Digestion + Health Tips

Osteoporosis Webinar Course Available! (click to purchase)

If you have problems with digestion, it is important to find out what is causing the problem.  Chronic indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome etc., will prevent you from absorbing important nutrients into your blood stream.  It is not normal to feel bloated after meals or to produce uncomfortable gas regularly.  It is not normal to be constipated or to have diarrhea or constant belching.  Everyone experiences gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms from time to time but chronic GI conditions can cause bone loss and other conditions due to nutrients not being absorbed.

Sometimes your GI problem can resolve itself quickly once the cause is figured out.  Unfortunately, if you rely on western medicine to do this you will often wind up using medication to treat the symptoms rather than finding and fixing the underlying problem. Below is a list of a few of the reasons people experience GI symptoms.

• Lack of enzyme or hydrochloric acid production
• Food allergies
• Celiac disease (autoimmune condition)
• Crohn’s disease
• Poor food choices – including drinking coffee on an empty stomach

Come to the Webinar tomorrow night to learn about GI problems and what you can do.

Eat until you are 80% full

In Okinawa, Japanese elders have a simple saying for their eating philosophy;

“Hara Hachi Bu” which translates into “ Eat until you are eight parts full”.

Okinawans have the longest life expectancy on the planet. Supplement companies continue to sell coral calcium and other nutrients to us boasting that if we just take this supplement maybe we will enjoy the long, health life expectancy of Okinawans, who often live until 100 years of age.

Let’s examine the idea of eating until you are 80% full.  This means that you have to be present when eating, tuning into your body to see when it is full.  Obviously your health also depends on your food choices and being aware of that as well.  In my opinion it is not possible to eat bad food choices daily unless we are simply not present. Through a mindful meditation practice, I have become much more aware of my entire experience of eating, from choosing food to digesting and eliminating it. Being a mindful eater also means knowing that the stomach’s stretch receptors take approximately 20 minutes to inform the body how full the stomach actually is. Therefore when we stop at the recommended 80% capacity, we are leaving space in the stomach for our gastric juices to work.

Eating meditation – adapted from mindfulness meditation exercises that I have learned over the years from my wonderful teachers. This is a simple yet profound exercise to increasing your awareness while nourishing your body.

Have one meal a day without any distractions.  This means no radio, TV, reading, or conversation, so that you are basically eating in silence.

• First begin by noticing what you are choosing to eat and then notice the potions you put on your plate.
• Take a few deep breaths before beginning to eat.
• Start to eat – notice how the food feels in the mouth, fully chewing and swallowing each bite.
• Notice when you are approximately 80% full and stop eating.  If you decide not to stop eating, notice what it feels like to eat more.
• Another eye opener is to do this practice with a meal that you know you would be better off not eating, such as a candy bar or a café latte.  While we all know that moderation is key, it is helpful to explore the chronic food habits we have that we consume too frequently.

This practice has helped many of my patients since it is so simple.  We are so rushed in our society that we rarely take the time to fully appreciate the entire eating and nourishing process.  This is not a practice designed to make you feel bad about what you are eating, but rather to feel connected with your food.  If we are more connected with the food we eat, we tend to make healthier choices and eat portions that are smaller.

Be gentle with yourself and notice if you are judging yourself.  I often think that the judging mind will start the process of making yet another bad food choice.