Veggies That Get Digestion Moving and Cleanse the Body

Vegetables are naturally full of healthy nutrients and fiber that are essential for overall health. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that adults eat 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day. In general, the recommendation is to fill half of your plate with vegetables at every meal. Cleansing your body means helping your body get rid of toxins -- both from the environment and from those produced during metabolism that may be stored in your body.

Dietary Fiber and Vegetables

A diet high in dietary fiber reduces the chances of overeating by adding bulk to your diet. It also helps relieve and prevent constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis, and it lowers blood cholesterol levels, possiby reducing the chance of heart disease. Most Americans do not meet the recommended dietary intake of 25 to 38 grams of fiber per day. Vegetables are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber softens stools, making them easier to pass, while insoluble fiber speeds up the passage of stools, helping your body get rid of harmful wastes.

Fiber, Vegetables and Intake

Vegetables with a higher liquid content, such as cucumbers, naturally contain more soluble fiber, while stringy vegetables, such as celery and leafy greens, contain more insoluble fiber. If you are only starting to increase your fiber intake, gradually increase your vegetable consumption, as too much fiber too quickly can cause bloating, gas and constipation. Other vegetables recommended for their cleansing properties include carrots, squash, avocados, tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower and cabbage. To help your digestive system when eating more fiber, choose cooked vegetables, such as asparagus or broccoli, to start with, as the cooking process softens the fiber, making it easier on your body.

Benefits of Legumes

Legumes, while not often considered a vegetable, are still a healthy source of dietary fiber and can help cleanse your system, as well as get waste and food moving steadily through your system. Like vegetables, beans contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. To reduce the amount of gas produced from eating beans -- a common side effect -- do not cook the beans in the water you used to soak them.

Staying Hydrated

Water is key to a proper body cleanse, as well as ensuring the healthy passage of fiber through your system. If you do not consume enough fluids while increasing your dietary fiber intake, you can actually increase your risk of constipation, slowing down the digestive and cleansing processes. The general recommendation is at least six to eight full 8-ounce glasses of fluid per day. While water is the most recommended fluid, other healthy fluids, such as low-sodium broths, fruit and vegetable juices and caffeine-free teas can also be used to meet your daily fluid intake. More fluids may be needed if you significantly boost your fiber intake, are exposed to hot weather or have been participating in strenuous physical workouts.

Food to Improve Digestion

Whether you want to prevent constipation, relieve stomach pain or correct other digestive-related problems, you can achieve it by eating certain types of food. To ease your digestion, choose foods that can help soften the bulk. If you have problems digesting milk, choose foods that can break down the “milk” carbohydrate. Choosing the right foods will help improve your digestion. But you should also remember to eat slowly since speed can interfere with the digestion process.

Water

Water — the zero-calorie drink — not only helps sustain your body, but acts as your digestive system’s assistant by breaking foods down into smaller components. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports that water also helps the fiber in your digestive tract work better.
Fruit juice, vegetable juice and clear soup also help prevent constipation by reducing dehydration -- one of the contributors to the condition. Drinks that contain alcohol or caffeine can dehydrate you and cause constipation, thus you should try to avoid these types of beverages, explains the NDDIC.

High-Fiber Food

Dietary fiber, a carbohydrate produced only in plants, helps move food through the digestive tract. Although your body can’t digest fiber, it needs this carbohydrate to build bulk. Fiber also prevents constipation and diverticulosis, a condition where an area in the intestine protrudes outward, forming a pouch, MedlinePlus states. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University explains that high-fiber food can soften and increase the speed of the bulk through the colon, thus reducing constipation. Excellent sources of fiber include navy beans, split peas, lentils, 100-percent wheat bran cereal, pearled barley, oat bran, artichoke hearts, spinach, Brussels sprouts, prunes, Asian pear, guava, almonds, pistachios and pecans.

Yogurt

Yogurt contains live bacteria, or culture, that can help break down lactose, a special carbohydrate found in dairy products of which many people of Asian descent can’t digest. According to Dr. Sylvie Rabot and colleagues in “The Journal of Nutrition,” research studies have indicated that consuming yogurt produces fewer symptoms of lactose intolerance than milk. The researchers concluded that the fermentation of dairy in yogurt coupled with its live culture, specifically L. bulgaricus, have attributed to the reduction of lactose intolerance symptoms. Although the live culture in yogurts can digest about 20 to 40 percent of lactose, the researchers warn that not every individual will experience a decrease in symptoms of lactose intolerance.