Food is amazing. If only it would stay amazing once it's being digested inside of us. Anyone reading this has no doubt felt the pain or discomfort that comes with eating too much or something that didn't agree with us. I used to be in that boat nearly every meal; I've worked hard over the past year or so to find out what my "trigger" foods are, and reluctantly avoid them. It's a great way to practice mindfulness, as if you just chalk up your digestive responses as "normal", no progress will ever be made. I've also developed a system that I use for every meal nowadays, and it's done wonders for my digestion and comfort. What works for me may not work for you, but hopefully at least one of these will make a difference.
1. Before eating In the morning, drink a big bowl of hot water with lemon juice and sea salt in it.
I started doing this about a year ago, and I can't emphasize enough how better it's made me feel ever since. Lemon juice is great for promoting healthy digestion, increasing hydration and electrolytes (which is especially important after sleep), and for ridding the body of toxins. It also stimulates the bowels, which coincides with why I use sea salt (I actually use Celtic sea salt instead of Himalayan for the higher mineral content). A sea salt flush with warm water in the morning is the of the easiest ways to get things moving inside of you, and although it may sound gross, it does wonders for your body just in terms of feeling cleansed.
2. At least ten deep breaths out through your mouth (with your exhales being longer than your inhales) before every meal.
By taking these deep breaths, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which is used by the body for aiding in many things such as slowing heart rate and lowering blood pressure, but most importantly your digestive processes. When our bodies are in a sympathetic state (which can happen due to minor stresses or lack of awareness, along with much more serious provocations as well), our bodies go into a fight-or-flight mode, meaning attention is drawn away from "unnecessary" processes like digestion. Heart rate speeds up, breathing pathways are opened wider, and blood pressure rises. Thankfully, just by taking some deep breaths right before every meal, we can consciously turn on our parasympathetic nervous systems, meaning that we will undoubtedly digest our food quicker and more efficiently. I have three daily reminders set in my phone for taking ten deep breaths right before I generally eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I really do think it's made a difference in how my digestion functions.
3. Keep moving after you eat.
No, don't go workout. Not right away. But one of the worst things you can do after you eat is to lie down on the couch or in bed. Our bodies digest best when we're upright, and by putting ourselves sideways as soon as we're done eating, our food sits in our stomachs longer, which can lead to indigestion, acid reflux, and even weight gain. Low-intensity movement is great for aiding digestion after a meal; I go for a walk around the lake after dinner every night, and now have far fewer indigestion issues than I used to.
Bonus method: add in prebiotics/probiotics to your daily routine, and especially at night. Although they sound similar, the two are actually serve different purposes: prebiotics are compounds that promote the growth of healthy bacteria inside your gut, while probiotics are the healthy bacteria themselves. Taking these with each meal does wonders for digestion, but a big hack that I've found works well is to take your probiotic right before bed, when hopefully you haven't eaten for a couple hours by that point (see my recent post about sleep for more on that). Taking a probiotic on an "empty" stomach means your stomach acid levels will be lower, which translates into quicker absorption of the bacteria which then speeds up digestion.
These are all pretty simple ways to make your body feel a lot better. We all eat, we all digest, but chances are it could probably be improved a bit (I know mine sure did up until recently). The better you digest, the better your life will be. If you have any other tips, please leave a comment!
"A Single Seed" is my attempt to get out one idea every day that I've learned or accumulated over the years, with the hope that it may stick in someone else's memory bank as well. The idea may be related to fitness, business, life, or philosophy, but I think you'll find that many can change domains if you wish them to. With each seed planted, a new life awaits.
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