When your digestive process is working properly, you enjoy happiness, contentment and clarity after you are through eating. You have a full feeling, but can still develop and retain a slim, trim body. Water are the rewards for poor digestion? Heartburn, bloating, gas, indigestion, headaches, food cravings, depression, irritability and an inability to recognize true hunger are all characteristics of a poor digestive system. Practice the following 5 healthy mealtime habits and your digestive system, as well as your appearance and overall health, will benefit.

1 – Slow Down, This Is Not a Race

Where's the fire? What's the hurry? Why are you eating so fast? Slow down and chew your food properly. Proper digestion means giving your gastrointestinal system the time it needs to do its job properly. A good rule of thumb is to chew all solid foods at least 30 or 40 times.

This is not necessary in all cases, but practicing this habit will ensure you chew all of your foods properly, and give your stomach the time it needs to signal whether you are full or need to keep eating.

2 – Eat More of These

Eating the right types of food is a simple mealtime habit that can dramatically reduce your risk of developing digestive track issues.

Fruits, whole grains, vegetables, nuts and legumes are wonderfully healthy foods that deliver plenty of nutrition, minerals and vitamins. Chia seeds, coconut oil, wild Alaskan salmon, zucchini, kimchee and sauerkraut are especially effective at promoting digestive system health.

3 – Eat Fewer of These

Baked goods like doughnuts, pastries and pies are tough on your digestive system. So are processed foods, fast foods, and foods with high levels of sugar and salt. When your food comes in a bag, box or wrapper, it has been processed. Highly processed foods, like store-bought french fries, pizzas and other restaurant food, has lost much if not all of its nutritional value. These empty calories and carbohydrates are absorbed into your bloodstream quickly, before your digestive track has a chance to process them properly.

4 – Stop Drinking During Your Meal

You can go ahead and read that line again. Yes, you have probably been told that drinking aids in the digestive process. It actually does and doesn't, with the whole trick being when you drink liquids in accordance with eating. When you drink cold beverages with your meals, you are diverting energy that should be used for digestion. This can lead to a poor digestive process. Water, tea and other beverages are processed extremely quickly. This means that if you drink liquid after chewing and swallowing solid food, a logjam problem can happen in your gut. When you drink liquids you also naturally dilute the stomach acid and digestive enzymes which break down your food.

Drink water or other beverages 20 minutes before you eat, and wait for at least an hour after your meal before drinking again.