Very slow digestion, fatigue after eating, belching, feeling of heartburn or pain in the stomach, constipation, flatulence: all these symptoms are consistent with poor digestion.
Restoring good, effective and fast digestion will allow you to avoid these inconveniences. In addition, efficient digestion will restore the correct assimilation of nutrients, which is crucial for our health.
Digest it well so that you can absorb it well
In our diet, we consume greater amounts of all three types of macronutrients: fats and proteins as well as sugars and starches, both of which are classified in the carbohydrate group.
We also consume nutrients in smaller quantities: minerals and vitamins, which are therefore called micronutrients.
The three types of macronutrients: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are molecules of large size. During the digestion process, these macronutrients will gradually be broken down into smaller molecules, nutrients that can be absorbed by enterocytes, which are the cells that line the intestinal wall.
Simplifying it a bit, we can say that fats will break down into fatty acids, proteins into amino acids, and carbohydrates into glucose.
If these three macronutrients are poorly digested, we may develop a whole series of symptoms, such as flatulence, feeling of heartburn or pain in the stomach, constipation, food intolerance, etc.
In addition, poor digestion will inevitably lead to poor absorption.
Assimilation of nutrients is essential for our body. In our bodies, they have a dual function: a structural role and a vital function.
- Structural role of amino acids and fatty acids. These two nutrients allow us to regenerate our tissues. For example, amino acids will be used to synthesize the proteins found in our muscles.
- A vital role, because our nutrients will also be oxidized in our cells to create our cellular energy in the form of ATP. Poor digestion and poor assimilation will therefore contribute to chronic fatigue.
Digestive enzymes are responsible for our digestion
During the digestion process, our digestive enzymes help break down the fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in our food. These digestive enzymes are found in our saliva, gastric juice, and pancreatic juice. Enterocytes, the cells that line the small intestine, also produce digestive enzymes. For example, an enzyme called lactase, which digests milk sugar, or lactose, is secreted by intestinal cells.
Digestive enzymes work most efficiently at what is called the ideal temperature (37 degrees) and ideal pH (pH is a measure of acid/alkaline level). Our enzymes must also be secreted in sufficient quantity to allow good digestion.
How to improve our digestion
Stay hydrated outside of meals
The first traditional and logical rule for improving digestion is to separate water from our diet.
In fact, consuming a large amount of cold water, during a meal, for example, will have the effect of diluting our digestive enzymes and cooling the food bolus.
This will move the temperature of the bowl away from the ideal temperature for our digestive enzymes and lead to poor digestion. Based on the feedback I receive from my patients, I find that if a person hydrates adequately outside of meals, they will not feel the need to drink during their meals.
Of course, it will be possible to drink a little liquid during the meal, but in small quantities and preferably a hot liquid, such as a cup of soaking for example (breakfast is an exception to this rule, because we need to rehydrate the body after the night). It is generally a smaller meal.)
The importance of chewing for good digestion
Chewing is the first step in the digestion process. Chewing turns food into mush (mechanical digestion), but it also impregnates it with saliva, which contains an enzyme (amylase) that breaks down the starch in our food.
Digestion is often interpreted as a sequential work process, where the efficiency of each step limits the effectiveness of the entire process. If chewing is deficient, the entire digestive process will be deficient.
Devouring your food, chewing only 20% of it will give only 20% of effective digestion.
In our digestive process, chewing is a step that we can intervene in very easily, we just need to think about it!
Rethink your establishment for stress-free dining
An individual's response to certain stressors involves stimulation of pathways in the brain resulting in activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system(1).
Inflammation is proposed as the primary mechanism linking psychological stress and stress-related diseases. In fact, several studies have reported that excessive inflammation directly contributes to the pathophysiology of stress-related diseases.(2).
To improve digestive function, it will be important to eat without stress, and to regulate yourself so that you do not eat while moving, standing or running. When I analyze the conditions and rhythms of their meals with my patients, to discover and implement a different regulation, we always notice significant improvements in their digestion.
For example: If a father is accustomed to eating dinner immediately after his arrival, after an exhausting drive back, it will be very beneficial for his digestion if this man takes some time to relax before the meal, for example by taking a shower and putting on more comfortable clothes.
Read also Foods that improve digestion: what to eat and what to avoid?
Creating a ritual in which we take the time to prepare for our meal times is always extremely beneficial to our digestion. If we do not have the time or possibility to eat without stress between noon and two, for example, it would be better to reduce the portions at that time and eat a more plentiful meal at a time that allows us more.
The importance of good digestion for our health and how to improve it?
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