Our body is a temple. We have to treat it with the respect that it deserves. No matter how hard we try, we can’t make our bodies work at our command. We should appreciate it for what it does for us and not for what we want from it. The most important thing in the world is to have a healthy and happy stomach. It is the pillar of our health.
Digestion is essential to human health. It’s how our bodies break down the food we eat into nutrients that we can use to survive and thrive.
It’s also a very complicated process, with many steps involved, some of which are still not fully understood, and therefore some degree of room for error along the way.
So we need to understand how digestion works and what can go wrong with it so that we can avoid problems and live longer, healthier lives.
Most of us eat multiple times per day, and how we digest our food is one of the clearest signs our body communicates to us about our gut health. Often we overlook some of the indications we are given that something might be a bit off. Our gastrointestinal tract is referred to as the second brain with good reason.
Digestion starts in the mouth. If you’re not chewing well, you’re not digesting well.
A lot of people have trouble with digestion because they don’t chew enough, or they don’t chew well. It’s important to understand that every time you put something in your mouth, it’s an opportunity to digest food in a way that will make it easy for your body to use the nutrients from it.
Chewing helps release enzymes from your saliva. When you swallow food without chewing well, those enzymes aren’t released, so the food can get stuck in the rest of your digestive tract.
If food isn’t properly broken down before it reaches your stomach and small intestine (the part of your gut where nutrients are absorbed), it’ll just pass through without being absorbed.
Signs you have poor digestion:
- Bloated, gassy regularly
- Uncomfortable or lethargic after meals
- Heartburn/acid reflux
- Weight gain
- Undigested food in stool
The act of digestion itself refers to how our bodies break down foods and absorb nutrients. Digestion begins in the mouth as enzymes in saliva begin to break down the food you are eating as you chew. After you swallow, the hydrochloric acid in the stomach begins to churn the food about in the stomach to break it down further before move through to the rest of the digestive tract.
Easy digestion also results in more intense burns, so higher calorie consumption, good nutrient uptake, good elimination of toxins but also an efficient use of resources, with high chances that the body will not start making chaotic deposits of fat.
And here are the 9 gold rules that you must strictly adhere to for a proper digestive.
1. Awareness
Awareness of the act of eating is essential for proper digestion. Eating in front of the TV should be avoided while reading or doing any other activities that distract us.
Most of the time we get to eat more than we need when we are not careful.
Another extremely important factor for correct digestion is sufficient chewing of food. It is ideal to chew each mouthful at least 20-30 times, so it is best to chew until you feel that no solid part remains.
2. Learn How to Combine Foods Properly for a Proper Digestion
It is very important because some foods may even be beneficial for digestion but the unfortunate combination makes it difficult.
It must be known that food is not a complete product, no food can fulfill the quality of an “Ideal Food”.
Why is it important to combine food? to completely digest them. If the food reaches your intestine incomplete digested it will rot inside your body.
Thus you will have a constant source of toxic substances that poison you daily, expose you to many diseases, and develop an excellent environment for the development of harmful bacteria.
HERE are the combination rules explained in detail and organized in a very easy to use the table.
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3. Drink Water, But Not at Any Time
The body needs water to process the calories it ingests, and if we are dehydrated even a little, our metabolism slows down.
Still, you shouldn’t drink water during the meal. But half an hour before your meal and half an hour after. Hydration being essential for the body, it also influences the digestive processes.
So you need to be hydrated but not every glass of water does that. I explained HERE how to drink water properly for effective hydration.
4. Plan Your Meals Intelligently!
It helps a lot in regulating metabolism. 5 meals: 3 main meals and 2 snacks, as simple as possible, following the combination rules in point 2 and you will see the effects immediately.
When you eat rich meals, but at long intervals, you force your metabolism to slow down. Also, if you stay away all day from eating, you will surely get stuffed yourselves at dinner. Unbalanced meals and lack of movement discourage metabolic consumption.
Also, if you eat slowly, chewing gently so that the foods mix well with the saliva, they will become easier to digest.
