5 Ways to Stoke Your Digestive Fire

Our body is not just the sum of its parts, but rather operates as an entire system. Symptoms that occur in one area of the body may be caused by imbalance in an entirely different system. Everything is connected. The center of the connection is the digestive system (gut). The digestive system is the first stage of nourishing the body. Its purpose is to bring nutrients to every cell. “When this does not occur, we feel tired and sluggish, cannot think clearly, and begin to develop symptoms of illness”. The digestive system runs our metabolism, makes vitamins, and communicates with every other cell in the body. In addition, the gut manufactures more neurotransmitters (80-90% of serotonin) than the brain. The gut must be healthy for us to be healthy. When the digestive system malfunctions, all of the other body systems can become ill and stop functioning properly.

1. Stay hydrated drinking clean water. Water helps rid the body of waste and prevents constipation. Drinking too little water slows down the digestive system. Drink water about 20 minutes before a meal, which may make you feel full. Often people confuse hunger with thirst.

2. Nourish your body with whole foods. Consumption of highly processed, high sugar, and low fiber foods dramatically change the bacteria of the digestive tract. Focus on fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. These not only provide the necessary nutrients to the body, but also provide much needed fiber, which protects the colon.

3. Chew your food at least 20 times and eat in a calm, relaxed setting. Healthy digestion begins with chewing. We chew to increase the surface area of food and to activate digestive enzymes in the mouth so that our digestive system does not have to work so hard. A relaxed setting keeps us from being distracted and overeating. It also stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).

4. Move. Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress, prevent infection, and maintain blood sugar levels. Find something you enjoy doing and do it most days of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes. Exercise speeds up digestion, helps to lower stress, tones the GI muscles, and circulates nutrients to cells.
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5. Use supplements like digestive enzymes and probiotics. Digestive enzymes can significantly reduce gas and bloating caused by the fermentation of partially digested food. Probiotics help to replenish our intestinal flora (beneficial bacteria). Flora play a role in our ability to fight infections (70% of our immune system is in our gut).


References:
Bartholomy, P. (2008). General guidelines to support digestive wellness. Hawthorn University.
Lipski, E. (2012). Digestive wellness (4th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

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