Three ways to help your digestion
Keeping your digestive system at peak performance is a big part of everyday wellness. So who better to offer advice in this area than Chief Wellness Officer Michael Roizen, MD. Dr. Roizen also serves as Chairman of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. He is the best-selling author of the RealAge books as well as co-author with Mehmet Oz, MD, of YOU: The Owner’s Manual and other books in that series.
Here, in an excerpt from YOU: Staying Young, are three tips to help keep your digestive system running smoothly.
Add Bulk
The food duo with the most muscle: fiber and water. Together they keep your food bulky and soft so it can move easily through your system without putting too much pressure on your intestines. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oats, beans and some cereals. Your goal: 35 grams a day for women and 25 grams a day for men.
Shower Your Insides
You hear the advice about drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water [but] there’s no magic to this number. The right amount varies according to your activity level and size, so if you want, just drink enough water so that your urine is clear. It helps lubricate [your digestive system] so food can slide through more easily. Plus, it helps quell hunger, fights bad breath, and helps you avoid dry mouth.
Play with Your Food
The best way to experiment with foods that may be causing you general digestive irritation is to do the food elimination test. For three days in a row, eliminate certain groups of food from your diet – dairy products, wheat products and sugars being the top three to try. Write down how you feel during those days, and notice any changes in digestive feelings as well as things like your energy level. The test will give you insight not into allergies specifically but into food irritabilities – symptoms that can make you feel like you have a touch of the flu.
YOU: Staying Young, by Michael F. Roizen, MD, and Mehmet C. Oz, MD, is published by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. Excerpt used with permission.
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