5 Ways to Optimize Digestive Function

Sep 4

Do you have constipation, diarrhea, distension, and/or abdominal pain? Do you see undigested food in your stool or is your stool excessively foul-smelling? Perhaps you don’t think of yourself as a person with digestive issues, but you instead experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, brain fog, headaches/migraines, or extreme exhaustion. Have you worked with a number of alternative health providers (to no avail or without making much progress) who have treated your symptoms without first addressing digestive function? We tend to forget that we need nutrients to not only survive, but also to thrive! And yes, while the quality of the foods we eat matters and while we may need targeted nutrient support in the form of supplementation, what if we optimized digestive function and thereby nutrient absorption, maximizing the health giving properties offered to us by the foods we put in our bodies? You are what you absorb, not what you eat! And sadly, too many of us live with impaired digestion.

We spent a good deal of time exploring the anatomy and physiology of digestive function and dysfunction here, which hopefully helped to elucidate the importance of optimal digestion and nutrient absorption. Spoiler alert: true gut health requires more than just a probiotic—if it were that easy, we wouldn’t be dealing, globally, with the epidemic of chronic and invisible dis-ease. Often I tell clients, there is usually more than one root cause contributing to one’s health complications, but if I had to choose a single, foundational root cause for almost all chronic, invisible illness, I would say that digestive dysfunction is it. (This doesn’t mean, however, that by optimizing digestion we will be free of our ailments! It is just the first and arguably most important place to start).

Below I will outline steps that you can take to improve your digestion. I would encourage implementing only three practices maximum to start. The recommendations contained below are not intended to replace medical advice. Please consult your primary care provider if you have any concerns.

5 WAYS TO OPTIMIZE DIGESTIVE FUNCTION

01 / DOWN-REGULATE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: SLOW DOWN

Before taking your first bite, see if you can first sit down. Sit on the edge of your chair so that your weight is in your sit bones, not your tailbone. Place your feet firmly on the floor beneath you. We take for granted the importance of being aligned in our body mechanics when we eat.

S L O W down and feel yourself becoming calmer. You might close your eyes and take three big, full breaths into your rib cage, with your exhales being longer in length than your inhales. Take a moment to appreciate the food in front of you—the colors, the aroma, the beauty, the nourishment, the amount of time, energy, resources, and heavy lifting it took for it to arrive on your plate. Take another big, deep, and full breath. And for fun, you might try eating with your hands. Eating with your hands helps to further slow things down and encourages connection to your food. Alternatively, you can set your cutlery down in between bites.

Lastly, eat without distractions—turn off the tv, set aside your phones and even your books! Bring presence to your experience of eating and connection to the people that surround you. If you have children, eating at around the same time every day with as much of the family as is possible will encourage a rhythm around eating to their daily lives, helping them to become better eaters. Consider involving them in meal preparation—chopping vegetables, picking flowers to be placed at the center of the table, setting the table, etc.

02 / DRINK YOUR FOOD, CHEW YOU WATER

Do not underestimate the benefit of chewing, thoroughly. Some practitioners will advise chewing thirty-two times or until there is nothing left to chew. And speaking of water, it is best to keep your water or fluid intake to the time between meals, so as not to dilute the acidity of your stomach.

03 / SUPPORT THE ORGANS OF DIGESTION: STOMACH, PANCREAS, GALLBLADDER

There are a number of supports, both food-based and supplemental, that can be brought in to assist the three organs of digestion. In order to stimulate the stomach to produce more hydrochloric acid, you can dilute one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 4-6 ounces of warm water ten minutes prior to the start of your meal. You can also take digestive bitters alongside or in lieu of the apple cider vinegar. Digestive enzymes are also a wonderful addition to the mealtime, especially if you’re experience bloating or distention. Note that you’ll want to take the enzymes at the beginning of the meal, and please be mindful of the quality of enzymes purchased (see a list of recommended products below)! Lastly, beets are your gallbladder’s best friend, especially the bit where beet greens meet beet. You might even feel adventurous enough to make some beet kvass, a delightfully effervescent, fermented, and healing tonic.

