Foods That Help Digestion – An Easy Way To Attain A Smooth And Healthy Digestion

Here is a list of all possible foods that help digestion and relieve you from all the uneasiness that has been troubling you so far! If you have been suffering from various digestive problems and have ended up here in search of best food for digestion problems, then you are probably in the right place.

Uneasiness in the stomach, tightness, constipation and flatulence are all common woes of people who suffer from digestive problems. I can stand by you and understand how it feels, which is why I have gathered a list of all the superfoods good for digestion to soothe your stomach in the best possible way.

19 Ideal Foods that Help Digestion and Make Way for A Happy Stomach

Not everyone is blessed with an easy digesting capacity and it is completely okay for you to be one among those who find it hard to digest some foods.

The reason why your digestion power differs could be a question that may have numerous possible answers but the question of how to improve digestion has a definite answer.

Digestion is nothing but the breakdown of complex molecules into simpler substances. So, you just have to choose the right foods that help digestion and make this process much easier for you!

Do not miss any single chance that any one of these 19 foods provide in facilitating a smooth and easy digestion.

1. Bananas

No food can really replace the position of this amazing nutrient-rich fruit when it comes to facilitating an easy digestion. In fact, the fruit has such a great credibility, people do not even let the banana peel go in vain.

How Do Bananas Help In Easy Digestion?

You would have definitely come across this general fact that bananas are rich in potassium and this mineral in bananas is what helps in an easy and smooth functioning of your muscles.

If you feel your stomach to be full after having bananas, it is because of the insoluble fibre present in bananas that makes this fruit one of the supreme foods that help digestion.

When To Eat?

The best thing about bananas is that they are so easy to digest, you can have them anytime in the day. If you have been looking for how to improve digestion fast(1), you can consider having bananas on an empty stomach in the morning or after a great, delicious supper!

2. Coffee

I need not really insist you drink coffee if you are already a coffee lover! A great view of sunrise, a hot mug of coffee and a pet by your side is a perfect scenario for which your heart craves. If you haven’t really tried coffee to make your digestion easy, here is why you must give it a try!

How Does Coffee Help In An Easy Digestion?

Caffeine content present in the coffee is responsible for the release of adrenaline that makes you go crazy, but this very caffeine is also responsible for a better contraction of your muscles and makes the digestion process much easier for you.

When compared to the other foods that help digestion, coffee is the best beverage that helps in an easy digestion because it helps in providing a major relief from constipation.

When To Drink?

Before you gulp down this instant mood changing beverage, you must ensure that you do not consume more than two cups of coffee per day as this may worsen your condition. The best time to drink coffee is after your breakfast.

Avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach as this may cause bloating,

3. Artichokes – Best Food For Digestion Problems

The best thing about artichokes is that you really need not put in much efforts to rejoice the amazing flavour of this highly nutritional plant. You just have to pluck the petals, dip them in your favourite flavoured sauce, suck the pulp out of the petal and discard the remaining part.

How Do Artichokes Help In Easy Digestion?

The major reason why artichokes are included in the list of foods that aid digestion is that these impressive globe shaped plants contain a substance called cynarin which is a biologically active substance that is specifically present in artichokes which helps in an easy digestion.

When To Eat Artichokes?

You can mix and combine artichoke with other easy to digest foods like spinach and beans so that they altogether facilitate an easy digestion.

Artichokes are considered the foods good for digestion because they also contain dietary fibres that facilitate a smooth and easy digestion.

4. Brussel Sprouts For Easy Digestion

The lack of proper digestion is essentially caused due to the lack of fiber content in your body. As an adult, you should be consuming 25 to 40 grams of fiber per day but why look for another option when the best source of fiber is contained in Brussel sprouts?

How Brussel Sprouts Aid An Easy Digestion?

As we have already discussed, it is the presence of fibre in Brussel sprouts that makes this one of the best foods for digestion, and 100 grams of Brussel sprouts (nearly a half cup of cooked Brussel sprouts) contains 3.8 grams of fibre.

When To Eat Brussel Sprouts?

You can consume these foods as a part of your breakfast or lunch. Brussel sprouts are certainly one of the easy to digest foods but you need to be careful before including this food in your list as this food may cause bloating and flatulence.

