Your diet and lifestyle greatly affect your digestive health and you need the best strategies to boost digestion.
It’s not just what you eat, but how you eat that influences your gut health and digestion.
When we feed ourselves—physically, emotionally and spiritually—in a way that best supports our “gut type”, we better access our full potential.
The more I have learned to align how I eat with my natural preferences, bloating, constipation and low energy have become a thing of the past!
Face it, there are A LOT of rules and strategies to boost digestion out there telling us how we “should” or “shouldn’t” eat:
- “Intermittent fast until noon.”
- “Don’t eat after 8 p.m.”
- “Eat liquid meals during the day.”
- “Eat in a quiet space.”
- “Cut carbs.”
- “Cut meat.”
- And on and on…
However, there is NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL strategies to boost digestion and to how we should eat.
Check out the 8 strategies to boost digestion that influence how you both digest your food, as well as take in and “digest” information. Do a “gut check” about your personal preferences.
8 Amazing Strategies to Boost Digestion
#1. Active vs. Passive
Active: You thrive when you keep yourself well-nourished throughout the day and don’t go long without eating. Regularly scheduled meals and snacks keep you feeling your best.
Passive: Don’t require much consistency around when you eat meals. You go with the flow and not following any strategies to boost digestion. One day you eat breakfast at 8 a.m., the next you intermittent fast until noon. You are intuitive and do what feels natural. You listen to the rhythms and cycles of your body’s needs. You tend
#2. One Food at a Time vs. Mixed
One Food at a Time: Too many ingredients too fast can overwhelm the system; eating (or digesting) one thing at a time (nice big meals) supports your system (ex. Finish your potatoes before you eat your chicken, then your broccoli). Also, the simpler meal, the more energized you feel: chicken or beef, a sweet potato and greens do a body good. Sea salt or fresh herbs may be as “spicy” as you get.
Mixed: You eat a little bit of everything on your plate during a meal (ex. A few bites of chicken, then some potatoes, then some more chicken, etc.). You also don’t mind “complexity”—different spices, tastes and textures light you up. Some practice these strategies to boost digestion.
#3. Same vs. Variety
Same: You can eat the same foods and meals daily and never get bored. In fact, it feels better and more energizing just like other strategies to boost digestion. You are a routine eater, picky and selective, and that’s ok! Stick with what you love and you may even take your favorite meals or snacks with you when you travel.
Variety: You like a “party in your mouth” and prefer different meals regularly (versus the same meals daily).
#4. Hot vs. Cold
Hot: Warming foods feel best for you—right off the stove, room temp, nourishing broths, soups, cooked veggies vs. raw veggies and cold salads, teas. You also love warm climates, baths, saunas and don’t mind the summer heat.
Cold: It’s best for you to eat foods cooler than your body temp. Refreshing salads, fruits, juices and foods right out of the fridge.
#5. Calm vs. Nervous
Calm: You are sensitive to the energy around you. You do best consuming food when the environment is calm, peaceful and relaxed.
Nervous: You prefer to have more activity and stimulation around meals or consuming information like strategies to boost digestion. You may feel better if you exercise before or after eating; or even love to eat when on the move, multi-tasking or working on your computer. Stimulation.
#6. Noise vs. Quiet
Noise: You like stimulation via noise. Music in the background, a busy restaurant or watching a movie are your jam. Noisy constitutions also tend to need to eat more frequently and may snack all day long.
Quiet: You are sensitive to acoustics and prefer to eat in a quiet space, maybe even by yourself. Low sound types tend to also need to eat less naturally.
#7. Sun Up vs. Sun Down
Sun Up: You feel best when you eat your larger meals when the sun is out—a bigger breakfast and a lighter dinner.
Sun Down: You feel best with your heavier meal in the evening and going to bed with a satisfied tummy. You usually don’t feel very hungry until the afternoon the next day.
#8. Balance vs. Higher Carbs, Fats OR Protein
Balance: Balanced eating is as simple as it sounds—protein, fats and carbs in equal amounts.
Higher Carbs, Fats OR Protein: Some people do better with higher carbs—their “Krebs cycle” is like a fiery furnace, burning through carbohydrates in a flash. Others need slow-burning fats to sustain their natural high energy systems. And still others do better with a higher intake of meat and lower intake of carbs. There are different strategies to boost digestion. Blood sugar is balanced when we eat according to our type, regardless of influencers telling us otherwise. Our macros depend on a blend of our genetics, our muscle fiber types (slow twitch vs fast twitch), our gut bacteria and our Human Design.
Note: If you’re looking for personal support, let’s help you optimize and take your health back into your own hands! Book a complimentary 20-minute Health Strategy Call today to find out how both myself and my clinic can help you feel good, inside and out.