Your digestive system is an efficient factory. It breaks down the food you eat into its component parts; absorbs what can be used to make cells, tissues and energy; then discards the parts your body can't use. Like a factory, it needs good maintenance to keep all its parts functioning as they should, and that includes good overall nutrition for energy and the rebuilding of gastrointestinal tissues, as well as some specific nutrition for gastrointestinal health.
Digestion
Digestion of food begins in your mouth. Chewing food thoroughly physically breaks it down into smaller pieces and gives the mouth's digestive juices time to act. The food moves through your esophagus into your stomach, where more digestive juices continue the breakdown process. From there, food moves into the small intestine, where the lining not only secretes digestive juices to break down food but also absorbs nutrients and water from the digested food. What remains moves into the large intestine. More fluid is absorbed there, making the stool more solid.
Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber is an important component of gastrointestinal nutrition. Soluble fiber dissolves in water in your digestive system, forming a gel-like substance. While it has health benefits, such as slowing sugar absorption and reducing cholesterol, its main benefit to the digestive system is that it helps soften stool. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. It gives bulk to stool and helps prevent constipation.
A high fiber diet reduces the risk of hemorrhoids and diverticulosis, a condition in which pouches that can trap waste and become inflamed form in the lining of your large intestine. Both soluble and insoluble fiber are present in whole grain foods, vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Probiotics
For every cell in your body, approximately 10 bacteria call you home, and most of them are in your digestive tract. Your intestines are home to more than 5,000 different kinds of bacteria. You need these beneficial bacteria for immune system health, to produce vitamin K and to prevent harmful bacteria from colonizing your gut. One way to keep these good bacteria healthy so they can keep you healthy is by eating fermented milk products, known as probiotic foods. Examples of such foods are yogurt, kefir, sour cream and cottage cheese. It's especially important to add these foods to your diet when you are taking antibiotics, because antibiotics often kill off good bacteria at the same time they kill the ones making you sick.
Fluid
Your entire body needs adequate fluid for good health, and your intestines are no exception. While it doesn't necessarily prevent constipation by itself, water helps soften and add bulk to stool, which can make stool easier to pass. No set amount of liquid is recommended, and most people get enough hydration simply through their food and by drinking when thirsty. Exceptions to this may be the elderly, who may not be as aware of thirst, and people engaging in strenuous activity on hot days.
References
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Your Digestive System and How It Works; April 2008
- Mayo Clinic; Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet; November 2009
- LiveScience; Human Gut Loaded with More Bacteria Than Thought; November 2008
- University of Michigan Integrative Medicine; Healing Foods Pyramid -- Dairy; M. Myklebust, et al.; 2010
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Constipation; July 2007
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