 Digestion
Do’s & Don'ts - Good Habits to Keep Your Systems in
Check
By Norma J Hope of Cleanse Works - Life Synergy
If you suffer from gas, bloating, bad breath, indigestion, heartburn or
other digestive symptoms, then healthy digestion is just not happening. The
house you live in depends on a strong foundation of the building itself;
especially the basement foundation. Your digestive system includes your
colon - it is your essential basement foundation of health. Toxins cause 90
percent of disease. The system backs up due to poor digestion brought on by
stress, poor food choices, non absorbable nutrients in our food due to
chemicals used in growing, and many other factors, society driven or not.
When I started cleansing years ago, I also needed new habits. Here are my
simple do’s and don’ts:
1) No Liquids with Meals - Digestion begins in the mouth as you start to
chew. It can also start when you smell what’s cooking. The digestive enzymes
and juices in your saliva start the digestive process - they are produced
through chewing. If you drink any fluids those juices and enzymes are
diluted or simply washed away.
Suggestion: No liquids (including water) for a half hour before you eat,
while eating and for at least two hours after you eat. Still, drink half
your body weight in ounces daily though.
2) Chew Your Food - Your teeth have always been meant for chewing your food.
Chewing your food really well increases the amount of digestive juices so
your enzyme rich saliva is what is used to break down foods. Absorption of
essential nutrients depends on the food being a mushy consistency when you
swallow. Your stomach does not have teeth.
Suggestion: Chew your food really well - 50 times per mouthful. Chewing more
makes you produce more saliva so you won’t need liquids to swallow. Put your
fork down between mouthfuls.
3) Eat When Calm - Not in a hurry or when stressed. This is the toughest for
most, including me. Resist the urge to wash the food down and go. Your gut
does have a mind of its own. It is called the “Enteric Nervous System”. It
is the second brain of your body. Researchers have proven this system sends
and receives impulses, records experiences and responds to emotions just
like the brain in your head. It is located in the sheaths of tissue lining
your esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. This is your digestive
system.
Suggestion: Savour each bite, chew slowly, really taste. When relaxed
conditions are not possible, eat sensible with food combining in mind, such
as a smoothy or cooked vegetables.
4) Simple Food Combining - The most important thing you are missing are
insoluble fibre + water. The rest is easy. Food combining can be easy or
complicated. If eating under relaxed conditions, the body tells you what it
likes or doesn’t like. The right foods will make your body hum with energy!
The wrong foods make you feel tired. Our digestion requires acid or alkaline
conditions as needed for certain types of food. If eating foods that don’t
combine well together, digestion is slowed or stopped and elimination
compromised. Breathe as you chew - put your fork down between mouthfuls.
Let’s keep it simple:
i) Fruit is best eaten in the morning before anything else. It digests
quickly, within half hour to one hour. Eat fruit alone or leave it alone
works best; especially melons.
ii) Vegetable Carbohydrates: All raw or cooked vegetables combine well
together and with other foods, except fruit. If digestion is compromised,
then eat single types at one time.
iii) Starchy Carbohydrates: (bread, potatoes, peas). Do not eat with meat
protein. The enzymatic action results in an enzyme fight inside instead of
digestion. Your typical meat and potatoes or sandwich will not digest.
iv) Fibre and Grains: I can’t say enough about this. Nuts and seeds are
great fibre (better soaked the night before). Brown rice, grains like
quinoa, barley, millet, oats are soluble fibre grains. The colon absolutely
needs insoluble fibres, and flax seed, psyllium and water are a must.
v) Protein: Beans are good with brown rice, lentils and non- starchy
veggies. Quinoa is a grain that is a complete protein; it makes me
energized, not tired. Nuts and seeds are great fibre and protein and
combines well with veggies. Meat protein slows and stops digestion. It can
take from 4 to 12 hours to digest 4 to 8 ounces of meat in the stomach. If
you want meat, proportion it like a side dish, not as the main course. Also,
don’t eat bread, pasta or potatoes with meat protein.
vi) Avoid the white stuff like potatoes, pasta, white bread, etc. Remember
as a kid you used that white glue in school. That is what the white stuff is
like when you eat it in the whole digestive tract. If you are eating these
now, cut down or out and your body will thank you. These are emotional foods
which leave us with no energy and they do not digest well for anyone.
4) Playtime and Exercise - Time out to play is more important than being in
good physical shape. Remember the Enteric Nervous System never sleeps.
Walking in the woods or by the river to relax may be all the exercise your
body needs. Walking after eating is great.
Test your system, eat some beets and see how long they take to appear in
your bowel movement. From your mouth to elimination the ideal transit time
is 18 to 24 hours; too quick is poor absorbing of nutrients, too long is
toxins fermenting. Easy rules of elimination: diarrhea like - you need more
insoluble and soluble fibre; if hard - you need more water.
Breathing while eating is essential. Conscious breathing is necessary to
relax the digestive system. Put down your fork between bites. Relax into the
exquisite taste of your meal with your own life breath.
Norma J. Hope, Certified Colon Hydrotherapist is an owner/practitioner
at Cleanse Works - Life Synergy Inc clinics in Edmonton. 780.477.1100
www.lifesynergyinc.com |
