Nutrients are required for the body’s normal, healthy and everyday functioning. It is insufficient to only consume meals high in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, vitamin A, B-complex vitamins, iron, and calcium, and then lacking other essential components, or doing wrong practices, and unhealthy habits,
There are various factors that might influence how the body absorbs nutrients, ranging from how you mix your foods to how you eat them. This is why, even if you eat nutrient-dense meals, you may not obtain all of the nutrients you need.
So, to help you get the most out of your nutrients, here are some diet techniques to boost nutrient absorption:
#1. Aim for A Fibre Rich Diet
According to study, a high-fibre diet improves the health of your digestive system. A high-fibre diet helps to keep food moving through your digestive tract, making you less likely to get constipated. Study also suggests that’s a fibre-rich diet prevents digestive conditions like hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It also helps you maintain healthy body weight.
#2. Add Juices in Your Diet Plan
Newer studies suggest that fresh fruit juices may be more helpful for better nutrient absorption as compared to eating whole fruits. This is because the fibre content in whole fruits prevents certain micro-nutrients from getting absorbed. While fruit juices and smoothies have the benefits of fibre content, they are easier on your digestive system and maximize nutrient absorption.
#3. Take Probiotic Supplements
Fermented food and probiotic supplements help in improving the health of your microbiome. These are the bacteria that live in your digestive tract and help break down and digest your food. Insufficient sleep, inadequate fibre, and stress all damage your microbiome.
According to recent research, probiotics increase absorption and utilization of all nutrients. Prebiotic fibre present in onions, garlic, asparagus, and bananas, plays a vital role in maintaining the microbiome.
#4. Sleep Enough
If you sleep poorly, it disturbs your hormones. These lead to stress, fluctuating blood sugar levels, and ineffective nutrient absorption.
Studies found a strong connection between low nutrient absorption and less sleep. This impacts every aspect of life. Therefore, experts recommend at least 7 hours of sleep every night.
#5. Consume Fresh and Local Food
If you want to stay healthy, you should try to eat organic foods instead of food that has been sprayed with pesticides or added to it with synthetic ingredients. A study says that fruits and vegetables tend to lose their nutrients soon after harvest.
While growing your product may not always be a viable option, buying from farmers’ markets can be of great value for this reason. As a bonus, fresh produce tastes way more delicious than those week-old items found in local grocery stores.
#6. Include Both Soluble and Non-Soluble Fibre In Your Diet
Both types of fibre are important for a healthy digestive tract. Insoluble fiber, also known as roughage, can’t be digested by the body and therefore helps add bulk to the stools. Soluble fibre draws in water and can help prevent stools that are too watery. Soluble fibre occurs in nuts, oat bran, legumes, and seeds while non-soluble fibre is found in vegetables, wheat bran, and whole grains.
#7. Consume Sufficient Healthy Fat
Some vitamins like vitamin A, D, K, and E, are fat-soluble. They require fatty acids for effective absorption. Natural foods usually have the necessary fatty acid along with vitamins, but if you are taking supplements, you may need to include fatty acid-rich foods in your diet to ensure effective nutrition.
#8. Manage Stress and Minimise Alcohol Consumption
Stress hurts your digestive process and reduces the absorption of nutrients in your body. Find ways to manage stress, and avoid turning to alcohol or caffeine in mass consumption to deal with your worries. Abusing these liquids can damage the cell linings present in your intestines and stomach making it harder for nutrients from your food to enter the bloodstream.
#9. Consume Your Food Slowly
Eating quickly leads to insufficient absorption of nutrients from food. According to a study conducted in 2009, a study found that people who chewed almonds 40 times absorbed more fat and energy than those who chewed it 10 times.
#10. Avoid Foods High in Fat
In general, fatty foods tend to slow down the digestive process, making you more prone to constipation. Adams also recommends including both fatty foods and high-fibre foods to maintain the smooth working of the digestive system.
#11. Discover the Best Food Pairings
Just choosing the correct food combinations can ensure a balanced diet that provides high nourishment to your body. For example, pairing tomatoes with olive oil is a great combination because the healthy fats unlock the nutrients present in tomatoes and boost their absorption.
Overcooking can destroy the nutrients in food, so in case you are boiling vegetables, keep the water and use it later as a vegetable stock for a soup. The strategic combination of foods can significantly improve nutrient absorption. Moreover, including different foods into your diet provides well-rounded nourishment foods that are high in protein content, boost the growth of your muscles, while calcium-rich food is great for your bones.
An example of such pairing is iron and vitamin C. There are two types of naturally occurring iron. One is heme iron, which comes from all kinds of meat, poultry, and seafood, and the other is non-heme iron, which occurs in plants. Heme iron is more effectively absorbed by the body.
However, if you pair non-heme iron with Vitamin C, in cases where meat is not sufficient to overcome iron deficiency, the absorption of the non-heme iron improves significantly.
#12. Consume Digestive Enzymes
Supplementary digestive enzymes are still a new concept but they have been found to improve overall digestion. These consist of proteases (digesting proteins), lipases (digesting fat), and amylases (digesting carbohydrates). People have also noticed that they, and probiotics, help especially during traveling when different foods make you vulnerable to indigestion.
Several commercially available protein powders now add enzymes to their products. Many foods contain naturally occurring enzymes. However, with age, the body loses its capacity to create enzymes in sufficient quantities, So, supplements become necessary. However, most of these supplements are not FDA approved so always choose those which are third-party tested.
To even improve your diet, increase your gains, and get overall vast benefits for your Body & Brain: Check Out The Benefits of Having balanced and enough of the Main Amino Acids (BCAAs) For your overall Health & Wellbeing.
Lastly to say;
A variety of variables can interfere with your digestive process and prevent nutrients from being absorbed from your diet. This is why making these small changes to your diet can help you get the most out of the nutrients you consume and stay healthy.
