What are the best foods to improve digestion? What foods can help with digestive problems like bloating, cramping, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation?

The 19 Best Foods to Improve Digestion

If you have digestive problems, eating certain foods can help relieve symptoms. This includes fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt and fiber-rich foods like dark green vegetables, seeds, and whole grains.

The digestive tract plays a vital role in your health, as it’s responsible for absorbing nutrients and eliminating waste. Unfortunately, many people experience digestive problems like bloating, cramping, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation for various reasons.

Certain conditions, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Crohn’s Disease, diverticulitis, and heartburn, can put you at risk for more severe digestive issues.

However, even a healthy person can experience digestive problems due to a lack of fiber or probiotic-rich foods.

1. Yogurt

Yogurt is made from milk that has been fermented, typically by lactic acid bacteria. It contains friendly bacteria known as probiotics, which are good bacteria that live in your digestive tract and can help improve digestion, keeping your gut healthy (1, 2).

While probiotics naturally occur in your gut, boosting your intake through foods like yogurt can ease digestion (1, 3).

Probiotics can help with digestive issues, such as bloating, constipation and diarrhea. They have also been shown to improve the digestion of lactose, or milk sugar (2, 4).

However, not all yogurt contains probiotics. When shopping, be sure to look for “live and active cultures” on the package.

2. Apples

Apples are a rich source of pectin, a soluble fiber.

Pectin bypasses digestion in your small intestine and is then broken down by the friendly bacteria in your colon (5). It increases stool volume and is therefore commonly used to resolve constipation and diarrhea.

It has also been shown to decrease the risk of intestinal infections, as well as inflammation in the colon (5, 6).

3. Fennel

Fennel, a plant with a pale bulb and long green stalks, is used to add flavor to food.

Its fiber content helps prevent constipation and improves regularity in your digestive tract (7, 8).

Fennel also contains an antispasmodic agent that relaxes the smooth muscles in your digestive tract. This action can reduce negative digestive symptoms like bloating, flatulence, and cramping (9).

4. Kefir

Kefir is a cultured dairy product made by adding kefir “grains” to milk. These “grains” result from mixing yeast and bacteria with milk and appear to have digestive benefits.

Like the probiotics in yogurt, kefir’s cultures aid the digestion of lactose, decreasing some of the negative side effects associated with lactose intolerance such as bloating, cramping and gas (10, 11).

In multiple studies, kefir caused an increase in healthy, digestion-improving gut bacteria and a simultaneous drop in harmful bacteria (12, 13).

Kefir consumption has also been associated with decreased inflammation in your gut, further enhancing the digestion process (12).

5. Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are an excellent source of fiber, which causes them to form a gelatin-like substance in your stomach, once consumed. They work like a prebiotic, supporting the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut and therein contributing to healthy digestion (7, 8). Their fiber content also helps promote bowel regularity and healthy stools.

6. Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented tea. It’s made by adding specific strains of bacteria, sugar and yeast to black or green tea, then undergoing fermentation for a week or more (14). A glut of probiotic bacteria is produced during the fermentation process, which can improve digestive health (15). What’s more, some research in mice has shown that kombucha may contribute to the healing of stomach ulcers (16).

7. Papaya

The luscious tropical fruit papaya contains a digestive enzyme called papain. It assists during the digestive process by helping break down protein fibers. While not required in your diet, it can aid the digestion of protein (17).

Papain may also ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic condition that can cause bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea and constipation (18).