Happiness for me is largely a matter of digestion.
~Lin Yutang
For Wellness Wednesday, we're thinking about how to improve what's going on in our digestive system. Most likely this came to mind for me because my older daughter was recently diagnosed with celiac and how well she's digesting is significant to her quality of life, but in reality, it's a big deal for many people. I bought her some aloe water and ended up needing to buy more because I shared them with other folks who were having issues. It's common.
Probiotics can be a help (and can be especially vital if you've taken or are taking antibiotics). In addition to supplements, you can eat your probiotics by having yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, any fermented food. I have never tried fermenting my own food, but I really should. This Carrot and Radish Sauerkraut looks good (yes, feel free to tell me that I'm crazy).
I haven't really actively eaten prebiotics, except for Trader Joe's snack crackers and onions. Raw garlic is also a prebiotic. The Food Network has a delicious-looking set of recipes called Feed Your Probiotics, which combine pre- and probiotics.
There are lots of good teas for helping digestion. Two of my favorites are Orange Ginger Mint and Fennel (or you could make your own). Addendum: You can make your own ginger syrup -- regular ginger ale has got nothin' on ginger drinks made with fresh syrup. I use this recipe.
Bitters are good before meals to kick-start your digestive process. I made my own. (I bought bitters ingredients on Etsy.) You can also buy bitters already made. Another possibility: eating bitter greens like endive and arugula.
P.S. When I was looking up stuff for this post, I discovered that someone made a 12-hour-long video of stomach-growling noises. On the one hand, I laughed out loud when I saw it. On the other hand, people sure are strange.
P.P.S. A bonus unrelated video:
2 comments:
Amazing hummingbird "party." They're usually such territorial creatures, I'm surprised that they're getting along so well.
That's really funny about the stomach-growling noises video. Isn't the 'net wonderful...there are so many strange people out there, how would we know about them without it?!
Also, the bitters before meals has helped me, too.
I am not celiac, but I do have a gluten allergy/sensitivity that kicks in suddenly, seriously and painfully when I have any gluten. I have to be doubly/triply careful when I eat food anywhere but my own kitchen to avoid cross-contamination.
I take probiotics, and do some in foods, however the ones in foods doctors have not given much "pro" for, as they end up being digested. I take capsules (that are expensive) that make it to the intestines without being digested first.
This is a long road! Do-able... just have to be ever diligent!
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