You are what you eat…but only if you digest it!

In other words, good digestion creates good health; poor digestion creates poor health. You can eat the BEST quality food in just the right proportion and balance, but if your digestive tract is not functioning properly, you will not gain the benefits from your good eating habits.

Let’s dive a little deeper. As soon as you put food into your mouth and begin chewing, digestive enzymes are released in the form of saliva. These enzymes are necessary to separate individual nutrients from animal or plant material so that they can be absorbed into the body. Once the food reaches the stomach, more of these enzymes are released.

No digestive enzymes = impaired absorption of nutrients into our system. We definitely don’t want that!

Here are 3 simple steps you can take to improve your digestion:

1. SLOW DOWN! In order for digestive enzymes to be produced, we have to be out of a stress state. If we are running around while eating, we won’t create the right digestive enzymes for digestion to happen. I recommend taking a few deep breaths right before eating. This simple step can make a huge difference in how we process our food!

2. Cook your food. When we cook food, our brain registers the smell and starts to actually CREATE the enzymes we need to digest the food. Preparing our own food is also super important because we actually know what’s going into our food, unlike at restaurants.

3. Limit the liquids. If you have any type of drink with your meals, keep it to a small amount – too much liquid overwhelms the digestive enzymes. Also, avoid alkaline water with meals, it really disrupts digestion.

If you experience bloating, gas, irregular bowel movements (less than one per day and no more than three to four a day) and your bowel habits do not change with dietary changes alone, further investigation is needed.

But don’t look to your gut alone to determine if your digestion is functioning properly. Did you know that if you have congested sinuses, pain anywhere, especially in your back and your joints, allergies, seasonal or otherwise, acne, or even arthritis, those symptoms are also a sign that digestive issues could be contributing to the state of your health?

You will not change your digestive issue if you do not change your eating habits. And you will not correct your health issues until you get your digestive function in proper working order.

Most of my clients come to me because of digestive issues – and other issues are often linked to digestion! If you’d like support in figuring out what’s going on with your gut, you can call or text our office at (310) 319-1122 to make an appointment. I’d love to serve you along your healing journey.