Do you wish to enhance your digestion without having to give up your favorite foods?
According to Ayurveda, how we eat is equally as significant as what we consume. You can notice a significant impact in your digestion by making a few small modifications.
To enhance your digestion, I challenge you to put these five techniques into practice. Each day, concentrate on one behavior and keep putting what you’ve learned into practice. You should experience a healthy appetite and reduced gas, bloating, and indigestion by the end of the week.
A few thoughts on the relationship between digestion and emotions before we start. Even the best-laid plans can be derailed by emotional eating. We are socialised from an early age to use food as a calming agent and turn to snacks and sweets for solace. When you’re upset, sad, bored, or emotionally unstable, try to avoid eating. We are unable to digest food while the body is in the “fight or flight” stress reaction. In order to properly digest your food, you must engage your parasympathetic nervous system. Schedule daily time to reflect on your emotions. Try to connect with your feelings prior to using food as a coping mechanism. You could
- Mindfully Eat
Eat in a pleasant setting with enjoyable company. Give thanks for your meal; you may even close your eyes and express your thankfulness. By tapping your thumb on each finger or by inhaling through your alternate nostrils, you can stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system.
Just eat; don’t scroll, talk, or multitask. For food to be processed, our bodies require a downward energy (apana vayu). Talking activates a positive energy (udana vayu). You go back into “fight or flight” when you scroll. Enjoy each taste by using all of your senses. Chew your meal thoroughly. In the mouth, 50% of digestion takes place.
- Timing Your Meals
Your body naturally moves in rhythms. Plan your meals to coincide with this rather than conflict with it! Eat your biggest meal at lunchtime because digestion is at its best when the sun is out (or brunch). Complex carbohydrates, lipids, and protein can all be processed by your body at this time. Over the course of the day, digestive strength decreases. At least three hours before going to bed, eat a lighter dinner earlier. For optimal digestion, separate meals by at least 3 hours. Don’t eat snacks.
- Warm Food & Drinks
Eat food that is warm or at room temperature. Don’t drink a lot of liquids with your meal. With your meal, you may sip on hot water or herbal tea, but not cold drinks! Drinking something cold makes your blood vessels constrict, which hinders digestion. The natural process of absorbing nutrients during digestion is hampered by cold beverages.
Coconut oil wouldn’t be put down your drain, would it? Iced beverages also have the same impact when consumed with food. Fats coagulate in cold temperatures, slowing down digestion. If you must have a cold beverage, wait two hours after eating.
- Just Eat Fruit.
Food’s digestibility is greatly influenced by how we prepare it. Even the best foods can become poisonous when mixed incorrectly. Compared to other foods, fruit demands a particular digestion environment. At least an hour before or two hours after a meal, eat fruit on its own.
Pair similar fruits together when combining them (sweet with sweet, acid with acid). The most difficult fruits to combine—melon and banana—should be consumed separately (not even with other fruits). To learn more about mixing foods,
- Add Some Spice
A bad diet cannot be improved by adding vitamins or spices, however including digestive spices can give you that extra boost.
Spices for Vata and Kapha that are warming include fennel, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, and cayenne (neutral).
Spices for Pitta that are cooling include coriander, cilantro, cardamom, and clove.
In just one week, by following these five actions, you’ll experience improved energy and a healthier digestive system.