To avoid any such side effects, you can savour them with some fresh fruits and vegetables or make the juice out of Brussel sprouts and mix it with tomato juice. The best way to procure the maximum benefits is to combine them with a freshly cooked cup of quinoa or simply steam the sprouts.

5. Mangoes

You can never get enough of the sweetest essence of mangoes if you are a hardcore lover of this tropical fruit which is a native to the countries of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Foods that help digestion are quite hard to list out but mango is one of those effective and easy to digest foods.

How Mangoes Facilitate An Easy Digestion?

100 grams of mangoes approximately contain 1.6 grams of fibre which makes this food one of the best foods that aid digestion.

The soluble fibre present in mangoes helps in making the bowel movement much easier and this is the major reason why you must include this easy to digest fruit in your diet if you have been looking for how to improve digestion.

When To Eat Mangoes?

If you have joined a gym or if you have enrolled yourself in a workout session, you can choose to relish this tangy fruit half an hour before you start your workout regime, as mangoes are high energy-rich fruits that will boost your stamina.

If you are very particular about improving your digestive system, ensure that you include at least one to two servings of this fruits per day.

6. Almonds

One general rule of thumb that you should invariably know is that raw almonds are always hard to digest and you may not be able to procure the maximum nutritional benefits of almonds if you consume them raw.

How Soaked Almonds Help In Digestion?

The major reason why soaked almonds are considered as the foods that help digestion are these nuts when soaked in water release an enzyme called lipase which is the main factor that facilities the process of digestion and makes it much easier.

You must keep in mind that eating raw almonds may worsen your condition as they are hard to digest.

When To Eat Soaked Almonds?

Soak the almonds overnight and peel the skin the next day in the morning before consuming them. Eating at least five to six almonds per day can help in facilitating an easy digestion but you must essentially remember that only soaked almonds are considered as the easy to digest foods.

7. Hot Water For Easy Digestion

Hot water so far is the best remedy that you can follow to get rid of all kinds of digestive disorders. This may not be one of those foods that help digestion but it is one the best and effective tips that I can suggest you if you wish for a smooth and easy digestion.

How Hot Water Makes The Digestion Easier?

Drinking hot water on an empty stomach helps in the better contraction of your rigid muscles that have been causing you an inconvenient bowel movement.

When Should You Drink Hot Water?

You can try drinking honey and lemon mixed warm water every day in the morning which fetches you some great health benefits.

You must essentially avoid drinking lemon and honey mixed water, if you have been suffering from some intestinal disorders like acid reflux or GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) as this will result in some adverse effects.

You can instead choose to simply drink hot water at regular intervals to help in the better digestion of food particles.

8. Figs

The best fruit that really serves the purpose of enabling an easy bowel movement is a fig. If you feel that you cannot really digest the above-mentioned foods, here are figs for you to make the digestive process much easier.

You can enjoy the sweet juicy and pulpy flavour of the figs and make the best out of such easy to digest foods to get rid of constipation and irritable bowel movement.

How Do Figs Help In Digestion?

No other fruit can match the fibre quantity and quality when it comes to figs. Soluble fibres make the digestive process easier because they mix with the water and form semi-solids making the digestive process slow and precise.

Insoluble fibres on other hand fasten the process of digestion by enabling a quick passage of food through the stomach and cause an addition of bulk to the faeces.

Figs contain both these fibres which make them one of the best foods for digestion.

When Should You Eat Figs?

The best thing about figs is they are available at any time throughout the year. You can consume figs after your meals to get rid of digestive problems. Though figs are a natural source of calcium, Vitamin A and vitamin C, the presence of 2.5 grams of dietary fibres per 100 grams of figs is what makes people opt for these healthy fruits.

9. Sweet Potatoes

How do potatoes taste like? If you haven’t really tried tasting these nutritious and healthy vegetables, you can just imagine the taste of potatoes mixed with the essence of sweetness. This is what sweet potatoes really taste like.

How Do Sweet Potatoes Help In Digestion?

Among all the foods that help digestion, I would definitely rank sweet potatoes as the best and easy to digest foods because it is not only the great amount of soluble fibre in them that facilitate digestion but the presence of magnesium in sweet potatoes is what makes the process much quick and easy!

Also, potassium present in sweet potatoes helps in relieving you from any kinds of muscle cramps that create inconvenience to your stomach and intestines.

