Digestion: How to Look After Your Gut

Nutrition can become very focused on numbers.

Calories.

Protein.

Carbohydrates.

Fat.

Fibre.

Vitamins.

Minerals.

They're all useful things to understand.

But there's another fairly obvious consideration:

How does the food you eat actually make you feel?

Are you regularly bloated?

Constipated?

Running to the toilet?

Getting reflux?

Experiencing stomach pain after particular foods?

Most of us don't need to spend our lives trying to “optimise our gut.”

But digestion matters, and persistent digestive problems aren't something you should simply accept as normal.

What Do We Mean by Digestion?

Digestion is the process your body uses to break food down into components that can be absorbed and used.

It starts before food even reaches your stomach.

You chew.

Food travels through your digestive system.

Proteins, carbohydrates and fats are broken down.

Nutrients are absorbed, predominantly through the small intestine.

Water and electrolytes are absorbed.

And eventually the stuff you don't need leaves through the other end.

It's an extraordinarily complicated system that, thankfully, you generally don't need to micromanage.

For most healthy people eating an adequate diet, nutrient absorption isn't something they need to constantly worry about.

There are medical conditions that interfere with digestion or absorption, but those aren't problems to diagnose yourself through a fitness website.

What Can Affect Your Digestion?

Lots of things.

Your overall diet.

The amount and types of fibre you eat.

How much you drink.

Individual food tolerances.

Stress.

Alcohol.

Some medications.

Illness.

Changes to your routine.

Physical activity.

Even simply eating considerably more food than usual.

And people respond differently.

That's important.

Something being “difficult to digest” doesn't automatically make it a poor-quality food, and something marketed as being fantastic for “gut health” isn't automatically going to agree with you.

Your individual response matters.

Stress and Your Gut

Your brain and digestive system communicate with each other.

That's one reason stress can sometimes show up physically as digestive symptoms.

Perhaps you've experienced it before an exam, interview or competition.

Suddenly your stomach has opinions.

Stress can affect things such as gut movement and digestive sensations, although the response varies considerably between people.

That doesn't mean digestion simply “switches off” whenever you're stressed.

But if you notice that your digestive symptoms become worse during particularly stressful periods, that relationship may be worth paying attention to.

Training and Digestion

Exercise is generally a very good thing.

But strenuous exercise can sometimes cause gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly during prolonged or intense activity.

Running is a classic example.

Some people also find that eating a large meal immediately before hard training makes them feel terrible.

That's less about needing to “heal your gut” and more about learning what works for you.

Consider:

How much you eat before training.

How close to training you eat it.

The types of food you tolerate well.

How intense or long the session will be.

If a massive high-fat, high-fibre meal an hour before training leaves you feeling like you're going to see it again, perhaps don't keep repeating the experiment.

Nutrition needs to work in the real world.

POO!

Yes.

We're talking about poo.

Because what happens when you go to the toilet can provide useful information about your digestion.

There is considerable normal variation between people in how frequently they have a bowel movement.

What's particularly useful is noticing changes from what's normal for you.

Your stool should generally be reasonably comfortable to pass and shouldn't routinely involve diarrhoea, severe straining or pain.

There's even a tool used to describe stool consistency called the Bristol Stool Chart.

You don't need to become a poo analyst.

But if something changes significantly and stays changed, pay attention.

1. Eat Enough Fibre

Fibre is the part of plant foods that isn't completely digested in the small intestine.

Different types of fibre behave differently.

Some contribute to stool bulk.

Some hold water.

Some are fermented by bacteria living in the gut.

Fibre is found in foods including:

Fruit and vegetables.

Wholegrains.

Beans and pulses.

Nuts and seeds.

Current UK guidance recommends adults aim for around 30g of fibre per day.

But I wouldn't describe fibre as “nature's internal cleanser.”

Your digestive system doesn't need scrubbing.

And more fibre isn't always better.

If you currently eat very little, suddenly dramatically increasing it can leave you bloated, windy and thoroughly unimpressed with this article.

Increase it gradually and see how you respond.

2. Eat a Variety of Plant Foods

You don't need to count 47 different plants every Thursday.

But eating a varied diet containing fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds can provide different fibres and nutrients.

Variety is generally a sensible nutritional principle anyway.

It also makes eating considerably less boring.

3. Stay Hydrated

Fluids are important for normal bodily function, including digestion.

This becomes particularly relevant when you're increasing fibre.

You don't need to force litres and litres of additional water into yourself in the name of gut health.

Drink regularly, pay attention to thirst and increase fluids appropriately around things such as training and hot weather.

We've covered this in more detail in Hydration.

4. Don't Automatically Blame Caffeine

Coffee makes some people need the toilet.

Sometimes very quickly.

But caffeine isn't simply a universal laxative that everybody with digestive symptoms needs to remove.

Coffee itself can stimulate bowel activity in some people, and individual responses vary.

If you drink six coffees per day and regularly have digestive problems, reducing your intake might be a perfectly reasonable experiment.

If you drink one coffee every morning and feel absolutely fine:

You probably don't need to declare war on coffee.

5. Pay Attention to Your Own Food Tolerances

People tolerate foods differently.

If something repeatedly causes symptoms, pay attention to the pattern.

But be cautious about diagnosing yourself with an intolerance based on one uncomfortable meal—or unnecessarily eliminating entire food groups because somebody online told you they're inflammatory.

If you suspect a genuine intolerance or have persistent symptoms, speak to an appropriate healthcare professional or registered dietitian.

Removing more and more foods isn't necessarily the solution.

6. Move

Regular physical activity can support normal bowel function and has plenty of other health benefits.

That doesn't mean you need a brutal workout every time you're constipated.

Walking counts.

As we covered in Movement, increasing your general physical activity doesn't have to mean spending another two hours in the gym.

Do You Need Probiotics?

Not automatically.

The gut microbiome is a fascinating and rapidly developing area of research, but “probiotic” doesn't mean universally beneficial.

Different products contain different organisms and strains, and their effects can be specific to particular circumstances.

I wouldn't recommend buying a random expensive supplement because its packaging promises to “restore your gut health.”

Start with the boring stuff.

A varied diet.

Enough fibre.

Appropriate hydration.

Regular physical activity.

Then investigate actual problems individually.

When Should You Get Digestive Problems Checked?

Occasional digestive discomfort happens.

But persistent or significant symptoms shouldn't simply be written off as “bad gut health.”

Speak to a healthcare professional if you're concerned, particularly with things such as persistent changes in bowel habits, ongoing diarrhoea or constipation, significant abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss or blood in your stool.

That's beyond the job description of your personal trainer.

The Bottom Line

You don't need to cleanse your gut.

You don't need to detox it.

And most people don't need an elaborate collection of supplements to optimise their digestion.

Start with the fundamentals:

Eat a varied diet.

Get enough fibre.

Drink enough fluid.

Move regularly.

Pay attention to how different foods affect you.

And don't ignore persistent symptoms.

Your digestive system is remarkably good at doing its job without you thinking about it.

The goal isn't to become obsessed with your gut.

It's to give it a reasonable environment to get on with its work.