Do you ever wonder why the heck you can’t digest certain foods?

As a nutritionist that helps a lot of people fix their digestion and be able to eat delicious foods without feeling sluggish, bloated and running to the bathroom, I think you’ll find this interesting.

Now, it doesn’t happen to everybody, but when I hear my clients say, “I just can’t digest meat anymore” or “_____ food just doesn’t agree with me like it used to,” I know what one of the likely reasons is (there are many – but this is a common one).

As we age, the amount of stomach acid that our bodies produces decreases. This happens our whole life, but there is a very prominent decline in our 30s. This also explains why heartburn tends to be an ailment of the older generation, and not something you commonly see teenagers with. (For an explanation of heartburn and the fact that it’s actually a condition of low stomach acid, read this post here.

So what can you do?

Well, it depends on the severity of your symptoms and what exactly is going on.

  • You could supplement with stomach acid (HCl), but I actually like the Digestive Bitters better. Take a dropper full before all of your main meals for a 4 week timeframe.
  • You can take a swig of unpasteuried, raw apple cider vinegar before meals as that also stimulates the digestive juices.
  • Lemon water before meals does the same as the apple cider vinegar, which is also why I start my day with this every morning.
  • Remove some of the bad foods (and I know that I maybe sound like a broken record, but you know what they are: gluten, cow’s dairy, sugar and super processed foods – oh and alcohol and coffee).

Pay attention to the symptoms you have. They may not be digestive like in this post, but know that there is a reason you’re experiencing them, and usually a natural way to fix them!

Mandy King is a Holistic Nutritionist and Gluten Free Guru who shares her expertise with She Does The City. For recipes and nutrition tips, visit her website, HEAL. Follow Mandy on Twitter @mandyking_HEAL. Like Healthy Eating and Living on Facebook here. You can also find Mandy on Pinterest and Instagram.