It starts with your mouth:
Yes that's right, it all starts wit the act of chewing, and the production of saliva. Saliva has two jobs, its a lubricant and also is where the first enzyme shows up to help break down your food. The more you chew your food, the less work that the rest of your digestive system has to do, it is important to practice mindful eating:
Do- choose high quality food, chew slowly, think about what you are eating, consider the flavour and texture with each bite.
Don't- swallow food too fast, eat while on the run or doing other things such as TV/Phone.
After the mouth, the food moves through the oesphagus and into the stomach:
There are two sphincters or "stops" in the stomach, one at the start and one at the end, the job of these stops are to reduce the likelihood of any of the digestive juices escaping. These juices help with digestion , in particular protein!
Want to boost your digestive enzymes, here are some great options:
- Mushrooms, Bananas, Apples, Rice and Sweet Potatoes
- Consider taking a digestive enzyme support - YOR health do a great option.
- Try to include raw foods in your diet
- When eating fruit, try to eat it on its own, or at least 1 hour before other meals.
Next we move to the small intestine:
This is where a large amount of the absorption of nutrients take place, bile is secreted at this point from the liver and pancreas.
The large intestine:
Really this is where what is left gets a look in, any food that wasn't absorbed, fibres that don't break down etc that get prepared for elimination.
These key parts of digestion are usually where we start looking if someone is suffering from digestive issues. Are you chewing your food properly? Is your body able to digest and absorb the food and nutrients correctly and are you eliminating waste at an appropriate amount?
Do you suffer from indigestion? reflux? Try the tips above.