Top 2 Supplements For Improving Digestion
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that your body synthesizes when sunlight hits your skin. You can also get vitamin D from foods such as:
- Fatty fish
- Fish oil
- Beef liver
- Egg yolks
- Cheese
- Mushrooms
Recent research shows that vitamin D plays a vital role in digestive health and digestive health supplements may regulate gastrointestinal inflammation. Interestingly, people who have higher vitamin D levels have a lower incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). What’s more, a deficiency of vitamin D can disrupt the gut microbiome and lead to colitis.
The recommended daily vitamin D intake is 600 IU between 1 and 70 years old. In some circumstances, people may need higher doses. In people with IBD, malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins and bowel resection can limit vitamin D absorption.
Essential B Vitamins (B1, B3, B6, Biotin, B12)
Essential B vitamins help give your body the energy it needs. Foods that contain essential B vitamins include:
- Salmon
- Organ meats
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Legumes
- Yogurt
- Nutritional yeast
- Sunflower seeds
The small intestine absorbs B vitamins from food or supplements. But the gut microbiome also produces these vitamins. The B vitamins in the distal colon improve digestion by:
- Providing nutrients for the host and microbiome
- Regulating immune cell activity
- Mediating drug efficacy
- Suppressing the growth of harmful bacteria
- Reducing colitis