Do you want to find ways that you can improve digestion? Digestion is so important because it determines how your body utilizes the foods you eat. If your digestion is poor, you won’t get the maximum nutrients out of the food you consume. And even worse, poor digestion can lead to things like heartburn, leaky gut, and other troublesome conditions.
Be in a Calm State of Mind When You Eat
It is becoming a more know well fact that the mood you are in when you eat affects how that food impacts the body. I think this maybe the reason people began saying some type of blessing before they ate. If you’ve had a bad day or are really upset about something that has happened, some kind of slowing down (saying grace, blessing the food, a few deep breaths) helps to release those feelings and get into a more calm state. This can affect all aspects of digestion and how the food you are eating supports your body.
Chew Your Food Well
When chewing food, you break down large food particles into smaller ones so they can be digested more easily by the rest of the system and so your body can extract the most nutrients from them. The smaller the particles you swallow, the more your small intestine can absorb nutrients from the food. If you don’t chew your food well, some may go undigested and later cause problems. It is thought that larger particles may move more slowly down the digestive tract and become harmful in multiple ways.
Don’t Strenuously Exercise Right After a Big Meal
The body’s is focused on getting most amount of blood it can into the gastro-intestinal tract via the circulatory system after a big meal to facilitate digestion. Strenuous exercise right after a meal can inhibit this process. So improve digestion by avoiding strenuous exercise after a big meal.
Limit the Amount of Liquids Immediately Before and After a Meal
However, this can depend on how much liquid is in the foods you are eating and how much of your daily liquid intake you have already had. Lots of liquids before, during, or after a meal can interrupt the digestive process by diluting digestive enzymes and stomach acid needed to help break down food. Even the temperature of the liquids you consume can make a difference. Ayurveda recommends avoiding cold drinks at meals and ice-cold foods in general.
Go to Sleep at Least 2 Hours after Eating
This will give your body enough time after eating to digest the food and will help eliminate any digestion issues. Part of the reason behind this is blood sugar, which tends to spike after a meal. The body will need a few hours after eating to normalize blood sugar levels.
Try Consuming Prebiotic and/or Fermented Foods with Each Meal
Eating prebiotic and fermented foods with your meal can actually help you improve digestion. This is because foods like raw sauerkraut, miso, and tempeh, have contain a hearty number of digestive enzymes as well as beneficial bacteria that can help your body absorb essential nutrients. We all know the importance of probiotics. Prebiotics are food for the probiotics. They are available as supplements and occur naturally in foods such as Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, onion, leek, jicama, carrots and dandelion.
Take A Nice Short Walk after a Meal
A 2009 study conducted by researchers at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, found that a 20-minute walk about ten to fifteen minutes after dinner helped Type 2 diabetics regulate their blood sugar levels. A 2008 study in Germany found that the spedd the rate at which food moved through the stomach was quicker after a slow walk. Other studies have found that walking has a significant effect on blood sugar after meals. Blood sugar typically rises and then falls after eating, but large spikes and variations can raise cardiovascular risk and potentially signal diabetes.
Other Things to Help Improve Digestion
In general, there are also other things you can do to help improve digestion. These include slowing down while you eat, eating vegetables with every meal, taking digestive enzymes, and not drinking coffee right after a meal. The only one of these that is not bio-individual, is slowing down while you eat. I’m guessing that most of us have found ourselves eating while driving, working, or watching TV. This isn’t good. Slow down and take time to chew and focus on the benefits of the food we are consuming. The benefits of digestive enzymes, eating vegetables and not drinking coffee can vary depending on your age, metabolism, and food sensitivities.