When we eat, in addition to what, the how is important. Eating habits is a fundamental piece to achieve good digestion and thus assimilate all the nutrients. Although we have always been told that digestion begins in the stomach, the truth is that it begins in the mouth. Therefore, when you put food in your mouth, with chewing and salivation, the process begins. It continues into the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, assisted by the gallbladder and pancreas. If you help your digestive system to perform this procedure, you will enjoy a good digestion. If you have experienced stomach pain when eating, reflux, acidity, slow digestion, bloating, etc… We recommend you to continue reading this article.
Chew slower, chew better
As we have said before, digestion begins in the mouth where we find digestive enzymes, therefore, proper chewing is vital. If the food is properly crushed, we help the saliva continue with the process. If the chewing action is incomplete, the food will be poorly digested and we will give extra work to our organs. A tip is to leave the fork every time we use it to bring the food to our mouth, so that we will chew more times. Eating seated and with a relaxed attitude will help us eat in a more leisurely way, thus resulting in slow chewing. In addition, we will taste and enjoy the food.
The temperature of the food
We will help our body to digest, if we eat food at a temperature similar to that of our body; neither too cold nor too hot. Consuming food at high or low temperatures worsens the functioning of our enzymes. The order is important. We will start by taking raw foods first, which will facilitate the digestion of the following cooked foods.
The liquids, after the meal
No water, no soft drinks, no wine. The best option is to drink a few minutes before the meal and, from an hour and a half afterwards. The reason is that if we consume liquids while we eat, (except broths) we will be dissolving the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, making it difficult to break down food.
English schedule
Advancing dinner is a success, our body will thank you the next day.
If you have dinner and immediately lie down in a horizontal position to rest, you will be making it difficult for your body to perform its digestion task. After arriving at night, an early dinner and letting two hours pass with a leisurely activity, it is recommended for the digestive system and for optimal sleep hygiene.
Balanced meals
Include raw, a lot of greens and vegetables, a small portion of protein and another of carbohydrates. A balanced meal, half raw and half cooked in the morning and only cooked at night, favors the secretion of substances that intervene in digestion. If a meal does not include all the necessary nutrients, it will be more difficult for your body to assimilate these foods.
The digestive system rests too
Digestion varies depending on each person. Surely that “listen to your body” sounds familiar to you. If you do, you will know how long it takes approximately to perform the function of digestion. Normally, it is about two hours in total and during this time we must let it work fully. Just as we cannot be efficient if we do not rest, our body is more efficient in digestion if we leave spaces between meals. When the organism does not work, it takes advantage of it to clean itself and this procedure will make your next digestion better.
Physical activity and digestion
When we do sports, our blood system puts all its attention on the muscle. If we do not let two hours pass before or after the meal to do physical exercise, the attention and disposition of our body will be distributed and with it comes the cramps. When we eat, our blood must be 100% available in digestion in order to digest food well. Therefore, it is very important to make a schedule for sports, knowing that this time frame is necessary for the body to work properly.
If you pay attention to all the points mentioned above, you will be helping your body in its digestive function. Remember that the discomfort we feel when eating is not normal; It occurs for some reason and sometimes it is solved by changing habits. If even making certain changes you still have discomfort, do not hesitate to consult your doctor.