When To Eat Sweet Potatoes?

If you do not really like the sweet taste of potatoes, you can prepare some crunchy and spicy chips out of them, but since your point of consuming them is to solve the question of how to improve digestion, it is much advisable for you to consume the boiled sweet potatoes to obtain the maximum health benefits.

10. Beans – Choose The Right Kind

If you have ever heard that beans are hard to digest, you have heard it right, but not all varieties of beans are hard to digest. So, you have to choose the right ones that will help your stomach. Here is the right kind of beans that has to be chosen.

Beans That Are Easy To Digest

• Mung beans
• Anasazi (burgundy and cream coloured beans)
• Lentils
• Black-eyed peas
• Adzuki beans

Beans That Are Hard To Digest

• Kidney beans
• Soybeans
• Lima beans
• Navy beans

How Do Beans Help In An Easy Digestion?

Legumes are the best variety of foods that help digestion as this particular variety of beans are rich in soluble fibres. Consuming beans on a regular basis will gradually improve the capacity of your digestion.

So, if you have been looking for how to improve digestion naturally, beans are the best choice! One cup of properly cooked beans is all you need to consume on alternate days or on a daily basis to improve digestion.

How To Eat Beans?

The presence of oligosaccharides(2) in beans is what makes them a bit difficult to digest but you can prevent this problem and make the digestive process much easier by combining beans with other great sources of oligosaccharides such as broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables.

Never forget to soak the beans overnight before consuming them in the next day as this will reduce the impact of oligosaccharides on your digestion.

11. Quinoa For Easy Digestion

Quinoa is one of the best gluten-free foods which is why it helps the people suffering from celiac disease. Quinoa also helps in an easy digestion but it is often said that quinoa may cause digestive problems like abnormal bloating and a leaky gut.

You can get rid of such digestive problems if you consume not more than half to one cup of freshly cooked quinoa and it is more important to wash the grains properly before consuming them.

How Does Quinoa Help In Digestion?

Though there are various other sources of whole grain foods that help digestion, quinoa is the best source as it contains fibre in ample amounts when compared to other whole grains.

How To Eat Quinoa?

The best food that does not take more than twenty minutes to be prepared is Quinoa. You can include quinoa in your breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Most people prefer eating plain quinoa but you can also consume quinoa along with mushrooms, zucchini, fried eggs or you can slice and dice some nice fruits into a bowl of cooked quinoa.

12. Brown Rice – Best Food That Improves Digestion

Brown rice is one of those easy to digest foods that which apart from helping in an easy digestion helps in protecting you from the risk of diabetes and other heart problems.

The best way to include dietary fibre in your daily diet is to consume brown rice with other fresh leafy green food that helps digestion (on a regular basis) until you witness a significant change in your digestive process.

How Brown Rice Helps In Easy Digestion?

There is no other rich source of insoluble fibre other than brown rice which makes this variety of whole grain so differently beneficial from white rice and other whole grains.

The presence of insoluble fibres helps in the facilitating an easy bowel movement and also adds more bulk to the stool thereby relieving you from constipation.

How To Consume Brown Rice?

One important point that should be necessarily remembered is that brown rice should be rinsed and soaked in the water at least forty-five minutes to one hour before you cook the rice which may otherwise leave the rice raw and uncooked.

13. Gelatin

If you are looking for some easiest ways to improve digestion, you can make use of gelatin powder because all you need to do is sprinkle a considerable amount of this powder on to your desserts, ice creams or cakes.

How Does Gelatin Help In Easy Digestion?

One answer to multiple gut problems is gelatin. Even if you have been using gelatin for all the nice texture and flavour to your creams and cakes, you are unknowingly doing a favour to your stomach because glycine present in gelatin helps in improving your gut lining and helps in an easy digestion.

How To Consume Gelatin?

Apart from using powdered gelatin, you can also use liquid gelatin which is prepared by dissolving the granules of gelatin in the hot water and heating it gradually until the granules are completely dissolved.

14. Oatmeals

Some foods can be really hard on your stomach and take much longer to get digested. Contrary to this, some foods can relax and ease the muscles in your stomach and make way for an easy bowel movement. Oatmeal is one such food that helps digestion and which is also a healthy morning meal to make the rest of your day happy.

