Have you ever felt heavy after a meal, as if your stomach were struggling to do its job? Slow digestion can quickly become uncomfortable, leading to bloating, fatigue and intestinal discomfort.
If your meals seem to take forever to digest, there are several possible causes: poor diet, stress, lack of hydration or an imbalance in your intestinal microbiota. Fortunately, there are natural solutions to stimulate your digestion and restore a smoother transit.
This article will give you a better understanding of the issues, causes and symptoms of sluggish digestion and provide you with natural solutions to relieve your symptoms and restore healthy, pain-free digestion.
What does slow digestion mean?
The digestion process encompasses all the stages that enable our body to digest and assimilate food. It is a complete and complex process, involving numerous biological, physical and chemical mechanisms.
We speak of slow digestion when this process is not optimal and the breakdown and assimilation of food takes longer than necessary. Let’s take a look at the possible symptoms of slow digestion.
We remind you that if you experience digestive problems, pain or discomfort that persist over time, it is advisable to consult a doctor and follow his or her recommendations.
Symptoms of slow digestion
Slow digestion manifests itself in a number of uncomfortable symptoms that can disrupt daily life. Among the most common signs are a feeling of heaviness after meals, as if the food had been sitting in the stomach for hours.
Those affected often experience abdominal bloating, accompanied by gas and a swollen belly, especially at the end of the day.
Slow digestion can also be accompanied by frequent belching, a bitter taste in the mouth, and even mild nausea after meals.
In some cases, it can lead to post-meal fatigue due to excessive digestive effort.
Finally, slow digestion can also cause transit problems, such as constipation, hard stools or a feeling of intestinal discomfort. By identifying these signs, you can adapt your diet and eating habits to facilitate the work of your digestive system and avoid these inconveniences.
What are the causes of slow digestion?
The role of stress in slow digestion
Stress can cause digestive problems. To promote healthy bowel function, we recommend that you follow these tips:
- Practise deep breathing exercises such as square breathing, cardiac coherence or abdominal breathing.
- Incorporate a few yoga postures into your day, before meals
- Take regular breaks during the day to relax. You can set an alert on your phone to take 5 deep abdominal breaths every hour, for example.
Overweight
Being overweight or obese can have a direct impact on slow digestion due to an accumulation of fat around the digestive organs. This additional abdominal pressure can slow down intestinal transit, making digestion more laborious and encouraging the appearance of other symptoms such as gastric reflux.
Digestive disorders and pathologies
Certain digestive pathologies such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), intestinal dysbiosis or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease can cause sluggish digestion.
These disorders disrupt the proper functioning of the digestive system by affecting enzyme production, nutrient absorption and intestinal motility. For example, in the case of hypochlorhydria (low production of gastric acid), protein digestion becomes more difficult, slowing down the entire digestive process.
Identifying the underlying cause of slow digestion is essential if you are to adapt your diet and overall lifestyle. That’s why we always advise you to consult a healthcare professional when your symptoms are painful or chronic.
Alcohol or tobacco consumption
Alcohol and tobacco can considerably slow down digestion and cause various intestinal discomforts. By irritating the digestive mucosa, alcohol alters the production of gastric juices and slows down transit, leading to slow digestion and bloating. The nicotine in tobacco can disrupt the contraction of intestinal muscles, leading to sluggish digestion and an increased risk of constipation. Reducing or eliminating consumption of these substances can improve digestive health and encourage smoother transit.
An unbalanced diet low in fibre
Eating enough fibre has many health benefits. Dietary fibre is essential for maintaining normal bowel movements and healthy digestion. According to several studies, it can also help reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases.
In France, almost 90% of adults do not meet the recommended daily intake of 30g of dietary fibre. The average being 18g of fibre consumed per day, according to ANSES (2017).
This is why we have designed Réguline, a unique dietary supplement made up of microgranules of inulin fibre from chicory. One sachet of Reguline contains 12g of inulin fibre, enabling you to reach the medical recommendation of 30g of fibre per day, in addition to regular hydration.
Natural remedies for sluggish digestion
What foods should I choose if my digestion is sluggish?
The first reaction to digestive discomfort is to look at what you put on your plate. As mentioned above, a sufficient intake of dietary fibre is essential for healthy digestion.
If you suffer from constipation or sluggish transit, we recommend gradually increasing your dietary fibre intake.
To do this, you can include fibre-rich foods such as :
- Legumes (soya, beans, lentils, etc.)
- Vegetables (carrots, asparagus, aubergines, cabbage, spinach, etc.)
- Oilseeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, seeds)
- Fruit, ideally with the skins on if it’s organic.
- Fermented drinks such as kefir or kombucha.
Make sure you’re sufficiently hydrated, too, to help food circulate and fibre digest properly.
Take care of your intestinal microbiota to relieve sluggish digestion
Our intestinal microbiota, the billions of bacteria that populate our digestive tract, plays a very important role in maintaining good digestive health. Its balance, i.e. the predominance of micro-organisms that are beneficial to our health.
Taking care of your microbiota means providing it with the nutrients it needs to encourage the development of good bacteria.
Dietary fibre plays this prebiotic role, which is why it’s so important!
Don’t forget to get moving for better digestion!
Movement in general is always good for our physical and mental health. But did you know that it has an impact on our digestion?
Exercise helps to stimulate intestinal transit and reduces stress, particularly if done in the great outdoors. Activities such as walking after meals, yoga or cycling promote good digestion and reduce the feeling of heaviness.
Why not take up the challenge of going for a 10-minute walk after lunch this week?
Belly massages to boost digestion
Massages can be very beneficial for sluggish digestion. For your massages, you can use essential oils (tarragon, peppermint) mixed with a vegetable oil.
Dilute 2 drops of essential oil in vegetable oil and massage your stomach in an anti-clockwise direction. Use after meals, morning and evening if necessary.
Using plants to relieve the symptoms of slow digestion
In the form of an infusion or essential oil, plants can help relieve the symptoms associated with slow digestion.
Mint, either as an infusion of leaves or as an essential oil (peppermint), stimulates the stomach.
Tarragon essential oil helps to calm spasms.
And if you’re feeling stressed, we recommend usingtropical basil essential oil, which has an anti-spasmodic action as well as an anxiolytic effect.
Be sure to follow the advice on using essential oils and take into account any contraindications to their use.
A few good habits to adopt for better digestion
- Take the time to chew properly to help the food break down in the mouth
- Limit dishes that are too hearty, too rich, too fatty or too sweet
- Limit fizzy drinks and alcoholic beverages
- Drink enough throughout the day
- Gradually increase your intake of dietary fibre
Conclusion
And there you have it, now you know almost everything about the causes, symptoms and natural solutions to free yourself from slow, capricious digestion. Don’t forget that it’s essential to adapt these changes to your feelings and lifestyle.
