the best ways to support digestion

Many of the health issues we deal with today go hand and hand with poor digestive health, it’s such a multi-faceted system in the body. Everyone is always talking about what food you eat affects digestion but did you know how you eat it plays a role in digestion as well? We are living in the digital age. Everything is fast and convenient with tons of options to make our lives easier. This can also apply to the way we eat, often eating fast easy meals on the go. Whether you’re busy at work sneaking bites between emails at your desk, eating mindlessly while working, or a stay at home mom who has to eat quickly in between the demands of caring for your home.

So what does this do to our digestion?

Well for one, when we’re not eating mindfully our food may not be getting chewed fully. This can lead to undigested food in the digestive tract, potentially causing digestive issues down the line due to the growth of bad gut bacteria (ever heard of intestinal permeability, commonly known as leaky gut)? It can cause overeating or cravings since you aren’t really paying attention to the food you’re putting in your mouth, leaving you unsatisfied. It can also cause your digestive system to slow down completely especially when continually eating in a stressed state. The body responds much better when relaxed while eating, activating the parasympathetic nervous system known for allowing us to rest and digest.

How to eat more mindfully

Next time you sit down for a meal, think of these 4 simple steps to help you be more mindful of your meal, preparing yourself to digest it better! Understand and recognize that things won’t always be perfect, as a busy working mom I struggle with this too, but take conscious steps to improve so you feel better after a meal. Even if you do need to eat a meal on the fly, you can still chew slowly and do it mindfully!

Now let’s talk about foods that you can eat to help improve your digestion! 

These foods can help with the following

• promote gut health (all about that friendly gut bacteria)

• ease digestive symptoms

• reduce gut inflammation

• help to kill off bad gut bacteria (yucky stuff like parasites too; YES, these are common)

A note on stomach acid

It's super common for people today to have very little or weak stomach acid, this plays a huge role is digestive dysfunction. Why’s this? Well, during digestion, stomach acid acts as a disinfectant for our digestive tract. It makes sure all the food we eat is broken down and bacteria is removed. When we don't have enough, nasty gut bacteria can stick around, causing issues overtime. Some ways to assure you have enough stomach acid are to drink hot water with lemon or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with water before meals. Try your best to avoid heartburn medications which suppress this powerful tool in the digestion process.

Here are some foods that can help with gut inflammation

• Pineapple: has anti-inflammatory enzymes like bromelain

• Ginger: stimulates digestion, soothes intestinal tract and alleviates digestive symptoms like gas

• Papaya: helps to digest protein, has vermicidal properties (kills yucky parasites)

• Beets: have a high level of minerals folate and manganese which promote a healthy gallbladder

• Cabbage: has vitamin U, which is helpful for stomach ulcers. Bonus, it has properties that kill parasites as well!

On leaky gut

What are the signs that something could be going wrong in your digestive system in the first place? Unfortunately, this is a very multifaceted answer. There are lots of ways that digestion can go amiss and many symptoms to show you have issues with your digestion. Here are some of the ways to spot it, and a couple of the triggers.

So what causes these digestive symptoms? Can they be prevented?

Great news is yes, they can be! A nutrient dense diet along with a few simple action steps can help avoid some of these common issues. Here are some possible causes the above symptoms may be occurring and what can be done to avoid having these issues to begin with.

• Not chewing your food properly, causing it not be be completely broken down, this can leave undigested food in your digestive tract, causing opportunistic gut bacteria

• Not enough stomach acid, causing food not to be disinfected properly in the digestive process, giving pathogenic bacteria the chance to creep into your digestive tract. Also can prevent certain nutrients from being absorbed, leading to deficiencies.

• Food not broken down properly due to low digestive enzymes, which allow your body to digest certain necessary macronutrients like proteins and fat

• Chronic stress since stress negatively impacts digestive function. When your body is constantly trying to combat stress, digestion takes a back seat.

When the above issues are repeated on a constant basis it can cause intestinal permeability or leaky gut. The basic definition of this is that our intestinal walls become weakened, allowing toxins from food that would normally leave our body after the digestive process to instead leak out of our bloodstream. This can then lead to the symptoms above, and so many more issues over time. Here is a more in- depth explanation:

​“The intestinal epithelial lining, together with factors secreted from it, forms a barrier that separates the host from the environment. In pathologic conditions, the permeability of the epithelial lining may be compromised allowing the passage of toxins, antigens, and bacteria in the lumen to enter the bloodstream creating a “leaky gut.” (Mu,Kirby,Reilly, Luo, 2017)”.

Another huge trigger for leaky gut is stress. When we’re in a super stressed state, our digestion takes a back seat.

Digestion and stress

Would you say you're stressed out? Today we're all so on the go, we need things done and we need them done, NOW! But what does this do to your bodies? Particularly, our digestion? Well, as crazy as it sounds, when we're stressed out our bodies need to overcompensate to keep us alive, thus turning off other important functions, one being digestion.

SO what can we do to reduce stress so our digestion isn’t harmed?

Breathing techniques

Next time you’re feeling stressed out, take a minute to just BREATHE. Deep breathing for a few minutes can calm you down and leave you refreshed, check this out for a brief how to on popular breathing exercise, 4,7,8 breathing.

Movement

Taking a break every once and while to get up and move will get your blood flowing, and allow you to manage and reduce stress! Take a short walk, do some gentle stretching or lift some light weights. If you’re very stressed, doing intense workouts  such as heavy cardio or HIIT may be too much on your adrenals. Listen to your body and move to support it.

Don’t take on more than you can handle

Learn that it's ok to say no once and while. You can’t be everything to everyone. I'm not saying to be selfish, but don’t take on extra when you already have a lot going or piling a million plans into one day. And remember, it's OK to ask for help!

Find time for you
Like mentioned above, it’s OK to take a break once in a while! Sometimes we just need a break and time to be alone, enjoy a hot bath, get your nails done, a massage, read a book that interests you, you get the idea.

Follow my tips about eating for better digestion

• Begin a gratitude practice before you eat

• Take a few deep breaths before eating

• make sure you eat in a relaxed, not frantic or busy state

• chew your food slowly and thoroughly and enjoy every bite!

Following these tips, along with better managing your overall response to stress will assure you are supporting your digestion as well. I hope this helps!

We’ll talk soon!

Aria