We are what we eat, but also and above all what we digest. Because we can eat the most nutrient-dense diet possible, eat all the right foods: lots of vegetables, good fats, fiber, proteins and good quality carbohydrates, if we don't digest them, we won't be able to not effectively reap the benefits. Here are some simple tips to give your digestion a little boost:
Relax before meals
To digest well, and avoid pain and discomfort such as heartburn, there are natural remedies: you must avoid stress, be relaxed, in a parasympathetic state, commonly called the "rest and digest " state of the system nervous. If we are distracted or stressed , or when we swallow something on the go, our body is not ready to digest and is not focused on producing gastric juices and digestive enzymes.
Because digestion always takes a back seat during times of stress and agitation, it is necessary to learn to relax and calm down before eating anything. Here are some practical tips to avoid stressful factors:
- Stop distractions: no phone, no TV, no email.
- Don't eat on the go.
- Breathe deeply before a meal to relax.
Chew food slowly and thoroughly.
Did you know that carbohydrate digestion begins with digestive enzymes in saliva? If we swallow our food without chewing it, the reduction in enzyme activity can lead to poor digestion of sugars and starches, and with it, pain in the stomach and intestine, as well as the famous feeling of bloating after meals.
Furthermore, good chewing also allows the food that reaches our stomach to be properly broken down. In this way the work of the stomach is simpler, thus avoiding heavy digestions which slow down our metabolism and make us tired after meals.
Finally, chewing food well not only speeds up digestion , but also makes us consume less food, because our brain detects that we are full about twenty minutes after eating the first bite. If we chew food well, we will eat more slowly and we will have eaten less food by the time our brain detects that we are full.
Don't drink during meals
Hydration dilutes and reduces the effectiveness of gastric juices essential for digestion , such as stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) and pancreatic enzymes, making it more difficult to break down food.
Rather than drinking whole glasses of water with meals, drinking small sips with meals and ingesting most of your water between meals will aid your digestion.
Adopt digestive walks
Practicing physical activity is important not only to reduce stress in the body, but also to stimulate intestinal motility, that is to say the muscular contractions necessary for proper emptying of the stomach and proper elimination. garbage. If you suffer from slow digestion, a 15-minute walk after each meal would be a great way to improve your digestion .
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