Exercise and Digestive Health – Why You Can’t Have One Without The Other

We all know that exercise is good for us. It helps us lose weight, gives us more energy and overall it makes us feel good about life. Exercise is also important for digestive health. However, we are living in an age where many people are taking no exercise at all and they are paying for this with poor health.
The Digestive System Functions
Your digestion is a very complex ecosystem. It is responsible breaking down food, absorbing nutrients into your cells and eliminating waste. If any of these essential functions are compromised or they breakdown, it will not only affect the digestive system, but your whole body.
Many health experts, nutritionists and doctors believe that all diseases begin with an unhealthy digestive system. So for this reason, we should do all we can to maintain its health.
Unfortunately, many of us are leading sedentary lifestyles that involve little to no exercise and eating a diet containing unhealthy junk foods.
These two lifestyle habits will eventually damage your digestive system. Junk foods are full of saturated fats that are hard to digest. They clog up your colon causing common digestive disorders such as constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.
How Exercise Can Boost Your Health
For these reasons you need to take regular exercise as it can really make a difference to improving your digestive health. If you have not exercised before or for a long time, then start off slowly and gradually build up your fitness levels over time. It would also be prudent to speak with your doctor first, especially if you have a medical condition.
One of the best exercises you can do to get you started is walking. Walking exercises have many digestive health benefits. You don’t have to run a marathon as 10 to 15 minutes a day will make a huge difference to improving your health.
However, walking casually is not going to be much use to you. You want to walk briskly and have your arms swinging and lungs pumping. This will get your blood flowing, which is great for your digestive system.
Yoga Is Great Too
Yoga is another great exercise for improving your digestion and health. There are specific routines and stretches that focus on the abdomen and these will help to improve blood circulation around your core muscle group.
Yoga is also a good way to get rid of stress. Many of us our stressed out these days due to the busy lives we lead. Experiencing too much stress diverts blood away from the digestive system which can increase indigestion problems, bloating and excessive gas.
As you can see incorporating a regular exercise regime combined with a healthy diet will improve your digestion, even if it is only a ten minute brisk walk each day.