1. Drink water 30-60 minutes before eating.
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Being properly hydrated is essential for digestion. To digest food, our body needs to produce digestive fluids that break it down into its various components and allow it to be absorbed through our gut lining and into our blood.
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Being dehydrated hinders this whole process and not only slows digestion it also makes our bodies work harder leaving us with less energy. If you’re not sufficiently hydrated before you eat you’ll need to drink more fluid with your meal which can cause less efficient digestion and nutrient absorption. Sipping a small glass of water with your meal is fine but you should need to do this less if you hydrate your body before. You can read more about the importance in our article on
The importance of hydration
ACTION: Drink a full glass of water 30 minutes before your meal.
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The next three steps are all about activating your bodies Parasympathetic nervous system, also known as Rest and Digest, which is the opposite of your Sympathetic nervous system or Fight or Flight. Both are essential to our survival but when our sympathetic nervous system is activated at the wrong time it can be disastrous to our health.
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2. Sit down and relax
It may seem like an obvious one but so many people are now eating on the go, sitting down in a comfortable position is the first step to putting your body into a relaxed state. Try to sit up straight
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3. Take 5-10 slow deep breaths before eating
Stop everything, clear your mind and breath slowly in through your nose and even slower out through pursed lips, the longer you're out breath the more it activates your Rest and Digest nervous system. Doing this relaxes your body putting it in an optimal state ready to digest your food.
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4. Put your Phone/computer down and enjoy your food
We are constantly seeking when we’re near our phone, whether it's scrolling through Facebook or checking emails. Without even noticing, this can alter the state of your brain and quickly pull you from a relaxed mood into a stimulated state within seconds without you even realising.
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You have no idea what’s coming next when you're looking at social media and how it's going to make you feel. All the while your poor digestive system is hoping you'll relax so it can get on with its job to digest the meal you just ate.
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