Naturopathic Control: Speed up digestion

Sluggish digestion, sometimes called 'slow transit constipation / STC' or 'lazy bowel syndrome' a symptom of a disorder rather than a medically diagnosed condition. Common symptoms include abdominal bloating and pain, nausea, infrequent bowel movements, slow transit time of food, constipation, and straining.

This post is greatly inspired by Dr Eric Berg's structured explanation of what is required to speed up digestion by considering the 5 determinant variables of digestive health. I like this structured approach because, if it helps you to identify specific factors in which your digestive system is deficient so that you can respond appropriately.

Key issues: roots of and solutions to the problem

Stomach acidity of pH 1 to 3 is required to easily breakdown food. However, if the pH in your stomach is not adequately acidic, the breakdown process becomes impaired. Beware, it is unsafe to consume anything at this acidity level because it would burn your tissues that line the route from your mouth to the stomach. Instead, it is ideal to consume weaker acids that help to boost the stomach's ability to reach its optimal acidity.

Useful supplements include.

betaine hydrochloride (ideally with pepsin)
salt in food
potassium-rich foods

avocado

kombucha tea with as little sugar as possible
consume weaker acid

apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp in a glass of water
sauerkraut

Substances to avoid include

antacids

Bile helps to breakdown fats. (Bile is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder).

Useful supplements include

pure bile salts (sal biliar). 1 capsule after meals will help with bloating, burping and belching.
Items that prompt the liver to produce bile

beetroot greens
choline
ghee
ginger. An additional digestion-related benefit of ginger is that it promotes motility, ie the rate at which food moves through the digestive process.
lemon
milk thistle
probiotics, They help your body to recycle bile.

Avoid

antibiotics
fatty liver condition
removal of the gall bladder

Enzymes are the non-physical (or body's natural chemical) means of breaking down nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Enzymes are produced in different parts of the body that include the stomach, pancreas, large and small intestines. Enzymes are very important. Symptoms of poor enzyme action include dark fatty tarlike stool that sticks to the toilet.

Useful supplements that contain enzymes like

lipase (for poor fat absorption or in response to pancreatic insufficiency and associated conditions)
pepsin and other pancreatic enzymes (in response to age-related low performance of the pancreas which is often spotted in deficiencies in B12 and fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K)
pepsin (to improve protein digestion). NB take with acidic foods for better assimilation.
pancreatin (for improving the digestion of lipids and proteins)
amylase (for better carbohydrate management)

Foods rich in amylase include sweet potato

alpha-galactosidase (for breaking down legumes)
beta-galactosidase (for lactose intolerance. African and Asian people report a much higher rate of lactose intolerance than otherwise.)
papain and chymopapain in papaya seeds that enhance the digestion of proteins.

raw foods. Since heat destroys enzymes, get as many enzymes from raw foods as possible.

Avoid or minimize

Heated foods like canned or pasteurized foods.

Flora refer to friendly bacteria. These are mostly found in the large intestines. Insufficient flora can lead to constipation, for instance if you do not ease back out of colon cleanse sufficiently well and eat, even the best types of food. Take care to ensure you flora is intact because its lack also leads to poor absorption of vitamins and in turn deficiencies.

Useful supplements include

probiotics. These help to promote the good bacteria and enzymes (aka gut flora)

sauerkraut (how to make sauerkraut)

prebiotics.

fiber, especially in vegetables like

aloe vera. I have dissolved probiotics in aloe vera as a final round of herbal enemas.
beans, fermented in fully fermented sauerkraut brine. Beans have a high fiber content.
beetroot. If you dislike beets like me, find creative applications like the pink (beetroot and oats) pancakes
bitter gourd
broccoli
carrots
cauliflower
kale
acorn squash (which is low glycemic and therefore safe and ideal, even for diabetics) Clean & Delicious' YouTube video 'Acorn Squash 101. how to cook acorn squash'

Avoid

antibiotics
Beware, too much fiber like dry oats without enough water can worsen sluggish digestion.

Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is the part of nervous system that focuses on restfulness and digestion. It is the opposite part of the sympathetic nervous system that deals with handling stress through fight or flight. In short, you need to reduce stress as much as possible to coddle the PNS. Overall, however, to need to 1) reduce stress, 2) increase vitamins B1, potassium and Magnesium.

Useful supplements and practices include

stress management

grounding techniques
meditation
deep abdominal breahting from the diaphragm
repetitive prayer
nature
play with animals or children
calming practices like yoga, chi kung and so on.

increase vitamin B1

flaxseeds
sunflower seeds
nutritional yeast
acorn squash
Avoid substances or practices that severely deplete B1

refined sugar, carbohydrates, high blood sugar levels, diuretics (beware that good foods like cucumbers, coffee, ginger, garlic, water melon, and parsley are diuretic), metformin diabetes medicine

increase potassium
magnesium

Avoid

stress

Severe cases

If your system is very severely backed up to the point of becoming toxic, you might consider laxative methods like the following.

Cleansing & herbal enemas
castor oil
senna
Bowel retaining. This may include biofeedback to retrain the bowels to empty regularly.
bisacodyl (FYI: a synthetic laxative)

However, using laxatives on a long term basis is undesirable because it can lead to dependence. In turn, dependence can slower or lessen the body's natural peristalsis. Peristalsis is a series of muscle contractions that the body uses to push food through the digestive tract.