Bloating and belching, and in some cases, nausea and slight headaches, are some of the symptoms that come with slowed digestion. 

This condition is uncomfortable as it often leads to body sluggishness; it is risky too since it comes with health threatening effects.  

Slowed digestion is a condition where the rhythmic movement of food into the digestive track is slowed down.

When a person experiences strained bowel movements, among other issues such as constipation, it is said to be a result of slowed digestion.

Private Kamanzi, a nutritionist, says this condition is usually a result of both modifiable (you can take measures to change them) and non-modifiable factors (are those that cannot be changed). Age, as non-modifiable factor, is an influence in slowed digestion.

According to Kamanzi, digestive system moves food through the bodies through a series of muscle contractions. As people age, they lose collagen and muscles weaken yet the digestive track is always apprehended by muscles. 

There is another factor which is related to physical inactivity, this reduces the movement of food in the digestive track.  Another cause, which is of core importance, is poor diet, Kamanzi says. 

"Poor diet for this particular case, is one that doesn’t have fibre. Diet with no or limited fibre affects the body in terms of digestion. Poor diet is usually from processed food; this food loses fibre as it is being processed. Foods with simple sugars such as cookies, ice cream, don’t have fibre and the body doesn’t digest them easily so it delays digestion,” he explains. A poor diet can also include saturated fat; these are said to be very complicated for the body to digest.

Effects

There are very many effects that come with slowed digestion.  The first effect, according to Kamanzi, is constipation, which also has its secondary effect-haemorrhoid; these are swollen and inflamed veins in the rectum and anus that cause discomfort and bleeding. Medics say when this remains untreated, it can cause anal cancer. Slow digestion causes slow absorption of nutrients from food. One can, hence, end up becoming anaemic, among other deficiencies, because the food was not absorbed properly. Such people can also develop cancers like stomach and colon cancer.

"There is loss of appetite; because the food has not been properly digested, your stomach remains full.”

Dealing with the condition

Fruits and vegetables are the main source of fibre, without them digestion will automatically become a problem.

Information from Healthline also indicates that delayed or slower bowel movements can be caused by a lack of fibre in your diet. A diet that emphasises natural, unprocessed fruit and vegetables can kick-start digestion and help make you more regular, unless you have lazy bowel syndrome, gastroparesis or other chronic gastrointestinal condition.

Good sources of fibre include; almonds and almond milk, prunes, figs, apples, and bananas, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

Kamanzi advises to stay away from foods such as processed sugars because these don’t have fibre. Saturated fat, processed fats like mayonnaise, margarine, and red meat all don’t have fibre and are very complicated in terms of digestion. 

Avoid nutritional habits such as mixing solid and liquid foods when eating, this is prohibited. Eating cold food mixed with hot food is also bad since it affects the mechanism of the body, and can slow digestion.

Alternative recommended advice is to eat fruits before meals. "It is advisable to eat fruits and spend like 30 to 45 minutes before you eat a meal. Never eat them after meals, it is not advisable,” Kamanzi says.