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5. Respect the 80/20 Rule
If you’re looking to live a healthier life, it pays to get acquainted with the 80/20 rule. In the case of digestion, the 80/20 rule means that 20 percent of your food accounts for 80 percent of your nutrition.
That might seem extreme at first, but consider how much of what you eat is processed in some way: many of our meals consist of refined grains and sugars designed to taste good and give us energy at the moment, but they don’t nourish us in a lasting way.
So, if we’re serious about eating well, we should focus on eating whole foods made from natural ingredients, the type that is largely unprocessed and retain all the nutrition from their source.
Of course, when you look at it that way, the 20 percent part makes sense too. Not everything we eat should be 100% whole, we do need to give ourselves treats sometimes, even if they’re not as healthy as we’d like them to be.
The 80/20 rule means that when we do treat ourselves, it should be just a bite or two so that we don’t overwhelm our bodies with sugar or fat.
Don’t feel guilty about having fun with food, just do it in moderation!
6. Fruits Should Be Eaten Correctly
Although humans have been eating fruit for thousands of years, many people do not know how to eat this delicious, nutritious food correctly. Eating the wrong way can lead to indigestion and weight gain.
Precisely because they can make digestion difficult, the rule is to be eaten separately, as a separate meal, not together with other foods, and preferably in the first part of the day.
Eat ripe or slightly ripe fruits instead of very ripe or unripe ones. Ripe or slightly ripe fruits have fewer sugars and acid content than very ripe and unripe ones, making them easier for your body to digest and helping reduce the chance of discomfort from eating too much of them at one time or eating them on an empty stomach.
Eat in small portions throughout the day rather than in large portions all at once. This will help reduce digestive problems like bloating, nausea, belching, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation.
7. Introduction of Foods Rich in Fiber into The Diet
Fibers are the ones that most help regulate intestinal transit. A high fiber diet is essential for the proper functioning of the entire digestive system.
Moreover, the fibers give us energy and remove the feeling of fatigue, throughout the day. Lack of dietary fiber can cause diseases of the colon – constipation, irritable colon, hemorrhoids, intestinal cancer and can lead to Obesity.
The body needs 20-30 grams of fiber per day. Important to know is that high fiber foods should be introduced gradually into the diet to prevent abdominal pain and bloating.
Foods High In Fiber:
• Whole grains – rice, barley, wheat, rye
• Dehydrated fruits – dried apricots, dried plums, quince, figs, dates
• Carrots, apples, pears, bananas, apricots, peaches, nectarines
• Legumes – lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas, soy
• Oleaginous – nuts, peanuts, olives, almonds
• Cruciferous vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, white cabbage, red cabbage
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8. Do Not Consume Burning Foods
Tea, coffee, or broth consumed when burning may destroy digestive enzymes and injure the gastric mucosa. It is preferable to consume them hot.
Also, beware of very cold foods, as they slow down the activity of enzymes that play an important role in digestion.
9. Don’t Eat Anything Late at Night
Give your digestive system a break so it doesn’t get to work before sleep. Thus, your sleep will be a qualitative one and you will wake up cheerful in the morning. My advice is to eat nothing after 19:00, I have been doing this for over 7 years.
If you eat properly during the day, without exaggerating, you will wake up in the morning with a mild hunger sensation. If you do not feel hungry, it is best to drink a glass of warm water mixed with half a lemon juice, followed by a Green Smoothie.
Last Thoughts:
Good digestion is the key to good nutrition. If you eat too many fatty or acidic foods, or if you don’t chew your food properly, your digestive system will get backed up and you’ll feel like there’s a rock in your stomach.
The worst thing you can do while eating is talk and drink carbonated drinks or alcohol. This adds pressure on your stomach to perform at its peak while being distracted by conversation and squirts carbon dioxide into your stomach as you swallow.
There you have 9 gold rules for good digestion. Now build your knowledge on the subject through continuous study, observation, and personal research. Only then can you truly understand how to practice and implement these principles for yourself.
My conclusion is that keeping your body in balance through the proper digestion of food will keep you healthy and maximize your ability to process energy. If you follow the rules listed above, your stomach juices will stay strong and will be able to completely digest your meals.
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