Osiecki, H., 2007, Physicians Handbook of Clinical Nutrition, Bioconcepts Publishing, Australia.

7. Tortora, G. & Derrickson, B., 2006 ‘Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 11^th edn’, John Wiley and Sons Inc, USA.

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