Five Great Tips for Better Digestion

When you are stressed and exhausted, your stomach will often be the first thing that’s affected. Our digestive systems are more delicate than we often think. Often when we feel a bit unsettled, we just throw some indigestion remedies down our throats, and carry on – we don’t stop to think that it might be a symptom of stress, anxiety, exhaustion or whatever else.

What you need to do is kindle your digestive fire! When our digestive system is working well, we have energy, enthusiasm and strong immunity. When it’s low, we feel tired and wiped out. Often, it’s been so low for so long that we forget it was ever any different! So how do we stoke that fire?

Here are five top tips to help you to help your stomach:

• Eat your main meal at lunch time. Your digestive fire is higher from mid-morning until around 2pm. If you eat your main meal later, your stomach will be over-loaded and not able to cope.
• Before you eat your main meal, try a dessert spoon of organic apple cider vinegar in a little warm water. It contains essential acids which will help your stomach to digest your food. Apple cider vinegar is one of those amazing substances that has loads of different benefits. To me though, help with digestion is very much at the top of that list!
• Eat slowly and chew your food well. It sounds so simple, but we often forget that digestion starts in the mouth. If you chew your food well, it will be better digested. Try to put your cutlery down between mouthfuls; wait until you’ve chewed and swallowed what’s in your mouth before reaching for the fork again.
• Try an herbal aperitif: 1tsp of lemon juice, ½tsp grated ginger or 1tsp ginger juice, 1tsp water and a pinch of black pepper. This should get your digestive juices going!
• Don’t wash your food down with a drink while you’re eating, and try to leave at least half an hour after eating, before having a drink. Excessive liquid can over-load your stomach and make it work a lot harder.

It’s also worth noting here that if you eat more consciously, chewing well and leaving a gap between mouthfuls, you quite often end up eating less. It can take your stomach a while to get the message to your brain that it’s full. If you’re eating unconsciously, shovelling in mouthful after mouthful, it’s highly likely that you will have taken a few more mouthfuls before your brain gets the message.

We’re all so busy, busy, busy these days; we often wolf down our food in chunks whilst browsing the internet, watching TV, responding to emails, texting a friend – or all of the above! Eating is a sacred act, and we should treat it as such. If you were preparing a meal for someone else, you would set the table, switch off the TV and give them your full attention. Why do we not do this for ourselves?! Give yourself the time to sit and eat properly, to chew and enjoy your food, and to relax.

Wouldn’t it be nice to not be tired all the time, to not suffer with indigestion? Why not give these five simple tips a go, and see what happens?

Love