In my private practice, I like to shine a light not only on what we eat but how we eat. You can eat the healthiest food on the planet all day long but if you aren’t digesting it properly, your system will not be able to receive and utilize the nutrients properly.

Cue 5 tips to help optimize digestion and whole eating experience.

1. Get Present: When you find yourself becoming distracted or drifting out of the present, challenge yourself to come back to center, reconnect and actively reenter the moment. When you are mindful and relaxed, the body switches into a parasympathetic state where it can rest, digest and process the food you are eating to the best of its ability. Taking a deep breath, placing your hands on your heart for a brief moment and cultivating gratitude for even the simplest of things can assist you in making this shift.

2. Engage The Senses: Engaging the senses is tied in with being present so remember to be mindful, enjoy company, notice the vivid colors, the smell, the taste, and anything else that can help you to savor the flavors and soak in the experience. Mindful eating also allows your body to shift into a parasympathetic state while improving salivary response, stomach acid production, and enzyme secretion.

3. Chew Your Food: Chewing your food also initiates the breakdown process with the enzymes found in saliva, while also signaling the downstream production of stomach acid and digestive enzymes to assist in the breakdown, assimilation, and distribution of the nutrients. If you need additional support, you can look into a comprehensive digestive enzyme for overall digestive support, an enzyme that specifically aids in the breakdown of gluten and dairy or an enzyme that specifically assists in the breakdown of histamine rich foods. Feel free to check out Fullscript, the dispensary I use in my private practice, for details to get additional 15% off or the Amazon links I’ve provided above.

4. Check In With Your Body: In order to notice if you are 75-80% full, you have to remain present and connected to your body. This marker is a helpful signal to slow down so your brain can catch up with your body, and you can feel satisfied but not overly full.

5. Focus On Health Creation: So often we forget that the Thanksgiving meal can truly be healthy! Think clean protein, vegetables, healthy fats and high quality ingredients. It is so easy to get caught up in the details and influenced by cultural beliefs, such as restriction or over indulgence. Whenever you notice this taking place, opt out, remind yourself of the big picture, the landscape, and why we come together on this beautiful day.

I hope these tips have been helpful finds! If you have any questions or insight, let me know in comments below.

Resources From Dr. Brooke Stuart / Let Go & Grow®

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