Why Does Oatmeal Help In Easy Digestion?

Whether it is the problem of bloating, cramps, abnormal belching or inability to digest foods properly, oats make it to the best food for digestion problems because of the fibre present in them.

Oats do not contain insoluble fibre, the excess of which may cause bloating and other digestive problems. The fact that oats are a great source of soluble fibres makes them one of the best foods for digestion.

How To Consume Oats?

Nothing can soothe and ease your stomach like a plain oatmeal that appears as simple as a porridge. If you do not like it plain and simple, you can bake some nice and tasty oatmeal pancakes, a mushroom oatmeal, savour oatmeal with yoghurt or simply relish an oatmeal soup.

15. White Rice

Some of the stomach problems need to be addressed with not only those foods that help digestion, but the foods that are rather easy on your stomach and make your bowel movement smooth. Rice is one best food that can help you cure your upset stomach within a short span of time.

How White Rice Helps In Easy Digestion?

White rice though low in fibre helps you soothe your stomach and makes the digestive process much easier.

Brown rice helps in an easy digestion but if you feel that you may take a longer time to get the brown rice digested, you can replace brown rice with a plain cup of white rice and add some healthy vegetables to make it much tastier and appetizing.

How To Eat White Rice?

If you are vexed up consuming all kinds of oily and greasy foods, you just have to include a cup of plain white rice in your regular diet and add some easy to digest foods to this to regulate the bowel movement.

16. Potatoes

How lucky do you feel to get to know that potatoes are one of those foods that help the digestion process get much quicker and easier? If you are a potato lover, you can use them to the best to Improve Your Digestion.

How Do Potatoes Help In Digestion?

Apart from being a source of fibre, potatoes also contain vitamin c and antioxidants which act as an added advantage to promote a healthy digestion. 100 grams of potatoes contain 2.2 grams of fibre, the kind of fibre that adds bulk to your stools and regulates an easy bowel movement.

How To Eat Potatoes?

If you are looking for ways to utilize potatoes to improve digestion, you cannot include fried potatoes or load the potatoes with butter or cheese as this does not in any way favour the digestion.

The best way to gain the fibre from potatoes is to consume boiled or baked potatoes which is also the best way to digest the excess starch content present in the potatoes.

17. Lentils – Foods Good For Digestion

If you ask me to name one food that is multi-beneficial and helps you keep perfectly fit all the time, I would definitely say lentils because there is no other food source that is highly enriched with all the minerals, proteins and fibres.

How Do Lentils Help In Digestion?

100 grams of boiled lentils contains 8 grams of fibre apart from calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin c and vitamin b6. One primary advantage of lentils is that this variety of legumes contain both soluble and insoluble fibres.

How To Consume Lentils?

Legumes may cause the symptoms of bloating and you may face a difficulty in digesting lentils but you can prevent this by choosing those lentils that are relatively smaller in size and soak them a few hours’ prior their consumption.

Lentils are undoubtedly one of those foods that aid digestion but consuming lentils without soaking them may aggravate the symptoms of bloating.

18. Pears

The topmost fruit that is suggested by many nutritionists for attaining a happy and healthy gut is pears because of the presence of dietary fibres in them. Pears are also rich in antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances their nutritional properties.

How Do Pears Help In Digestion?

The fruit is very particularly known for its fibre content but not many of us know that the type of fibre present in pears is polysaccharide that helps in an easy passage of food along your stomach and regulates a healthy bowel movement.

How To Consume Pears?

You can consume pears one to two hours prior to your lunch by mixing them up with some other easy to digest foods and fruits or simply prepare a fruit salad.

19. Guavas

If you are in the early to mid-forties, making a regular habit of consuming guavas on a daily basis will prevent the onset of various diseases like diabetes and cancer apart from helping you in facilitating an easy digestion.

How Do Guavas Help In Digestion?

People suffering from constipation are advised to consume guavas to get rid of the rigid bowel movements because the dietary fibre present in guavas helps in making the digestive process much smoother and easier.

You can without any doubt include guavas in the list of foods that help digestion because100 grams of guavas contain 5 grams of dietary fibres.

When To Include Guavas In Your Diet?

if you have been looking for the best ways to improve digestion, the most preferable time to eat guavas is early in the morning, more particularly (after your breakfast and before your lunch)