Digestive discomfort can be a daily struggle for many people. I know I’ve dealt with it from time to time. It can impact your energy, mood, and overall sense of well-being.
Sometimes it’s being totally irregular. Other times, you might feel excessive bloating or constipation. These issues are often signs that your gut needs support.
Fortunately, there are supplements that can help support digestion and restore balance. Let’s explore the best supplements for digestion and how they can enhance your gut health.
In This Article:
• Understanding Digestive Health
• Top Supplements for Digestion
• Lifestyle Tips for Better Digestion
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Best Supplements for Gut Health
Understanding Digestive Health
Your digestive system is a complex network of organs. They’re responsible for breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste.
Factors like poor diet, stress, and lack of exercise can disrupt this process (1, 2, 3). They could lead to common issues such as bloating, gas, and constipation. Those aren’t fun, and nobody wants to deal with them on a regular basis.
So what can you do?
Proper diet, stress management, and exercise can all help. In addition to that, many people look for supplements to help. There are several with promising benefits for digestion and gut health!
Top Supplements for Digestion
1. Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes are proteins that help break down your food into absorbable nutrients. They are essential for efficient digestion. While we do produce them, supplementing them could make digestion even easier.
They may also help with many digestive problems (4).
Amylase - helps break down carbohydrates
Protease, Bromelain, & Papain - help break down proteins
Lipase - helps break down fats
Lactase - helps break down lactose
So if you have trouble breaking down your foods, these digestive enzymes could help. I know they've come in handy for me in times of digestive distress!
2. Probiotics
Probiotics are live strains of bacteria that benefit our health. After we consume them, they reside in our gut, playing a crucial role in digestion and immune function.
We already have trillions of these bacteria in our gut. The problem is, not all of them are beneficial for our health. Poor habits can allow "bad" strains to thrive and throw things out of balance.
Supplementing with probiotics can help restore the natural balance in our gut. This is especially helpful after antibiotic use or illness. Having balance is important in our gut microbiome if we want to stay healthy.
A good probiotic can help reduce symptoms of IBS and increase quality of life (5). Rather than looking for the highest dose, look for more strains in a probiotic.
It’s the diversity of strains that provides the most benefit.
3. Prebiotics / Fiber
Prebiotics are non-digestible fibers that serve as food for probiotics. Incorporating prebiotics into your diet can enhance the effectiveness of probiotic supplements.
In supplements, look for prebiotics like fructooligosaccharides (FOS) or inulin fiber. Those prebiotics will help fuel the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut. That's great for digestion and for your overall health.
4. L-Glutamine
L-Glutamine is an amino acid that serves as fuel for the cells lining your intestines. It plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of our gut lining (6).
Without that integrity, we can have issues like leaky gut syndrome. That happens when undigested food and toxins sneak into our bloodstream. That can lead to all sorts of issues we don’t want!
L-Glutamine can also help with your immune system, as well as maintain balance in the gut (7). Our immune cells use glutamine for fuel, too. While it’s just an amino acid, it plays a very important role in digestion and the health of our gut.
5. Colostrum
Colostrum is the first milk produced by mammals after giving birth. This is true for humans, cows, goats, sheep, and more. In supplements, it’s typically bovine colostrum from cows.
When we supplement with colostrum, it comes with quite a few benefits for digestion. Colostrum may help reduce symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and infectious diarrhea (8).
It also contains a ridiculous number of benefits for the immune system. Colostrum comes with a hefty dose of antibodies called immunoglobulins. These little superheroes help fight off infections of all types.
Not only does it help with digestion, but it also helps support immunity and gut integrity!
6. Aloe Vera
This is a less common supplement for digestion, but it does help. It can help reduce symptoms of IBS, reduce inflammation, and even help with ulcers (9). While it doesn't help directly with breaking down food, it does help soothe gut irritation.
Lifestyle Tips for Better Digestion
Stay Hydrated
Drinking plenty of water is important for digestion! Water helps food move through your digestive tract. Without enough, there might be some GI distress.
Eat Mindfully
Chew your food thoroughly and avoid overeating to reduce digestive strain.
Manage Stress
Chronic stress can negatively impact digestion. Get plenty of sleep, and do what you can to keep stress levels lower.
Regular Exercise
Physical activity stimulates intestinal contractions, promoting regular bowel movements. It can also be a good help to reduce stress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What Are the Best Supplements for Digestion?
