Where to Start for Better Digestion
Talking digestion today. And mainly, answering a question I got the other day in regards to healing digestion."Where do I start with healing my digestion?"
I think the person who asked this question was taken aback with my answer... because it was so simple, so easy to start implementing, and doesn't take long to see results.
Here was my response..."Do you relax before meals? Do you take a few deep breaths to get into digestive mode?"
Like I said, probably not what you expect when you ask how to start healing digestion. Maybe you would expect to hear something along the lines of drinking a shot of apple cider vinegar each morning, or eliminating dairy or gluten. But before any of the other things, my first thing when talking to clients about digestion is addressing their stress.
Parasympathetic vs Sympathetic
Let me take you back to basic anatomy & physiology for a sec. Or if you never took A&P, think back to your basic health chapter in biology. Your body is always in one of two modes...sympathetic or parasympathetic.
Your sympathetic nervous system controls your "fight or flight" response. It's that system that kicks in when you need to flee from danger or when you need the strength to fight for your life. It's also the system that kicks in with stressful times in your life...maybe you lost your job and are stressed to find another. Maybe you're planning a wedding and trying to tie together all the loose ends.Stress is normal and a natural part of life. There's nothing wrong with it! But, the problem lies when stress remains unaddressed, when you live in a state of chronic stress. When you don't have coping mechanisms in place to deal with that stress that help your body get back to relax mode.
That brings us to your parasympathetic mode.
Your parasympathetic nervous system is the system that your body USUALLY should be in. It's your rest and digest mode. It's your 'default' mode where every body system works to the best of its ability. Parasympathetic responses can be kept up without your body growing fatigued, whereas your body can only handle so much of the sympathetic nervous system response before things begin to suffer...mainly your reproductive system & DIGESTIVE SYSTEM!Your body wasn't made to be in sympathetic mode long term.
Stress and digestion
Ok, so how does any of this have to do with digestion?Read up a couple lines and you'll get a clue.When your body is in sympathetic response, it's all about what is most necessary to get to safety. Your reproductive system isn't needed for safety...actually, it's best you don't produce another human when you're main objective is to take care of your own body. And your body doesn't want to waste precious energy digesting food during this state either. Yes, digestion is necessary for nutrients for energy. But, again, the objective isn't to be in sympathetic response for long, so digestion can wait. There's more pressing things at hand...decreasing stress.
Practices for decreasing stress with digestion
So, that's how stress affects digestion. Now how can we actively decrease stress around mealtimes to help out our awesome digestive systems so they don't suffer and you don't suffer?I encourage clients to do a couple of things before they sit down for a meal to help with stress around mealtimes. And I realize these things aren't always possible if you're a busy mom with three kids running around all the time or you're a busy working woman and have such a limited lunch break...I've been there!But these practices are SO SO SO important and really don't take much time. And again, the benefit is so drastic and life changing if you've been suffering from painful digestion, bloating, and other woes.
1. Make cooking an enjoyable experience.
So one of my absolute favorite things is cooking when I have time and can enjoy the process! And I believe this is such an important part of being able to connect with your food and being mindful with eating! But I know not everyone can take an hour to cook a meal every day. I know I definitely can't. But even with a quick 20-30 minute meal, I always try to enjoy the process! Part of that for me means putting my apron on (I always feel more in the "cooking mode" with an apron on), pouring a glass of wine or kombucha, and putting on some fun music that matches my mood (sometimes jazzy, slow, acoustic, and other times belt out at the top of your lungs music...just depends :) ). Whatever makes you happy, incorporate that into your cooking process!
2. Set your table in a visually appealing way.
Clear your table of papers, keys, or whatever else has cluttered it. Actually eat at your table as often as you can (sometimes Netflix couch meals are needed, don't get me wrong). Setting your table in a way that helps you destress is going to help you get ready to digest. Maybe you place some fresh cut flowers in a vase in the center. Or keep it simple and just lay out your plates with utensils. Making your eating environment an enjoyable place is going to help you get ready to absorb all the nutrients in a non-stressful way.
3. Take some deep breaths, pray, meditate.
I know I'm as guilty as the rest of us of sitting down for a meal and not even sparing a minute before digging in. But taking time to sit down, relax your muscles, take deep breaths, and even pray has such an impact on whether your body stays in sympathetic mode versus relaxing into parasympathetic and getting ready for digestion. This is a practice that, if you can't do any of the others or you forget everything else, I hope you'll start to implement! Because taking deep breaths is, in my opinion, the best thing you can do to start moving towards healing your digestion! So, where are you at? I know that a lot of my struggles with digestion and not feeling comfortable physically with what I was eating as I began to move towards eating all the foods and not restricting fell to the wayside when I began to implement these practices into my own life.
Your turn...I would love to hear from you! What things do you do to help destress around mealtimes? Is this a foreign concept to you? How are you going to start to implement these simple practices into your own life? Let me know in the comments below!