You know that uncomfortable digestive discomfort about an hour after you’ve eaten a meal and then wished you hadn’t?
Maybe it feels like the food is just sitting, not going anywhere, or there’s bloating, pain, indigestion, that awful sense of needing to know where the bathroom is, or,,,,,,wind!
A lot of what I do in Clinic is helping people get their “chew to poo” back in good working order. Digestion is not something you should take lightly, and when the process is not working, well, it can be a pain in the proverbial……..
If you’ve had the experience of feeling your irritable bowel diagnosis is simply code for “we don’t know”, then it’s time to dig a little deeper, because there’s usually a reason behind digestive discomfort.
So, why should your gut be the centre of your universe?
Because, the rest of your body depends on it!
50% of adults complain that digestive problems negatively impact their daily life.
Your body depends on your digestive system to keep you alive.
Most importantly, digestion plays a major role in your immunity, depression, moods, hormone imbalances, skin problems, sleep quality, energy and metabolism (plus much more).
Your digestive system has a very important job, and getting it right can go a very long way to restoring your health.
The 3 most common reason behind digestive discomfort are:
1. Stress
Your unconscious stress response, either acute or chronic, can turn your insides upside down. Stress can cause your digestion to slow down, speed up, or change the way you process food from the top to your bottom 🙂 This is because, when your stress response is triggered, your digestive system is not needed to keep you alive – you just need to run like hell and escape. That’s why chronically stressed people will experience worsening gut symptoms over time that just don’t go away.
If you’re feeling stressed and digestion is an issue, it’s time to do something about managing your nervous system and stress situation. Often those irritable bowel symptoms or reflux can be quickly soothed along with your nerves.
2. Eating the wrong food for you
You’d think that eating wouldn’t be so complicated. Just eat the food you like the taste of, right? Not so. What your body needs is unique to you. That’s why popular eating trends are great for some, but may not be best for you. You need to tune in and find out what foods don’t work for you. It’s easy to build up intolerances to certain foods that can cause both obvious and hidden symptoms.
If you have digestive problems that are impacting your life, pay attention to what you’re putting in there. Simple! Beginning a gut healing program will get you sorted pretty quick after that.
3. Not giving your digestive system a rest
When it comes to digestion, timing is everything.
It used to be thought that your digestive system was always “on”, ready to digest whatever you ate, any time of the day/night, getting nicely broken down, absorbed and metabolised for energy.
It’s now known this is not the case.
Every aspect of eating from cravings, hunger, digestion, metabolism and elimination occurs according to a strict circadian timing. You need to give your gut time after eating to do a clean up, a sweep through to repair and get ready for the next meal. Your stomach and small intestine has a self-cleaning action. Use it. It’s essential for good digestion.
That’s why in the Metabolic Balance Weight Loss Program there’s a prescribed 5 hour break between meals. And, that’s why under this program clients see digestive issues improve dramatically.
Unless you’re very hungry, you should not need to snack between meals. Snacking is a modern day occupational hazard we’ve been led to believe is essential. It’s not. If you eat constantly, you never give your digestive system a chance to clean itself.
Next?
If you’re experiencing:
- short or long term illness
- food intolerances
- fatigue
- weight issues
- headaches
- insomnia
- cravings
- brain fog
- mood swings
- reflux, indigestion, bloating or pain
- irritable bowel symptoms
it’s time to get your digestion sorted.
Need more help with your gut? Then contact me because I can guarantee that when things are working well, you’ll be working well.
With your health in mind,
Catherine
Learn more about how you can take back control of your health by subscribing to the iNaturally Newsletter by clicking here
