5 foods for healthy digestion
Reach for these when your digestion is upset.
Jan, 2026
1 of 6
Slide 1
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year in the United States about 35 million visits are made to healthcare providers (HCPs) because of a diagnosed digestive disease. Many more people deal with upset stomachs, constipation, diarrhea, and other digestion concerns on a regular basis. These issues are often caused by foods people ate—or didn’t eat. If you want to help ease or prevent them, reach for these five foods.
Written byPatrick Sullivan.
Medically reviewed byMegan Burke, MD.
Sources: Harvard Health Publishing. Try a FODMAPs diet to manage irritable bowel syndrome. March 15 + 11
- Harvard Health Publishing. Try a FODMAPs diet to manage irritable bowel syndrome. March 15, 2022.
- Zhao H, Wang M, Peng X, et al. Fish consumption in multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational and clinical studies. Ann Transl Med. 2023 Feb 15;11(3):152.
- Mozaffari H, Daneshzad E, Larijani B, et al. Dietary intake of fish, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Eur J Nutr. 2020 Feb;59(1):1-17.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Digestive Diseases. Page last reviewed September 14, 2023.
- Cleveland Clinic. Probiotics. Page last reviewed October 30, 2023.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Probiotics: What You Need to Know. Page last updated August 2019.
- Cleveland Clinic. What’s the Difference Between Soluble and Insoluble Fiber? Page last updated January 31, 2021.
- Atkinson FS, Brand-Miller JC, Foster-Powell K, et al. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2021: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Nov 8;114(5):1625-1632.
- Cleveland Clinic. Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Page last reviewed November 17, 2022.
- Franchi C, Ardoino I, Bosetti C, et al. Inverse Association between Canned Fish Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Analysis of Two Large Case-Control Studies. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 16;14(8):1663.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine. Ginger Benefits. Page accessed March 23, 2024.
- Anh NH, Kim SJ, Long NP, et al. Ginger on Human Health: A Comprehensive Systematic Review of 109 Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 6;12(1):157.
Recommended for you
How can I be more consistent?