The festive season is upon us! It’s a time for getting together with family and friends and enjoying some great food and drink. However, fun and indulgence may come at a price when your digestive system announces its displeasure with uncomfortable feelings from overeating or bloating, acidity and nausea. You love your treats, but do you really want to spend your holidays paying for them? 

Digestive discomfort is one of the things that people tend to put up with, feeling that it is inevitable. There are actually many areas in your digestive system that, given attention, can really improve the way you digest food. 

The acid test 

Your stomach is the first place that food goes in your digestive system. Food is churned to a pulp so it can pass through to your intestines. It is also filled with an acid designed to help break down foods, especially fats and protein. Maintaining the right level of acidity is important for smooth digestion. If the balance is out, you might struggle to break down certain kinds of foods. Test it out: Try the apple cider vinegar test to see how your acidity is! Take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in warm water before your main meal. 

If you find that your digestion feels fine or improves as a result, then you might benefit from a little additional acidity. Continue with daily apple cider vinegar or lemon juice in water. Zinc also supports your production of stomach acid. However, if you feel more uncomfortable, you might be over acidity. Moderate junk food, breads, pastry, sugar and fatty foods as they are acid forming and cut back on coffee and alcohol. Try to include more water, and to soothe acidity, try peppermint or chamomile tea. Try to include more fruit and vegetables as they are generally alkaline.

Are your enzymes fine? 

The other important area for smooth breakdown of your food is digestive enzymes. There are different sorts to break down certain food groups such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A poor diet can lead to low digestive enzymes and certain people are low in specific enzymes, such as lactase to break down dairy products, or enzymes to break down gluten. Certain foods are naturally rich in enzymes such as pineapple, papaya, kiwifruit and mango. Fermented foods also contain some digestive enzymes, as well as good bacteria. 

Digest with ease 

Clinicians DigestEase with Tolerase™ G is great if you are tired of living with digestive issues and would like to do more than treat symptoms. GastroEzy™ is your stomach’s friend when discomfort from acidity occurs. Just chew one of these minty tablets for fast support to have you digesting well again!