A: The best supplements include digestive enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics, L-Glutamine, and colostrum. Each of them can play a massive role in benefiting our gut health and digestion in different ways.
If you have gut irritation, you can also look into supplements with aloe vera. It can go a long way to help soothe your gut when there’s irritation during digestion.
Q: Can Supplements Help with Bloating and Gas?
A: Yes, digestive enzymes and probiotics can alleviate bloating and gas. They do this by improving digestion and balancing the gut flora. Having a balance of diverse bacteria in the gut can help reduce gas production and bloating.
Q: How Long Does It Take for Digestive Supplements to Work?
A: Some people may notice improvements within a few days, while others might take a few weeks. Consistency is key, but we’re all different. As long as you use them consistently, you’ll see the benefits eventually.
Q: Are There Any Side Effects to Taking Digestive Supplements?
A: While generally safe, some people may experience mild side effects. These include things like gas or changes in bowel movements. Not everyone notices these, but we’re all different. You just have to see what works best for you!
If you have any medical conditions or use medication, it is best to check with your doctor first. It’s never a bad thing to be on the safe side.
Best Supplements for Gut Health
Taking care of your digestive health is crucial for overall well-being. Incorporating the right supplements can support digestion, reduce discomfort, and enhance nutrient absorption.
I’ve been working with supplements for almost a decade. I’ve seen some that benefit digestion a little bit, but there are some that can help a ton!
Here’s a list of some of my top 3 best supplements for gut health:
Opti-Greens 50
Opti-Greens 50 is a superfood greens powder that can do a lot for gut health. It has an awesome probiotic blend, digestive enzymes, and a little fiber too. So not only does it have tons of healthy nutrients, but it’s also awesome for digestion and gut health.
GI Advantage
GI Advantage is a great one for anyone who has irritation in the gut during digestion. It has a diverse blend of nutrients, all designed to soothe gut irritation.
It has ingredients like glutamine, aloe vera, licorice root, and marshmallow root. These all work together to reduce inflammation, soothe the gut, and ease digestion.
Colostrum
Bovine colostrum is a game changer. In fact, I think it's one of the best supplements for gut health. Sure, it's loaded with antibodies and growth factors to support the immune system, but that’s not all.
Colostrum also has prebiotics that fuel the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. It’s also known for tightening the gut lining to help prevent symptoms of leaky gut.
If you’re dealing with digestive issues, gas, and bloating, these can all help. They all work differently and can be synergistic when taken together.
Opti-Greens 50 and Colostrum I take on a daily basis. I usually throw in GI Advantage only when I’m having more gut distress than normal.
No matter what supplements you take, you still need to take care of yourself in other ways. You still need to eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and manage your stress levels.
Without those, no supplements will fix your issue completely. Supplements are there to be an add-on to your diet, not the end-all-be-all. However, the right ones can make a massive difference if you have all those things in check.
If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out. We have a full team of NASM Certified Personal Trainers and Nutrition Coaches right here in St. Louis, Missouri.
Just give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 or send us an email at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com any day from 6 AM to 10 PM Central. We'll be more than happy to help any way we can!
References:
(1) Chaumont S, et al. A poor diet quality is associated with more gas-related symptoms and a decreased quality of life in French adults. Br J Nutr. 2022;129(4):1-27.
(2) Leigh SJ, et al. The impact of acute and chronic stress on gastrointestinal physiology and function: a microbiota-gut-brain axis perspective. J Physiol. 2023;601(20):4491-4538.
(3) Chen J, et al. Sedentary lifestyle, physical activity, and gastrointestinal diseases: evidence from mendelian randomization analysis. EBioMedicine. 2024;103:105110.
(4) Quinten T, et al. Can the supplementation of a digestive enzyme complex offer a solution for common digestive problems? Arch Public Health. 2014;72(Suppl 1):P7.
(5) Satish Kumar L, et al. Probiotics in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Review of Their Therapeutic Role. Cureus. 2022;14(4):e24240.
(6) Kim MH, Kim H. The Roles of Glutamine in the Intestine and Its Implication in Intestinal Diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(5):1051.
(7) Perna S, et al. The Role of Glutamine in the Complex Interaction between Gut Microbiota and Health: A Narrative Review. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(20):5232.
(8) Chandwe K, Kelly P. Colostrum Therapy for Human Gastrointestinal Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2021;13(6):1956.
(9) Hong SW, et al. Aloe vera Is Effective and Safe in Short-term Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2018;24(4):528-535.
