SUPPLEMENTS TO HELP WITH DIGESTIVE ISSUES

Relieve digestive distress—including heartburn, stomach cramps, and constipation—with the help of a few supplement strategies.

Your digestive tract functions as the arbiter of nutrient absorption. However, digestive problems are common, including upset stomach, heartburn, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation. Aside from the physical discomfort these issues cause, if you have regular problems with digestion, there’s a good chance you’re not making optimal use of the nutrients in your foods or supplements.

Possible Causes

The causes of digestive disorders can vary greatly. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and heartburn are sometimes caused by chronic overeating or by food sensitivities, usually because of eating too many processed foods. Antibiotics can have long-term deleterious effects on the digestive tract. Stomach ulcers are most commonly caused by H. pylori (a bacterium) or long-term use of the drug ibuprofen.  

5 HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS THAT IMPROVE DIGESTION

By now, we’re all aware that eating yogurt and high-fiber foods is good for your gut. But if regular doses of probiotics and roughage don’t seem to be cutting it in the digestion department, you might want to think about bringing in some extra helpers.

Turns out, there are plenty of natural remedies that can help your GI tract do its thing—and stave off unpleasantries like cramping, nausea, gas, diarrhea, constipation. 

Here are 5 expert-backed options to try.

7 BEST FOODS TO FIGHT INFLAMMATION.

Whether it's aches and pains, stiffness, headaches, indigestion, stomach aches, yeast imbalances, viruses, low energy, weight gain, or free-radical damage, it often goes back to two things: acidity and inflammation.

To understand how acidity plays a role in producing bodily inflammation, you first have to understand pH, or the measure of a solution's acidity or alkalinity from 0 to 14, 0 being the most acidic, and 14 being the most alkaline. Our bodies need a very specific pH balance to function and maintain homeostasis. Even slight changes to the pH of our blood, for instance, can be extremely problematic.

THE ARTHRITIS GENE HELPED HUMANS SURVIVE THE ICE AGE.

The gene that increases your likelihood to suffer from arthritis could also be the gene that helped humans survive through the Ice Age, scientists have discovered.

In what can only be described as one of the biological world’s greatest double-edged swords, it appears as though evolution both gives and very definitely takes away.

The gene in question causes people to become more compact, a trait that became increasingly common as humans started moving north away from Africa.

3 THINGS THAT WRECK YOUR GUT HEALTH

He famously helped Gwyneth Paltrow rethink her eating habits, so it was no surprise to see heart surgeon Steven Gundry, MD, onstage at the Goop conference over the weekend. And along with admitting that he usually skips breakfast—which is crazy when you think there are coffee-avocado smoothies to be had—the renowned doctor also talked gut health. (We’re listening…)

Dr. Gundry says that finding the right bloat-free balance may be as simple as eliminating some common drugs and foods that “wreck” (his word!) your stomach. “It’s not what I tell you to eat, it’s what I tell you not to eat,” he says.

IS COCONUT OIL UNHEALTHY?

Yes, coconut oil lovers, it’s true—the American Heart Association released an advisory report on the role of dietary fats in heart disease in which they called out coconut oil as particularly dangerous due to its high saturated fat content. 

The report's authors recommended avoiding the oil altogether: “Because coconut oil increases LDL cholesterol, a cause of cardiovascular disease, and has no known offsetting favorable effects, we advise against the use of coconut oil.” 

But if you’re freaking out over that, and all the subsequent click-baity headlines—“Coconut Oil Isn’t Healthy. It’s Never Been Healthy” or “So Coconut Oil Is Actually Really, Really Bad For You”—take a deep breath and refrain from tossing your jar of organic cold-pressed coconut oil in the trash just yet. 

4 THINGS THAT MAY TRIGGER FOOD ALLERGIES AND SENSITIVITIES.

You can’t open a health magazine these days without reading story after story about gluten.

But while our collective gluten obsession has probably gone a little overboard, the science on gluten helps underscore the complexity of our digestive systems and how food-related gut issues emerge. 

While there’s no question some people have an allergy to gluten, which is known as celiac disease, there’s a great deal of expert debate regarding the existence of “non-celiac gluten sensitivity”—a condition separate from celiac that’s linked with abdominal pain, headaches, fatigue, and other symptoms.

Throw in the concept of a food “intolerance,” and it’s hard to keep all the terminology straight—let alone the triggers.