New Years Series (4/5): Stress Less

There’s a saying that you can pour the purest golden nectar into a chalice, but if the cup is dirty on the inside, then the quality of the nectar is irrelevant.

When it comes to food and your body, the same is true. You can eat the freshet, high-quality whole foods but if your digestive system is not in good shape, then your ability to process and assimilate the nutrients from your food is severely compromised. This is a key reason why Ayurveda and most other healing systems place such a strong focus on creating and maintaining a healthy gut.

This week, as many people focus on making changes to what they are eating, I am offering a five-part series on simple ways to boost your digestive capacity so that you can more optimally process the healthy foods you are consuming.

Part 4: Stress Less

Adding healthy foods into your diet is only one part of the equation when it comes to achieving good gut health. There’s also some subtraction to be done: namely, reducing the amount of stress you experience on a daily basis.

Remember that despite all its complexities, the body is in many ways a very simple machine. Think back to the caveman days: if a pack of saber-toothed tigers interrupted your lunch, your body would go into self-preservation mode and direct its energy to helping you to flee. It would not be in your best interest for the body to divert energy to digest whatever you had just eaten, as digestion is a very energy-intense process.

Although large furry predators are no longer a daily threat for most of us, the functioning of our nervous system hasn’t changed much. Anytime we experience any form of stress, our body shifts into this same fight-or-flight mode, regulated by the autonomic nervous system. On the flip-side, when we are relatively relaxed and out of a survival state of mind, our body can shift control over to the parasympathetic nervous system, often referred to as the “rest and digest” system.

When I used to work in a corporate setting, I was very aware that my digestion suffered when I was working on stressful projects. I would experience a lot of bloating, stomachaches and other issues that weren’t normal for me. Things would inevitably improve once a deadline passed or a project ended. And like most people under stress, I tended to make poorer food choices when I was stressed, which likely fueled the symptoms I was experiencing. 

Unfortunately, our society has normalized indigestion and other gut issues, and given us a host of over-the-counter “solutions” for them, leading many people to not even think twice about how stress may be affecting their gut. Rather than getting to the root cause of things, we can pop a pill and plow on at the same stressful pace.

Whether or not you actively suffer from gut issues, I encourage you to be mindful of how you take on stress in your own life.  Meditation, yoga and other mind-body modalities can help us to shed the unnecessary we may carry. Making choices to leave our work at the office, turn off our screens by a certain time each evening and other proactive steps can help us find greater work-life balance.

Consciously scheduling in some resting time after meals can be a beneficial step if you’re someone who tends to always be on the go. Spend 15-20 minutes enjoying a book, walking leisurely or enjoying another restful activity. If you do decide to take a nap after a meal, be sure to lay on your left size (this puts the digestive organs in optimal position to keep working while you rest).

New Years Series (3/5): Stop Eating Bland Food

There’s a saying that you can pour the purest golden nectar into a chalice, but if the cup is dirty on the inside, then the quality of the nectar is irrelevant.

When it comes to food and your body, the same is true. You can eat the freshest, high-quality whole foods but if your digestive system is not in good shape, then your ability to process and assimilate the nutrients from your food is severely compromised. This is a key reason why Ayurveda and most other healing systems place such a strong focus on creating and maintaining a healthy gut.

This week, as many people focus on making changes to what they are eating, I am offering a five-part series on simple ways to boost your digestive capacity so that you can more optimally process the healthy foods you are consuming.

Part 3: Stop Eating Bland Food

In a pinch, roasting or sautéing your food in some olive oil with a little salt in pepper can make for a quick and easy meal, but over time you’re missing out on many opportunities to build your digestive fire (see part 1 for more on this concept).

Spices – particularly those that are slightly warming/heating – are a key ingredient to Ayurvedic cooking. When we spice our food, we are adding bits of kindling to our digestive fire, increasing its potency. And, as an added bonus, our food tastes more delicious! When we include varied tastes in our meals, the brain is stimulated and sends signals to the gut to prepare for the digestive work ahead. The more flavorful our food is, the stronger these signals are.

If you feel unsure of how to combine spices as you cook, consider using pre-mixed blends (like garam masala, curry powders and pastes, etc.) as you become more skilled in making up your own combinations. One of my favorite spice blends is the Moroccan staple ras-el-hanout, which pairs well with just about anything.

If you are hesitant to spice your food while cooking it, or are cooking for children or others who may be spice-averse, consider adding spice as a garnish to your food. In Ayurveda, medicinal spice blends called churnas are used to aid digestion and to help treat other conditions as well. Here is a recipe for an easy digestive churna, which can be made using all ground spices, no grinding needed:

Mix together the following in a small bowl, then keep in a clean, sealed jar:

1 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground fennel
½ t. ground cumin
½ t. turmeric powder

Add a pinch or two of churna to anything and everything – even things like salads, eggs, etc.

