5 Smart Moves to Improve Digestion Without Relying on Supplements

Digestion impacts almost every area of your health including energy levels, mood, sleep quality, detoxification, repair, skin and hormone regulation. When digestion isn’t working optimally, all other systems will be effected. In today's world of quick fixes and supplements it seems like there’s a new “this will fix all your problems in 1 swoop” supplement trending every week. Probiotics, digestive enzymes, detox powers, you name it.

While when used correctly supplements can be genuinely supportive, it’s important to remember that true health doesn't come from a bottle. The entirety of the digestive system is an intricate process that depends on internal signaling and movement, not just external add ons that often get lost in the big picture of things. Supplements can support this process, but they cannot replace the foundations for a healthy digestive system - that must come from within. When supported with the right conditions our digestive systems know what to do. So here are five smart and sustainable habits to strengthen digestion - no supplements required! 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and it is not intended to be taken as medical advice nor to diagnose, treat or cure disease. Please consult your medical provider before making any changes to your healthcare.

Be mindful - Chew your food and relax while you eat

Mindful eating is one of the most overlooked aspects of health. How we eat is just as important as what we eat. Digestion and our nervous system are deeply interconnected.

When we eat distracted- rushed, scrolling, driving, working- our body is alert and in some form of stress. The fight or flight and alert status diverts energy away from digestion and towards whatever the task or problem at hand is. This results in stomach acid and enzyme production decreasing and poor nutrient absorption and motility. 

Digestion requires your body to be in a state of rest and digest. It can’t carry this out properly when it’s busy with other worries. From the perspective of survival, digestion is not going to be at the top of the list for the body to handle when it perceives other stresses as more imperative. 

Mindful eating signals to the body that it’s safe to slow down and digest the food you are eating. Sit down, take some deep breaths and use your senses to focus on your food. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system to come online and do its job properly (rather than be in stress mode)

You need to chew your food thoroughly-more than you probably think! After the senses are engaged, the second step of digestion is in the mouth. Your saliva contains enzymes that start to break down food before it lands in your stomach. The more you chew-the less work your stomach has to do and the more prepared the stomach is with its acids and enzymes to digest. Shoveling food and not chewing thoroughly burdens the stomach and can lead to discomfort like bloating, gas and fatigue. 

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Don't drink large amounts of liquids with meals

Hydration is LIFE but timing matters when it comes to drinking water and digestion. Have you ever heard the weight loss advice to drink a glass of water before a meal to reduce your appetite? Absolutely criminal advice. Let's talk about why.

Drinking large amounts of water (especially cold water!) During meals, it dilutes stomach acid and digestive enzyme production. This makes it more challenging for the body to break down and utilize the energy from food. In addition to this it also is just an energy drain because it requires the stomach to work harder.

Your stomach acid plays an imperative role in digesting food and killing any potential harmful pathogens that you consume. When this stomach acid is slowed down, digestion becomes suboptimal. This leads to unwanted fermentation in the gut, bloating and fatigue. Additionally there is only so much space in the stomach at a time. Filling it with water AND food can create this sort of digestive sludge and lead to sluggish digestion. 

That said- you still really need proper hydration! Just hydrate well with coherent and mineral rich water in between meals and limit intake with meals. By honoring digestion and hydration as two separate tasks- you give them both the environment to carry out their functions optimally- and your body will thank you for this! And if you are really thirsty with meals, simply enjoy a few small sips or a small cup of ginger tea. 

Avoid consistent snacking between meals

While snacking may feel normal and benign, it's actually completely out of alignment with our natural biology. It’s very new in our  modern era to have so much and such constant access to food. This has created a culture of grazing - but your digestive system isn’t designed to be on 24/7. 

When food enters your system, the body enters into an orchestra of events to churn up the food in the stomach, absorb nutrients in the small intestine, and then move waste through the large intestine. This process takes energy, so if you never have space in between meals, you are always utilizing energy. This fatigues the body and eventually results in insufficient and weak digestion. Once the process of digestion completes, a wave-like motion of the intestines is activated that sweeps away left over food particles. But this process only turns on when you haven't eaten for a few hours. It will be disrupted by food intake. With snacking it will never get a chance to run its clean up cycle. This leads to sluggish digestion, bacteria overgrowth, bloating and constipation. Simple spacing between meals deeply improves and optimizes digestion. It’s not about restriction but about biological alignment. 

Aim for 2-3 balanced meals a day without consistent grazing. It doesn’t mean never having a snack again, but try not to make it a necessary habit. Give yourself 3-4 hours between meals to let the digestive process complete itself. 

Eat in alignment with the light

Our digestive system doesn't operate in isolation with food- it’s also deeply connected to our circadian rhythm- the internal body clock that follows the rise and fall of the sun everyday. Light exposure affects hormones that impact digestion, appetite and metabolism like cortisol, melatonin, leptin and insulin. 

During the day sunlight calls for cortisol, leptin and insulin to rise, allowing for the body to use energy efficiently and digest food optimally. With the setting of the sun, these hormones naturally drop while melatonin levels increase to allow for proper repair and detoxification overnight.

Eating large meals late at night disrupts the natural rise and fall of these hormones. When you eat too much after dark, your body has to call upon insulin and leptin to digest the food, interfering with sleep quality, metabolism of the food and overnight repair. Over time this can result in fatigue, insomnia, lack of healing, weight gain, imbalanced hormones and all kinds of blood sugar related issues.

Aim to have a more food forward day where you are eating the majority of your food while the sun is out. Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. In the evening, dim the lights, use candles and wear blue light blocker glasses to support proper evening levels of melatonin and cortisol. Eating in sync with the light and dark cycles supports healthy digestion while also regulating your entire hormonal orchestra.

Eat for the seasons

Food is more than just micro and macro nutrients- it’s also information for your body. Every bite and sip carries an energetic imprint of the season and the environment in which it came from. When you eat foods in alignment with the season and the geography of where you live, you align these subtle internal rhythms with the natural world. 

For example, summer provides us with hydrating foods like cucumber and melon, which help cool the body and support the naturally higher levels of activity that come with long days of sunlight. Winter provides us with root vegetables and meats that offer more warmth, grounding energy and density to sustain the lower energy and activity levels that come with short days of light and cold temperatures.

Eating completely out of sync with the seasons, like eating tropical fruits in the middle of snowy February, confuses the body's natural signals of temperature, metabolism and light exposure. Your digestive system thrives when it can understand what's going on in your environment and seasonal eating is a subtle, but impactful way that your body can create these intuitive alignments.

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You don’t have to eat perfectly seasonally to honor these rhythms. Start by visiting your local farmers markets and stay up to date with what's growing and available where you live. Adjust your meals throughout the year as the seasons shift and choose local and seasonal foods when possible. This becomes more intuitive and natural with time.

These 5 habits may seem simple, but they are foundations for optimal and efficient digestion. And remember digestion impacts all systems of the body and your overall health and vitality. While supplements have their place, they can’t help you much if the basic needs of the body aren’t being met through your digestive environment. Supplements should support, not replace. True digestion and true health comes from the conditions that allow your body to do what it knows how to do- break down food, create energy and eliminate waste.

By practicing mindful eating, separating hydration from meals, allowing time between meals, syncing with the light and eating with the seasons- you are giving your digestive system the environment to thrive. Remember this isn’t about perfection of restriction but about mindfulness and alignment. Return to the basics and watch your body thrive in response. ❤️