Advice / Featured / Lifestyle · October 19, 2018

Reasons Why Your Digestion is Giving You Extremely Hard Times

Not everyone is blessed with a perfect digestion. You could have a good digestion but later on, with age or due to other factors, your digestive powers reduce leading to issues. If you wish to overcome problems you must first know why your digestion is giving you hard times.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle

In the current scenario, one can ascribe most digestive problems to lifestyles that we follow. People are used to snacking on any type of food at odd times and this can lead to gastric problems and indigestion. It is sensible to eat meals at regular times and refrain from snacking, especially late at night.

A sedentary lifestyle is one cause for poor digestion. You need exercise to get your gut moving. Sedentary lifestyle and poor sleep patterns could induce gastritis with consequent acidity and inflammation in the body.

Consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs as well as soda are responsible for impaired digestion. According to a report, it has been found that smoking is at the root of life-threatening diseases and affects the entire digestive tract from the mouth to stomach to pancreas, liver, intestines, colon, and rectum.

Chewing gum or sucking on sweets could lead to your ingesting more air that causes gas and bloating. Constipation due to lack of fiber in food and use of refined flour based foods can lead to digestive tract problems.

You are not drinking enough water and rely more on soft drinks or caffeine containing tea and coffee or colas.

Medications

Medications

If you are habituated to swallowing pills for any reason it is likely the drugs will affect your digestion.

Antibiotics can cause or increase acidity levels and result in improper digestion that increases the load on the liver and may lead to increased levels of bad cholesterol.

Antibiotics can kill good bacteria and allow harmful bacteria to proliferate leading to digestion problems. You can take up absorb biotics to re-generate good bacteria in your digestive system and cure the problem easily. The large intestines and colon have bacteria that actually help produce vital nutrients.

Gastrointestinal conditions and diseases

Gastrointestinal conditions and diseases

Even without being fully aware of it, you could be suffering from any of the various gastrointestinal conditions described below according to everyday health in their site.

GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease is acid reflux that causes heartburn, pain in chest and impaired absorption of nutrients.

You may have gallstones that impair secretion of bile so necessary for processing of fats.

Celiac disease is another reason, arising from a person’s sensitivity to gluten. The immune system swings into play and damages villi in the small intestines and this affects nutrient absorption.

Crohn’s disease is another condition also known as inflammatory bowel disease affecting the terminal ileum or any other part of the digestive tract. It can cause bleeding diarrhea and weight loss.

Ulcerative colitis is a condition in which your immune system attacks food and causes sores in your colon lining leading to blood in stools, diarrhea, and inflammation. Your gut cannot absorb nutrients and your choice of foods becomes limited.

There are other conditions such as Hemorrhoids and irritable bowel symptoms that give your digestive system a hard time.

Imbalance in the three doshas

yoga

The Indian system of holistic health, Ayurveda, states that imbalance in the three doshas, kapha, pitta and vata could lead to problems in the body.

Vata is gas and increases in gas causes bloating and improper absorption of foods besides leading to arthritis and joint pain.

A week Agni or fire or digestive power could lead to impaired digestion. Jatharagni is responsible for proper digestion. If it is vitiated, which happens due to improper eating methods and habits, the digestive system protests.