How to Digest Food Faster, According to a Dietitian
Can you actually help move things along smoothly? Here's how.
Reviewed by Dietitian Maria Laura Haddad-Garcia
Digestion is a complicated business. However, the good news is that it happens automatically anytime you consume food. This means your body knows what to do, even without you thinking or controlling it. When the process goes smoothly, you barely notice it. However, when there are problems with your digestion, you'll likely know right away through a variety of symptoms, from abdominal pain, chronic constipation or diarrhea, bloating, heartburn, excessive gas or constipation. So how does your digestive system work, how can you support it to help move things along smoothly, and can you really speed up your digestion?
Related: 6 Totally Normal Reasons You're Constipated, According to a Dietitian
5 Ways to Speed Up Your Digestion
Suzie Finkel, M.S., RD CDN, a registered dietitian at New York Gastroenterology Associates, says, "For those with properly functioning digestive tracts, "speeding up" digestion is not a reasonable goal. In fact, we want food and nutrients to take the time they need for proper absorption!" However, very generally, there are a variety of ways to support your digestion. Here are some tips:
1. Eat Regularly
"It is beneficial to have a routine eating schedule," says Finkel—meaning don't skip meals! Research, such as a 2021 article in Current Research in Biotechnology, shows that regular meal timing can help support your metabolism and regulate your appetite, while irregular eating patterns have been associated with metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Habitually skipping breakfast has also been found to be associated with a greater risk of GI disorders, such as IBS, per a 2022 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
2. Choose Appropriate Portion Sizes
"Work on eating appropriate portion sizes for your body," says Finkel. There's no hard and fast rule for what portion size looks like for individuals, as portions over time and even from meal to meal can vary depending on a person's age, sex, current body size, activity, metabolism and hunger and fullness level. Note that "needs can look different for everyone,"
3. Consume Enough Food
"Eating too little over time, such as a restrictive eating disorder, is associated with gut motility issues," says Finkel. Research shows that people who chronically under-eat and or intensely diet lead to decreased metabolism and slowed digestion as the body tries to adapt to less food.
Related: How Disordered Eating Can Impact Brain Health, According to Science
4. Ensure Balanced Meals
"There are not particular foods that speed up digestion, but larger meals, high-fat meals, and high-fiber meals will inevitably move slower through the digestive tract," says Finkle, "which again is not necessarily a bad thing," she adds. In general, meals, including a variety of foods that include carbohydrates, fats, proteins and fiber helps to support optimal digestion and overall health.
5. Incorporate Mindful Eating
"Eating mindfully can help improve digestion," says Finkel, "This means not rushing, chewing slowly, eating in an upright position, and hopefully enjoying your food!" Research shows that mindful eating, or focusing on the present moment of eating without judgment, can decrease stress levels, supporting optimal digestion, per a 2019 article in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal. Additionally, slowing down can help you increase your awareness of hunger and fullness and increase satisfaction from eating.
How Your Digestion Works
Your digestive system is made up of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract and organs, including the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. The GI is essentially a long hollow tube from the mouth to the anus comprising several organs joined together. In order, the GI tract is made up of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus. When you eat food, it moves through your GI tract through an automatic process called peristalsis, where a muscle that lines the GI tract contracts and squeezes the food forward and relaxes, allowing the food to move progressively through the GI tract. Here's a detailed pathway of how your digestion works, per the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK):
Mouth: Digestion starts when you eat. Chewing helps to break down food into smaller pieces while your saliva also chemically starts to break down the food and helps make it easy to swallow, moving the food into the esophagus.
Esophagus: Peristalsis begins in the esophagus, moving food down towards your stomach. The lower esophageal sphincter, a muscle at the end of the esophagus, relaxes to let food pass into the stomach and then closes to keep the contents of the stomach from flowing back up the esophagus.
Stomach: Your stomach muscles churn and mix the food with stomach acid and digestive enzymes, which help break down proteins. The contents are eventually turned into a fluid called chyme (a mix of gastric fluid and partially digested food) that is slowly released into the small intestine.
