The 9 Pillars of Health series: Digestion.
We’ve all heard the saying “you are what you eat”. But that is not entirely true.
What you put in your mouth is just the first step into the process of taking food, breaking it down, absorbing it, transporting it, utilizing it, excreting it. All of these processes are important and if one of them isn’t functioning properly, then you are NOT what you eat.
Most people tend to emphasize only the intake part of the equation, stressing over calories, macros, supplements, timing, restrictions, etc. Yet, they neglect the process of eating, the autonomic state we are in, our gut microbiome, and our digestive tract health are things that will greatly impact how our food impacts us.
The reason why this Pillar is called Digestion, and not Nutrition, is to promote the idea that it is not enough to just focus on the food you eat, but also your relationship with food and the lifestyle choices around eating that matter the most. And in an era where we have put the spotlight on nutrients, food quality, food quantity, supplements and calories, we have forgotten the important details of what happens once the food enters the body.
First and foremost, being in a non-stressed state will greatly benefit digestion (it’s no wonder we call the parasympathetic state, the Rest and Digest state). This alone is already a major hurdle for most people. Having a rushed lunch, in the office, while thinking about work, is the norm for most adults. That’s three strikes and out! Off to a bad start.
Next, we go through the break down of food. From exposure to toxins, to ultra-processed foods, we are constantly in contact with things that negatively affect our ability to change food to the usable form of it that we can absorb. If we cannot properly do that, then we will have a hard time getting the nutrients of what we ate.
As mentioned above, getting the components of food from outside the body to inside the body is really one of the most important steps. Your microbiome affects almost every single metabolic action in your body. It’s not a surprise that probiotics is one of the most recommended supplements. Our microbiome is very sensitive to environmental cues and usually those cues are detrimental and disrupt the flora of your digestive tract.
All of these steps in the digestive process are important to highlight, and most people only really think about one of them. So if you really want to work on this Pillar it is time you stop looking at nutrition as a single task (eating food) and start looking at it as a whole event.
