DIGESTION

I got this article from a highly respected Naturopathic Doctor, great information that I wanted to share. 

I am constantly learning about my guts and digestion, it is vital to our optimal health...believe it or not!

Digestion 

A strong digestion system is vital to maintaining good health throughout our lifetime.  If your body cannot properly digest and absorb nutrients and eliminate waste products, then it’s nearly impossible to achieve optimal health. However we live in a culture that does not promote mindful eating.  Instead we ingest all kinds of foods, liquids, stimulants, relaxants, drugs, etc. We expect our system to magically sort it out, absorb the good, eliminate the bad –all without any noise or complaint and leave us with lots of energy. Many of us got away with this habit for a long time.

Your gut is home to 80% of your immune system.  It has been called the second brain since it produces a large amount of our body’s serotonin.  Serotonin regulates mood, appetite and sleep and is involved in cognitive functions such as memory.

Optimizing digestion involves many factors including deciphering whether the issue is with the stomach, pancreas, gall bladder, liver or intestines.  Inflammation caused by stress, incompletely digested foods, food sensitivities, allergies and/or intolerances can all lead to inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract.  Not just physical factors impair digestion,  mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social influences can all play a role.

In addition, we are beginning to understand the important role that our intestinal bacteria play in our health and vitality.

Here are ways to help your digestive system work optimally:
 

• Eat nutrient dense foods and eliminate processed foods.  The ideal eating plan for you is individualized according to your constitution, stage in life, health history, and genetic predisposition.
• Chew your food thoroughly. Mechanical digestion takes place in the stomach.  Large particles of food can make your stomach work harder and potentially irritate the stomach lining.  Smaller particles help enzymes reach more of the food to so that it is thoroughly digested.
• Temporary elimination of foods that may be compromising your health.  Allergy testing and elimination diets can be helpful starting points.  If you cannot tolerate many foods then addressing leaky gut is essential to healing your intestines.
• Establishing eating habits that support proper digestive function.  Overeating big meals can tax the stomach and lead to hiatal hernia. Drinking a glass of water in the morning with a slice of fresh lemon can help you cleanse your liver and promote digestive secretions. Avoiding cold drinks with meals can help your digestive juices do their job of breaking down food.
• Understanding when you are truly hungry and why.  We eat for many reasons: physical hunger, emotional, environmental, social, etc.   Sometimes we can mistake thirst for hunger.  Eating with awareness of what you are eating and why and when can help break habits established over a lifetime.
• Establishing and maintaining healthy gut flora.  Recent research into the human microbiome has uncovered many illnesses that can manifest as a result of poor gut bacteria population and diversity.  Dysbiosis or low diversity of intestinal bacteria has been linked to autoimmune conditions, Type II Diabetes, irritable and inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, psoriasis, eczema, autism, and obesity.  Simply adding fermented foods regularly to your diet is very helpful and includes; kefir, yogurt, kambucha, sauerkraut, pickles, tempeh, and miso.

Remembering to be thankful for the abundance and quality of food that we have access to in Colorado can go a long way towards your journey of good health.