“Prevent trouble before it arises. Put things in order before they exist. The giant pine tree grows from a tiny sprout.
The journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet.”
~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Get off on the right foot this New Year by making a commitment to tuning up your digestion. A digestion tune up is important for your digestive system to performs at its optimum potential so that your body receives its needed nutrients and adequately eliminates itself of waste. Unfortunately, the modern diet, with all its medications and stress are causing a burden to your system of digestion resulting in malnutrition, toxic overload and lack of proper elimination. We’re beginning to correlate a growing number of health concerns directly and indirectly surfacing from how we treat our digestive system.
WELLNESS COMMITMENT #4 DIGESTION TUNE UP
Strategy 1. Chew, chew and then chew some more. Give your jaw and teeth a bit more of a workout by completely taking the time to chew your food. Try chewing each bite a minimum of 20 times before swallowing. Digestive enzymes in your saliva will have more time to start breaking down your food. Not only will your digestion improve but you will become more present with what you are eating and avoid consuming food without really thinking about it.
Strategy 2. Be in a state of relaxation. Once you are served or sit down to consume your meal and pause a moment to silently give gratitude for the bounty your are about to receive. You may just want to stop take a couple of deep breaths before diving in. This practice of pausing changes your internal chemistry and enhances your body’s ability to digest and assimilate your food better.
Strategy 3. Don’t over eat or constantly eat – 60-70% of our immune system is located in our gastrointestinal tract. If you overeat, or are constantly eating, you keep your immune system constantly under attack and in a state of overdrive and overwhelm. When this happens it is so busy and snowed under on the front lines that it can’t find the time to take care of business in other sites around the body.
If you find that you have a tendency to overeat try to get in the habit of placing your fork down between bites. The more time it takes for you to eat your meal the more time you give your body’s satiation mechanism the ability to kick in and alert you that you’re full.
Strategy 4. Feast daily on whole, plant-based, nutrient-dense foods and eliminate refined sugar and processed foods.
Digestion is going to happen one way or another, but how it happens is up to you. Make 2015 your year of optimum digestion and amazing wellness!!!