Tiny choices with big impacts

What you eat is important but how & when you eat is just as impactful on the way you feel after each meal. If you frequently experience fatigue, brain fog, bloating, gas or heartburn after your meals, try making a few of the tiny changes below. They might seem too simple to make difference but don’t let them fool you… they do have the power to make you feel lighter, more energized and more grounded after meals.

Eat AT regular times

As most as you can, eat your meals at the same times each day so that your body knows when to produce ⁣⁣digestive enzymes and acids in time for digesting & pulling the nutrients of your upcoming meal.

EAT COOKED VS. Raw foods

Cold, raw food makes your digestion cold and weak. That’s when you experience problems like gas, bloating, indigestion, acid reflux, and constipation. Simply eating warm, cooked food will keep your digestion and metabolism strong! Fruit is an exception — you can enjoy it cooked (e.g. stewed apples) but also raw as long as they are eaten, in both cases, in between meals on their own to prevent mixing & fermenting with other foods.

SIP ON WARM DRINKS WITH FOOD

Sipping small amounts of warm water or ginger tea with a meal will support your digestion.⁣⁣ Cold, sparkling beverages (yes, all types) will damper your digestion and make it harder for your gut to breakdown the foods you eat.

COOK WITH SPICES

Cooking with spices makes the food more digestible which enables your digestive system to pull more nutrients from the foods you eat and therefore, create more energy. So have fun with ginger, turmeric, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, asafoedita, nutmeg, cinnamon etc.

EAT ONLY WHEN RELAXED

When we eat in a disturbed or busy environment, on the run, driving, or when we’re stressed, angry, or upset, we cannot adequately digest our food and receive the most nutritionally from our meal! When we’re in these states of stress our sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, which is responsible for the famous “flight or fight response.” In this state our digestive powers are subdued, as our body goes into survival-mode, and a cascade of hormones are released, including large amounts of adrenaline. Your body is less concerned with digesting food than it is surviving the perceived threat that started the response in the first place.

CHECK YOUR PORTIONS

Digestion takes up a lot of energy so larger portions will make you more tired as your gut is trying to digest all the food. Eat no more than what would fit in 2 cupped handfuls at every meal — this is how much you should be eating to feel satisfied, but not full. ⁣⁣⁣Ideally, you want to fill up your stomach two-thirds, while leaving one-third for digestion. Your stomach churns the food you eat for digestion, and if there is no room, you will experience stomach upset and excessive burping or heartburn. If you feel heavy after eating, it might be because you’re completely filling your stomach.⁣⁣⁣
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IF YOU ATE TOO MUCH

If you ate too much, a very short walk after a meal can be highly beneficial or try lying on your left side for 5 to 15 minutes after your meal. Lying on your left side encourages gravity to help the digestive process.