What can go wrong with your digestion -Pt 1

Your digestive system is SO important but sadly most of us don't give it a second thought until something goes wonky. Well, over the next few weeks I'm going to do a series on what can go wrong and also give you a few examples of how you can prevent it before it happens. Most of the suggestions will be very simple and cost no money so you could start implementing them today! Part 1 is going to deal with where digestion starts (your brain!) and we'll end right before your stomach.

Ready? Here we go!

Step 1: Your Brain

Did you know digestion actually starts in your brain?!

It's true!

Just like Pavlov's dog salivating when he heard that bell, when you smell your mom's fresh chocolate chip cookies or see the gooey pizza behind the glass your mouth waters a little too.

That's your digestive enzymes getting ready to break down what you put in your mouth. Your brain also lets your stomach know that it's time to get to work and it starts ramping up your stomach acid to break everything down. But if you're go, go, going the brain is too busy to notice.

Do you stop and pray before eating or are you eating while you're running to your next thing?

Believe it or not stopping and praying or just taking a few deep breaths and relaxing before eating can make a HUGE difference in how your digestive system handles your meal/snack. When you stop and take a breath & relax, your body shifts from a sympathetic (fight or flight) to a PARAsympathetic state (rest and digest).

Imagine you are in Africa in 34 BC and you are being chased by a lion - your body is in fight or flight mode because digesting those berries you ate isn't very important if you are about to be lunch for that lion! All your blood, energy and mental faculties are going into running and staying alive.

Fast forward to today and you are late for a meeting because your baby just threw up on you and you had to change, then you couldn't find your keys and now some jerk just cut you off on the interstate - you almost spilled your latte!

Kinda sounds like running from that lion just minus the lion doesn't it???

Step 2: Your Mouth and Teeth

Once we've calmed ourselves down and are sitting comfortably in a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state now it comes down to chewing! Remember when your mom or grandma told you you had to chew your food 40 times before swallowing?

Well, you don't have to count but have you ever noticed how fast most people eat - especially when they are busy? I think getting in 10 chews would be an improvement for some people! In fact there was a study done by Purdue University that compared nutrient absorption based on how much people chewed their food (10,25, or 40). The people who chewed more (40x) got more energy from the food than those who chewed less (10x).

So if you aren't chewing your food you're also loosing out on all the nutrition coming from it.

Carbohydrates are mostly broken down in the mouth with salivary enzymes. If we aren't chewing our food and breaking it down (even a little) then our stomach has to work that much harder down the line, and if you have low stomach acid (more on that next week) then forget about it -you are gonna have some bloat/gas for sure!

--Here's your homework--

This week really focus on the steps below for meal/snack times and see how you feel compared to how you usually feel after eating. For many people out there these few and EASY steps can make a HUGE difference in the bloating, gas, indigestion etc that you usually feel.

1. Sit down instead of standing

2. Say a prayer or take a few deep breaths and relax

3. Take a small bite

4. Set your fork/spoon down in between bites

5. Chew really well before swallowing

Comment below with what you've noticed trying these tips out.