When working with my clients, together, we get up close and personal in order to be able to work out what may be the root causes of why their body is giving them signs, aka the symptoms, which are stopping them from feeling vibrant and full of health. This may mean we have to get up close and look at the nitty gritty of the bark on a certain tree so to speak, however, I never want them to loose sight of the importance of the way less sexy forest level view, that our environment and lifestyle plays such an important role in whether we have wellness or symptoms of illness, dis-ease, be it constant headaches, psoriasis, asthma, feeling tired all the time or upon waking…the list is could go on and on.
Arguably, all dis-ease or dis-function begins in the gut…as this is the place where we either bring on board life sustaining, health promoting optimal nutrition or we don’t.
Lifestyle has an enormous effect on nutrition and diet, the way people eat, what they eat and how they eat is very strongly influenced by how busy people are and how they are doing in their lives
Simple but important to remember is that nutrition does not end with what we chew up and swallow, We Are Not What We Eat, however more what we eat, what we can digest, absorb, convert and get past the cell membrane. This is the body´s primary goal in order to make ATP, our energy currency, which allows our body to function optimally or not.
Individuals with poor or even just suboptimal digestion are likely to feel less energetic and more fatigue.
So here it is, the not sexy, yet one of the most critical skills we can re-learn is Eating Hygeine, that will help you to have optimal digestion and absorption of nutrients.
5 Simple Tips to Improve your Eating Hygeine
- Eating while relaxed, seated and mindfully breathing – this allows our body to be in parasympathetic mode (rest and repair mode, not running for our lives), which allows for optimal digestion.
- Chewing your food thoroughly – It’s the only part of digestion you can control, and puts less strain on your stomach.
- Avoid inhaling your food – this is the one I find the hardest, especially when it´s really tasty – Eating quickly can be a common reason for over eating and post meal indigestion and fatigue.
- Focus on the meal – not multi tasking gives the brain the entertainment it seeks such as in flavours, smells and texture and helps us to more naturally eat the amount of food the body actually needs.
- Not overconsuming water or liquids while eating – A small glass is fine, however excessive water intake can dilute stomach acid and cause indigestion.
As always if you are not sure where to begin, or are struggling to pinpoint why you are not feeling your best, please do get in touch .soneill@shirley-oneill.com