Do you suffer from IBS, gas/wind, constipation, acid reflux, heartburn, sluggish digestion, low energy or bloating? If you answered yes to any condition just stated then you need to read this article.
But, before I get into the bulk of this article I want you to understand what happens when you let your digestion stay bad for any length of time. I will start with a little story about gas/wind. Gas/wind is the first sign that you are not digesting your food properly. However, it is normal and natural to pass gas in the morning upon awakening and with the first morning stool. Any time after that is when you know your digestion is not good. When gas/wind occurs throughout your day and does for any length of time then the air (which is the gas) moves deeper into the tissue and generally goes into the joints. Your joints will start to pop and there will be pain in some of them. Then, if you still don’t take care of the gas it will move even deeper into the nervous system and create tremors, restlessness and forgetfulness. In old age you will be at a higher risk of getting conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. These are both long term air in the system that was not taken care of.
Now that you have a good idea of what can happen to your body if you have gas/wind lets look at other habits that lead to poor digestion.
Here are the most common reason’s why we don’t digest our food and ways to start digesting again.
Chew your food. If you don’t chew your food until it is of even consistency (there is no magic number of times) you will see food particles in the stool and you will be leaving the stomach to do all the digesting (which is why you see food particles in the stool). Things that pull us away from chewing enough are; talking, watching television, work, computer, and reading. If your digestion is not good and you know you do one or more of the things that lead to poor digestion then my suggestion is that you stop and put yourself in a quiet environment where all you will be doing is eating. Nothing else, just eating.
Eat when you are hungry. If you aren’t hungry when you eat you are asking the body to come up with enzymes to digest the food you are putting in that are not there. I don’t care how much you want to eat, if you are not hungry you will not digest your food. This happens when you are scheduled for a lunch break and you aren’t hungry, but you think you might be hungry later so you eat. You will get gas/wind from doing this and your health will suffer.
Food combining. Food combining can contribute to poor digestion because certain food items should not be eaten together. A real common combination that a lot of people do is raw food with cooked food. It takes a certain enzyme to digest raw food and a whole different enzyme to digest cooked food. When your digestion is not good and you eat both raw and cooked foods together you are creating problems for your body especially when it’s cold outside. In order for our bodies to digest raw food we need to cultivate and produce an enzyme that is not easy to cultivate if you are living in a cold climate. In warmer climates, raw foods are generally not an issue for most people, but cold climates require foods to be cooked in order to digest it properly. This includes fruits. Having a desert of fruit after a cooked meal will only create gas. This is because of the difference in enzymes. Fruit should be eaten between meals to allow for proper digestion and never, ever with a meal (unless you have cooked it).
Another combination of foods that don’t do well together are proteins with proteins or carbohydrates with carbohydrates. You only need one of each in a meal. You will experience heaviness if you put two proteins together and/or two carbohydrates together in the same meal. Proteins are any meat item including fish and vegetable proteins such as beans and lentils and dairy that includes cheese and milk. Make sure you only have one of these items in your meal. Proteins are the heaviest food items to digest and eating one in a meal should be more than enough.
Two carbohydrates together will also be hard for the body to digest. A complex carbohydrate is a grain in it’s whole form (white rice, brown rice, oats, quinoa, barley, millet, amaranth). A simple carbohydrate includes bread, pasta, cereal or couscous. Combining any of these carbs together will create problems in the body. Again, you only need one in your meal and if digestion is a problem then I suggest you stick to your complex carbohydrate.
Clearing up any digestive problem will help your body absorb the nutrients from the food and leave you feeling good. You should be getting energy from your meals, not heaviness. Simplify your diet if everything you eat seems to create problems for you and seek out the advise of a health coach to support you and give you advise while you make changes to your diet. Digestive problems need not be something you have to struggle with your whole life. They can be gone within days when you are diligent about getting your health back on track.
www.ayurvedaclinic.ie
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