We are what we eat, but also and above all what we digest. We can adopt the most nutrient-dense diet possible and eat all the right foods: plenty of vegetables, healthy fats, fiber, protein and high-quality carbohydrates, but if we do not digest them, we will not be able to effectively benefit from them. So here are a few simple tips to give your digestion a little boost:
Relax before meals
To digest properly and avoid pain and discomfort such as heartburn, there are natural remedies: you should avoid stress and relax, entering a parasympathetic state, commonly known as the nervous system's "rest and digestion" state. If we are distracted or stressed, or when we eat something on the go, our body is not ready to digest and does not focus on producing gastric juices and digestive enzymes.
Because digestion is always relegated to the background during periods of stress and agitation, it is necessary to learn to relax and calm down before eating anything. Here are a few practical tips for avoiding stressors:
- Eliminate distractions: no phone, no TV, no email.
- Do not eat on the go.
- Take deep breaths before a meal to relax.
Chew your food slowly and thoroughly.
Did you know that the digestion of carbohydrates begins with the digestive enzymes in saliva? If we swallow our food without chewing it, reduced enzyme activity can lead to poor digestion of sugars and starches, along with stomach and intestinal pain and that familiar feeling of bloating after meals.
In addition, thorough chewing ensures that the food reaching our stomach is properly broken down. This makes the stomach's job easier, preventing heavy digestions that slow down our metabolism and leave us tired after meals.
Finally, chewing food thoroughly not only speeds up digestion, but also makes us eat less, because our brain detects that we are full about twenty minutes after eating the first bite. If we chew our food well, we will eat more slowly and will have eaten less food by the time our brain detects that we are full.
Do not drink during meals
Hydration dilutes and reduces the effectiveness of gastric juices essential to digestion, such as gastric acid (hydrochloric acid) and pancreatic enzymes, making it more difficult to break down food.
Rather than drinking full glasses of water with meals, sipping small amounts with meals and drinking most of your water between meals will make digestion easier.
Take digestive walks
Physical activity is important not only for reducing stress in the body, but also for stimulating intestinal motility, that is, the muscle contractions needed to properly empty the stomach and eliminate waste effectively. If you suffer from slow digestion, a 15-minute walk after each meal would be an excellent way to improve your digestion.
Sources:
- https://nutritionaltherapy.com/the-digestion-process-5-ways-to-improve-digestion/
- https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/making-it-practical/seven-tips-to-enhance-digestion-and-get-the-most-out-of-the-food-you-eat/
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