Digestion, I believe, is often seen as a ‘taboo-like’ subject: a subject that, for many, causes them to feel embarrassment to share any details. It is perhaps for this reason that digestion is widely misunderstood. Because of this, I not only want to share some useful information with you but also share an experience of my own.\r\n\r\nRewind back to 2016, I was a primary school teacher working in the ‘business-end’ of the school – year 6: SATS year. Amongst other leadership commitments, the pressure placed upon me and my team of teachers was enormous & difficult to manage; stress, as you can probably gather, was high!\r\n\r\nOutside of my work, I loved to work out and exercise not only in a gym environment but also across multiple sports. I had a specific focus towards building muscle tissue, and at the time, I was eating a surplus of 4000 calories each day. What I did not know or ceased to recognise was the impact that this was having on my digestion.\r\n\r\nEach day, I was consuming more calories than what was probably necessary and expecting a an already compromised digestive system to handle it. Because of this, I was experiencing a lot of discomfort: bloating, aches, gas & irregular toilet breaks. This probably wasn’t helped by periods of ‘holding it in’ due to a perceived lack of time in my day. I, like so many others, was choosing to ignore these signs & symptoms that my body was portraying.\r\n\r\nFortunately, for me, I recognised that this wasn’t normal and with support, I was able to make necessary changes. Now, the true reason I wanted to share that with you is because I know that you might be experiencing and/or have experienced the same.\r\n\r\nHigher amounts of stress are present in our daily lives due to increased pressures to not only work longer hours but to perform with a greater number of responsibilities. For this reason, it’s not surprising that the majority of the people, who I work with, have some underlying concerns surrounding digestion, stress and/or sleep.\r\n\r\nTake a moment to ask yourself these short questions:\r\na) Is your digestion functioning normally currently?\r\nb) How would you know? (Do you know what normal digestion looks like?)\r\nc) What steps could you take this week to improve it?\r\n\r\nAnyone who suffers from poor digestion certainly doesn’t like the discomfort and potential embarrassment it can lead to. But often, simply down to poor understanding and misguided information, we turn to pharmaceutical remedies to help solve the symptom – not necessarily the cause.\r\n\r\nBecause of this, let me share with you some key considerations to improving your digestion.\r\n\r\n1. Manage your stress\r\nHopefully, my example has highlighted the importance of this.\r\n\r\nFailure to manage your stress can lead to symptoms of IBS; increased insulin resistance; increased abdominal fat storage; and reduced absorption of key nutrients – just to name a few. Failing to manage your stress will most probably result in poor digestion, and if your goal is to not only look better but feel better, you must act to solve this.\r\n\r\nJust a few strategies to manage your stress:\r\nI. Be organised – plan your day in advance: schedule time for you\r\nII. Nasal breathing – focus on ‘how’ you breathe throughout the day: mouth breathing is synonymous with a heightened stress state\r\nIII. Meditation, Yoga, Controlled Breathing Exercises\r\nIV. Journaling – daily gratitude & brain dumps\r\nTo outline a more thorough approach to stress management is beyond the scope of today’s text but consider finding what works for YOU.\r\n\r\n2. Be present with your food\r\nOne problem I always found; I was always ‘too busy’ to eat (or so I thought). This often led to a suppressed appetite or me simply scoffing my dinner in the quickest possible time.\r\n\r\nBeing present with your food by smelling it and actually tasting it is a proven strategy for increased satiety. The process referred to as retro-nasal olfaction causes signals to be sent to the brain that register the thought of being well-nourished: this will support your ability to make better choices later in the day & work towards removing the need to snack.\r\n\r\nNot only that, being present with your food and the process of looking forward to it, causes your digestive system to prepare appropriately – saliva is produced in the mouth and gastric juices secreted in the stomach: all of which contains the necessary enzymes to break down your food & absorb it.\r\n\r\n3. Chew your food\r\nReally? Yep, really! Alongside being present with your food is the importance of chewing your food. Most people rush the eating process which can cause digestive distress and an inability for food to be efficiently digested. Spend longer at the dinner table rather than swallowing foods whole!\r\n\r\nA simple challenge: ever tried to chew one mouthful of food between 20-30 times? Give it a go – it’s not easy!\r\n\r\n4. You aren’t what you eat, but you are what you digest, absorb and assimilate\r\nAre you aware of foods that cause you discomfort? Do you actively remove these?\r\n\r\nDoes your diet include too many pro-inflammatory foods? This could include foods such as caffeine, dairy, gluten etc.\r\nEveryone is different but tracking how your body responds to certain foods can be a useful practice to determining which foods should either be eliminated or limited from your diet. Don’t ignore simple signs and symptoms – this is usually your body’s ‘cry for help’.\r\n\r\nIf you’re suffering from symptoms such as bloat, you can expect that your digestion is functioning sub-optimally. This means that your ability to absorb what you eat is likely compromised: this will likely lead to increased hunger and poorer energy.\r\n\r\n\r\nConclusion\r\nYour ability to achieve a healthier and better you will be impacted by not only what you eat & the amounts you eat, but also by how well you digest food.\r\n\r\nIt all starts with action! If you want help to identify the necessary steps and to receive the accountability of a coach to oversee this process, please be sure to reach out and enquire about our coaching services.