Healthy digestion, also called digestive health, results in the absorption of

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

s from food without distressing

symptoms Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

. Healthy digestion follows having a

healthy diet A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A he ...

, doing appropriate

self-care Self-care has been defined as the process of establishing behaviors to ensure holistic well-being of oneself, to promote health, and actively manage illness when it occurs. Individuals engage in some form of self-care daily with food choices, ...

including physical activity and exercise, minimizing activities like

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

or consuming

alcoholic drinks Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

which impair digestion, and managing any

medical condition A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

which disrupts digestion to the best of one's ability. A person with healthy digestion will have lower risk of experiencing

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The Human feces, stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the ...

heartburn Heartburn is a burning sensation felt behind the breastbone. It is a symptom that is commonly linked to acid reflux and is often triggered by food, particularly fatty, sugary, spicy, chocolate, citrus, onion-based and tomato-based products. Ly ...

bloating Abdominal bloating (or simply bloating) is a short-term disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Bloating is generally characterized by an excess buildup of gas, air or fluids in the stomach. A person may have feelings of tightness, pressu ...

flatulence Flatulence is the expulsion of gas from the Gastrointestinal tract, intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swal ...

, and

indigestion Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...

. Additionally, a person with healthy digestion will have less need for digestive medications than a person who does not. Some foods like

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – berry (botany), botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called pla ...

avocados The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was prized for its ...

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...

s, and

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

quickly or completely digest faster than others.

Disruptions to healthy digestion

Many events can disrupt digestion. Disrupted digestion can have many symptoms, including diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, bloating, flatulence, and indigestion. Some people have chronic medical conditions which disrupt their digestion. Other people might be taking a drug which disrupts their digestion. In those cases, the person's goals for healthy digestion might be to have their personal best possible digestion since they have other health problems to manage.

Food intolerance Food intolerance is a detrimental reaction, often delayed, to a food, beverage, food additive, or compound found in foods that produces symptoms in one or more body organs and systems, but generally refers to reactions other than food allergy. Fo ...

can disrupt digestion.

Medical treatments

Healthy lifestyle

Whenever possible, it is easier for a person to prevent digestive problems from happening rather than to seek to treat them after they begin.

Drugs and other interventions

Various drugs can relieve the symptoms of poor digestion.

Laxatives Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen human feces, stools and increase defecation, bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. ...

counter

Loperamide Loperamide, sold under the brand name Imodium, among others,Drugs.co Page accessed 4 September 2015 is a medication of the opioid receptor agonist class used to decrease the frequency of diarrhea. It is often used for this purpose in irritable ...

counters

Antacid An antacid is a substance which neutralization (chemistry), neutralizes gastric acid, stomach acidity and is used to relieve heartburn, indigestion, or an upset stomach. Some antacids have been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhe ...

s counter heartburn or indigestion.

Simethicone Simeticone (International Nonproprietary Name, INN), also known as simethicone (United States Adopted Name, USAN), is an anti-foaming agent used to reduce bloating, discomfort or pain caused by excessive gas. Medical uses Simeticone is used to ...

counters

. Constipation can also be countered using

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is the rectal administration of a fluid by injection into the Large intestine, lower bowel via the anus.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word ''enema'' can also refer to the ...

s or

suppositories A suppository is a dosage form used to deliver pharmaceutical drug, medications by insertion into a body orifice (any opening in the body), where it dissolves or melts to exert local or systemic effects. There are three types of suppositories, eac ...

Probiotic Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the microbiota in the gut. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria– host interactions ...

s have been shown to benefit gastrointestinal disorders and are a popular treatment to promote healthy digestion.

Society and culture

Many people who seek healthcare for gastrointestinal problems are not satisfied with the treatment options which they find in conventional medicine. Because of this, people often use

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

to promote healthy digestion. Various organizations observe a "World Digestive Health Day" to share information about promoting healthy digestion.

References

{{reflist Self-care Gastroenterology