For humans, swallowing hunks of food (or foods that have been chewed very little) can result in indigestion, gas, bloating, constipation, GERD, heartburn, belching and more. Even eating too quickly and ‘swallowing air’ can result in gas and indigestion. There is nothing comfortable nor attractive about these symptoms … for you or anyone around you. Plus poor digestive health can mean less energy, poor memory and immune system, and is even linked to mental illness.
Have you ever watched people eat? Try this once — look around you at a restaurant, lunch spot, coffee shop, at co-workers eating at their desk or at your own dinner table. We pick up giant sandwiches and rip off a hunk, chew a couple times and then force a swallow. Or we shove in huge forkfuls of food, chew two or three times and then shove in the next bite before we are even finished with the last; washing it down with big gulps of liquid rather than chewing it all up.
We do this all while paying more attention to our phones, computers, books and television than the food we are eating. Heck, I’m totally guilty of this too!
The bottom line is to chew your food well and eat slowly. That simple act can cure you from a lot of pain and embarrassment, not to mention a better functioning body.
But don’t stop there, keep reading for more tips which will help you manage your digestion process:
Chewing is one of the first steps of digestion, but the steps you take prior to taking that first bite matter more than we ever realized before. The salivary glands act first. Putting food in your mouth willy-nilly doesn’t allow these glands to begin their secretion process, which is an important step in breaking down our food. The simple act of being mindful and thankful for our food prior to that first bite sets our system up for success.
Here are the top tips that aid in digestion and will set you apart from the gators and the snakes:
1. Use all your senses! See, smell, taste and even imagining your food will kick the salivary glands into motion.
2. Chew, chew, chew, chew. This gives your stomach an opportunity to properly prepare and aids digestion by breaking the food down into tiny particles. If you struggle with eating fast, set down your fork in-between bites to slow you down.
3. Take smaller bites. Often our struggles begin with huge bites of food. It’s hard to eat slow and fully chew when our mouths are too full from the start.
4. Take a probiotic or eat fermented foods daily. Probiotics are live microorganisms (in most cases, bacteria) that are used to prevent and alleviate conditions that affect the gastrointestinal tract.
5. Stay hydrated but drink water away from meals. Over-drinking while eating can dilute the digestive juices. Drink most of your water (and other liquids) away from meal time to keep the process running smoothly.
Remember, don’t attack your food!
Our digestion system is the basis of our entire being. How we eat is as important as what we eat and can mean the difference between our bodies being able to assimilate nutrients or not. One leads to a happy, healthy life and one doesn’t, we can learn a bit from it!
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