Lastly, if you don’t have spices with your food, you can always have them immediately following. Spices teas with cinnamon, clove, ginger and other warming ingredients are good post-meal beverages to keep on hand.

Alternatively, popping some spices directly into your mouth is a great option too! Have you ever noticed that Indian restaurants often have a small bowl of fennel seeds (sometimes candy-coated) available as you exit? This practice stems from Ayurveda. You can keep fennel seeds on hand and chew a few after eating for a digestive boost (added benefit: it freshens your breath too!) Feel free to mix the seed with a small amount of honey if the taste of the fennel alone is overpowering for you.

New Years 2017 Series (2/5): Slow Down

There’s a saying that you can pour the purest golden nectar into a chalice, but if the cup is dirty on the inside, then the quality of the nectar is irrelevant.

When it comes to food and your body, the same is true. You can eat the freshest, high-quality whole foods but if your digestive system is not in good shape, then your ability to process and assimilate the nutrients from your food is severely compromised. This is a key reason why Ayurveda and most other healing systems place such a strong focus on creating and maintaining a healthy gut.

This week, as many people focus on making changes to what they are eating, I am offering a five-part series on simple ways to boost your digestive capacity so that you can more optimally process the healthy foods you are consuming.

Part 2: Slow Down

Today’s tip sounds simple but can be quite hard to enact: slow down while you eat.

The key here is to chew each bite thoroughly. Our mouths are not just receptacles for receiving food, but also the starting place for the digestive process. When we chew food well, we break down cell walls and prepare foods for the journey ahead, where they get broken down even more. As we chew our food, we mix it with our saliva, which is full of enzymes that facilitate digestion. In other words, the more we chew, the more primed our food is to be broken down and absorbed thoroughly.

If you’re prone to eating fast, it can be hard to slow down. The best way to put this tip into action is by committing to putting down your fork/spoon (or setting  down handheld foods) between bites. Many of us have what I call “next bite syndrome,” where we are constantly preparing our next bite on our eating utensil before we’ve even chewed the food in our mouth. When we do this, we are more likely to plop the next bite in before we’ve thoroughly swallowed the previous bite.

If you practice slowing down regularly, you may just find you enjoy your food more too. When we eat mindfully, we have greater opportunity to tune into the unique flavors and textures of our food.

Give it a try at your next meal. And of course, be compassionate with yourself…it’s okay if you fall into normal habits, just commit to slowing down with the next bite. Each bite is a new opportunity to slow down and be mindful.

New Years 2017 Series (1/5): Don't Put Out Your Fire!

There’s a saying that you can pour the purest golden nectar into a chalice, but if the cup is dirty on the inside, then the quality of the nectar is irrelevant.

When it comes to food and your body, the same is true. You can eat the freshest, high-quality whole foods but if your digestive system is not in good shape, then your ability to process and assimilate the nutrients from your food is severely compromised. This is a key reason why Ayurveda and most other healing systems place such a strong focus on creating and maintaining a healthy gut.

This week, as many people focus on making changes to what they are eating, I am offering a five-part series on simple ways to boost your digestive capacity so that you can more optimally process the healthy foods you are consuming.

 

Part 1: Don’t Put Out Your Fire

In Ayurveda, the metabolic process is symbolized by fire (known as agni in Sanskrit). Fire is the energy of transformation, converting our food into absorbable components that the body can then use as sources of energy. If you’ve ever built a fire, you know that there is a delicate balance between not having enough wood/kindling, and having too much. So it goes with our gut.

Likewise, we all know what happens if we pour a giant bucket of cold water on a campfire. And yet, that is exactly what many of us are doing daily to our belly fire when we consume large amounts of cold liquids right around the time that we eat.

In Ayurveda, it’s recommended to avoid drinking much of anything within half an hour before or after meals. If you need to sip something, warm water is best. Ginger tea can be particularly beneficial for those with slower digestion.

Between meal times, I encourage you to skip ice water entirely. This is often a hard change to make, but one that can quickly be rewarding, not only for its digestive benefits but also for the increased energy you may reclaim. Think about: each time your douse your digestive fire with water, the body has to use energy to rekindle its fire (as well as to simply regulate internal body temperature).

I was never much of an ice water fan, but I did used to drink all my water from a filter pitcher I kept in my refrigerator. Once I switched to drinking only room-temperature water, I noticed some really profound shifts in my energy levels, especially after working out or other strenuous activities.

Every now and then, in the heat of summer or when traveling to a humid tropical locale, I will indulge in a glass of something frosty, but in general my body is much happier when I drink things close to body temperature. I usually lightly heat my water in an electric kettle and sip that throughout the day, often with some sliced lemon (especially in the mornings).

If you’re hooked on ice water, try reducing the amount of ice you use over 5-7 days, eventually omitting it altogether.  Then, stick to room temperature water only for a couple weeks and see how you feel.