04 / HEALTHY ELIMINATION: 2-3 TIMES DAILY

At this point, to consider a high-quality probiotic is a wonderful idea! And to take one in conjunction with other digestive supports will maximize the efficacy of the product, which means that you will get more bang for your buck. Additionally, eating an appropriate amount of whole-food, nutrient dense fibers for your body will help to support the health of the beneficial bacteria in your microbiome. And lastly, just as it is important to be aligned while eating, it is equally as important to be aligned while eliminating. When seated on a standard toilet, our rectums are kinked and we therefore find ourselves straining to eliminate, which should not be the case. There is no straining necessary when our rectums are vertically oriented and in the right position to work in collaboration with gravity. I would strongly suggest you consider purchasing a Squatty Potty (I have no affiliations with this company), or use a stack of books or yoga blocks to get your knees higher and closer up towards your chest. The ideal angle to maintain between your torso and your thighs is thirty degrees. Poophoria is the striving, and the Squatty Potty helps!

05 / MOVEMENT BEGETS MOVEMENT

As a humanity, we have never been so sedentary in our lives! As Katy Bowman, biomechanist and teacher of functional, natural movement says: movement is a form of nutrition. Have you every felt constipated, gone for a walk, and eliminated soon thereafter? This is because movement begets movement! More specifically, movement or forms of exercise (that are not stressful to the body) help to encourage a parasympathetic state. As we learned in You Are What You Absorb, Not What You Eat, proper vagal tone is critical for regular smooth muscle activity of the intestines, which allows for the contents of the gastrointestinal tract to be moved down and out (it additionally supports digestive processes farther north). What’s more, animal studies have shown that exercise can help to shift the gut microbial distribution, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria found in the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera, with a reduction of both having been identified as being associated with constipation. Both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are involved in the production of short-chain fatty acids, which are highly nutritious to the cells of the colon, helping to maintain an intact intestinal lining and thereby preventing inflammatory conditions such as Chron’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and and irritable bowel syndrome from taking root.

In short, take a family walk after dinner and don’t forget to smell the roses along the way!

SOME PRODUCTS TO CONSIDER

If you are curious about trying products designed to support digestive function, you use can this link to create a Fullscript account, which will give you access to professional-grade supplements for 15 percent off!

The below product recommendations are not to replace medical advice. Please consult your primary care provider if you have any concerns.

01 / HYDRO-ZYME BY BIOTICS RESEARCH

Hydro-Zyme™ contains low doses (150 mg) of hydrochloric acid in the form of betaine hydrochloride to assist the stomach in digesting proteins, activating minerals, and serving as a first line of defense against pathogens. It also contains pancreatin, which is comprised of amylase, lipase, and protease, enzymes targeted for the digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins respectively. Tablets are to be taken in the middle of a proteinaceous meal. I recommend working with a professional to dial in dosage. If you have any upper gastric symptoms such as heartburn, acid reflux, a gnawing sensation or pain in the upper left quadrant of your abdomen, do not take this product.

02 / CRITICAL DIGESTION BY ENZYME SCIENCE

Critical Digestion is a high-potency enzymatic blend designed to assist in the proper breakdown of macronutrients and absorption of micronutrients. It can be useful if you have symptoms of bloat, flatulence, and/or indigestion. It contains 1 billion CFU of mostly lactobacillus species. If you know that you are unable to tolerate probiotics, do not take this product.

03 / LV-GB COMPLEX BY DESIGNS FOR HEALTH

LV-GB Complex contains a blend of nutrients and herbs to promote the health and function of the liver and gallbladder. It can support bile flow, which aids the body in emulsifying and assimilating fat and fat-soluble vitamins, as well as the detoxification of toxins and spent hormones. If you see that your stool floats in the toilet or is clay-colored, you might consider taking this product!

CONCLUSION

I hope you have found this information to be helpful and only slightly overwhelming! The recommendations outlined above are ones that are generally safe to take on without the guidance of a trained professional. If you find that after implementing some of these practices you are still struggling with digestive issues specifically, know that you don’t have to walk this journey alone! Please feel free to reach out if you are seeking additional support, and we can discuss options such as running a GI MAP stool test. You can apply to work with me here.

Grace Stepanova