Best kept secrets for better digestion!
Why am I talking about having better digestion in the first place?
Great question!
We all know that suffering from digestive problems such as gas, bloating, reflux, stomach cramps, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease can seriously hinder our daily functioning and make us miserable. Sadly, about 74% of our population struggles with some form or level of gut issues.
Your gastrointestinal tract (GI) tract acts as your body’s food processor and if it’s blocked, overloaded, polluted with toxins such as food additives, pesticides and preservatives, or otherwise irritated, it is going to let you know how it feels by having one of the reactions listed above.
Your GI tract first breaks down your food by the mechanical process of chewing and then by a multitude of complex chemical processes that extracts nutrients to feed your system and expel toxins.
The best way to ensure that we are helping make it easy for our bodies to digest our food is to chew A LOT so that our food mixes with our digestive juices so it can be easily digested and better absorbed for optimal nutrition.
So what is my best kept secret to better digestion?
CHEWING!
Believe it or not chewing is one of the most important aids to our digestion and it’s also one we often take for granted so much so that we sometimes just swallow our food whole, forgetting to grind our teeth altogether! If I’m not careful and I’m in a hurry…I nearly swallow my food whole! Talk about making my digestive system work extra hard!
Learning how to chew your food properly (up to 30 times per bite) will help you extract the maximum nutrients from your food and get your digestive juices flowing right AND help keep your weight down and your tummy flat.
How? Because if you eat healthy food packed with nutrients that you chew properly with each bite, you will be able to recognize once you feel full and you will therefore eat less!
My clients find that learning how-to chew helps to:
How to chew better for optimal digestion:
To get in the habit of chewing, try chewing each bite of food at the beginning of your next meal 30 times. (Putting your fork down and breathing between bites will help.)
Even if you only have 5 minutes for a meal, let the chewing relax you and use it almost as time to take a mental break. That way you’ll enjoy the whole spectrum of the food…use ALL of your senses if you can: taste the individual flavors, smell the aromas, notice the colors and textures that make up the meal, trigger cephalic phase digestion, and your body and brain will be satisfied even with a quick meal.
What do I do now?
In my health coaching practice, I help clients understand why they eat in a rush and forget to chew and we come up with a how-to guide for chewing that is easy to implement and turns eating into a whole new enjoyable experience.
Let me know if I can support you in your personalized journey to optimal health and your most vibrant life!
Deniece Krebs
#DNADetective
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