Small Intestine: The small intestine continues to mix the food with additional digestive enzymes, including digestive juices from the pancreas, liver and gallbladder, which are secreted into the small intestine from ducts. These digestive juices help to digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The walls of the small intestine absorb the digested nutrients and water into the bloodstream. Portions that are not digested continue forward into the large intestine.
Large Intestine: The large intestine receives any waste products that are not digested or absorbed in the small intestine. The lining of the large intestine absorbs the remaining water, vitamins and minerals, turning the liquid into solid waste or stool.
Rectum: The tail end of the large intestine that stores stool until it pushes it out through the anus during a bowel movement
How Long Does Your Body Take to Digest Food?
Each portion of the digestive tract has different functions. These either mechanical or chemical actions help to break down the food, release nutrients for absorption and transport it in the body, and remove waste. "It's hard to say "normal" because it [digestion time] really varies," says Finkel, "but in general, we can expect a mixed meal to take 2 to 4 hours to clear the stomach, 3-8 hrs to make it through the small intestine and -10-40 hours in the colon."
Further, transit time in each section of the GI varies greatly, per a 2019 review in Current Research in Food Science:
Mouth: 5 seconds-2 minutes
Esophagus: 8-10 seconds
Stomach: 15 minutes-4 hours
Small intestine: 1-5 hours
Large intestine: 12-24 hours
Factors That Affect Digestion Time
"Someone may attribute bloating, feelings of excessive fullness, early satiety, indigestion, or nausea, or constipation to "slow digestion," says Finkel, "However, in reality, there is variety of diagnosable conditions that cause these symptoms, and they may Or may not actually mean slowness in the digestive tract." Many factors can affect digestion time, including:
Dietary factors: dietary factors that affect digestion time include the size of a meal, fat content, fiber content and food texture.
Hormones: Hormones tell your body when to make digestive juices and can signal movement to slow down or speed up the GI system, per a 2019 article in Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity. Hormonal changes such as pregnancy or hypothyroidism also impact digestion speed, slowing digestion in the stomach and small and large intestines.
Neurotransmitters: As food stretches the walls of your GI tract, nerves will release substances that can speed up or delay food movement and produce certain digestive juices. However, when there is vagus nerve damage, the movement of food in the stomach and small intestine can slow down or even stop, per the NDDK.
Certain medications: Some prescribed medications, such as antibiotics, are stimulants that speed up digestion or even cause diarrhea. Other medications may be prescribed for people to slow down GI transit, such as antidiarrheal medications or muscle relaxants.
Motility issues: Motility issues can be related to gastrointestinal surgery, intestinal disease, eating disorders or thyroid tissue, per the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What helps your digestion after a big meal?
Staying in an upright position (rather than lying down) can help support faster and better digestion after a large meal. Waiting 30 minutes and then going for a walk can also help.
How can you speed up your digestion before bed?
Eating smaller meals, liquid or soft meals that are lower in fat and fiber, can speed up digestion before bed. Sitting in an upright position can also support faster gastric emptying before bed.
Is it okay to lay down 30 minutes after eating?
In general, sitting upright supports digestion and absorption, while laying down can cause more discomfort, such as gastric reflux and can slow down gastric emptying. For those with GERD, the recommendation is to avoid lying down for 3 hours after eating.
Can you digest food in 30 minutes?
Digestion time can vary greatly depending on the makeup of the meal and the individual's metabolism. Generally, a mixed meal takes 2 to 4 hours to clear the stomach, 3-8 hrs to make it through the small intestine and 10-40 hours in the colon. Liquids and soft foods tend to move faster than high-fat and high-fiber meals.
What slows down digestion?
In general, larger meals and high-fat, high-protein or high-fiber meals take longer to digest. However, certain medications, as well as diagnosable GI motility issues, also slow down digestion.
The Bottom Line
Digestion is a complex process that takes time to properly break down food and absorb its nutrition, so "speeding up" digestion may not be a reasonable goal, according toFinkel. There are some controllable factors to support and improve digestion, such as eating regularly, having balanced meals, light exercise or staying upright after a meal. However, uncontrollable factors can also affect digestion time, including hormonal disorders, nerve damage or GI motility issues. If you feel that your digestion is taking an irregular amount of time, speak to a gastroenterologist to see if you have a diagnosable condition that may take medications or dietary intervention to help support your digestion.
