I hear about these symptoms so often! I get snaps from girlfriends with their food babies, we have a laugh but we can all agree, its not fun!

Our eating habits have changed over the years, causing a lot of digestive issues. We are busier than ever, wanting everything to be convenient and quick.

Here’s some of my simple hacks to help your digestion and reduce symptoms of digestive stress. Give them a shot and see if you can get rid of that food baby once and for all! It could give you more energy, help keep a balanced weight and improve acid reflux.

3 meals a day

30% of our energy goes to digestion, stick to those 3 meals and you’ll have more energy to use for other things! Your blood sugar spikes when you eat, let it come down between meals, you will burn more body fat as well, win win!

Smell

You know that feeling when you smell a home cooked meal cooking away in the kitchen, those delicious smells filling the house? That helps prepare your stomach that food is coming, enjoy the smells, textures and flavors!

Chewing your food

We are all guilty of inhaling our food, chewing it a few times, swallowing and loading our gobbs up with more. Chew your food until it’s a paste, you’re giving your digestive system less work and you more energy. Put the smells and some good chewing action together and your brain can signal to your gut that food is coming so it produces stomach acid to break down that food.

Eat mindfully

Enjoy the smells, textures and flavors!

Portion.

Have you ever thought about how big your stomach is? On an empty stomach it's about a fist size! When we eat too much we are constantly stretching our stomachs. Try to avoid eating past 80% full, eat until you are satisfied. It takes 10-20 mins for your stomach to tell your mind that you are full. Balance your plate with fat, protein and carbs, it will keep you satiated for longer and stop you snacking between meals to.

Water

Most of us drink water with our meals, disturbing part of the digestion fire that is required to break down our food. Our stomach acid should be around 1.9, very acidic! Add water that is typically around 7 ( this can vary) and you’ll dilute the acidic environment that is needed to break down the food. Keep your fluids to 30 mins before a meal and 1 hour after your meal. If you feel the need to have some fluid with your meal, have a cup of warm ginger tea, that will keep the “fire” going.

Stress

When we’re stressed we shift into fight or flight, your body believes it's in survival mode and diverts energy away from digesting your food. You can eat the healthiest food but if you’re eating in a stressful state and not shifting into the parasympathetic nervous system you aren't going to absorb all the nutrients from your food. Eat mindfully, let your body absorb the goodness, it’ll reduce cravings between meals.

Food combining

Have you ever thought about what you eat with what? By pairing the right foods you can improve your digestion.

Avoid eating animal protein with carb rich foods like potatoes, pasta, rice etc. If you’re eating animal protein combine it with veggies are high in water content. If it’s a plant based protein, have any veggie you like, including your favorite starch.

All the factors above make a huge impact on how you feel after a meal. Eat mindfully, take your time so your digestive system gets to do the work it does best!

If you find that doing these steps still have you feeling bloated and blah you might want to look into the underlying root cause of your symptoms. This can be done very simply by doing at home lab tests to look at what’s going on in your gut.

More information 👉 at home lab testing or contact me via this form

* Please note that all information above is not intended to treat, cure or prevent disease.

7 Tips to help with bloating, acid reflux and burping after meals