The digestive process begins as soon as food enters your mouth. Once saliva is released, it begins breaking down food. Unfortunately, how you begin the digestive process can affect how the rest of it proceeds.
If you don’t chew your food properly, it can lead to poor digestion. Many of us chomp down a few times and swallow food quickly. This is problematic for several reasons. For starters, the larger the food bits, the harder your digestive tract needs to work to break it down. If you take the time to chew your food into much smaller pieces, breaking it down in the stomach is much easier. Eating food too quickly also causes us to eat more food. When we take the time to chew our food properly, it forces us to eat slower. This means we will consume less food before we feel full. This brings me to my next point…
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When we inhale our food as if we were a vacuum, the signals aren’t sent from the stomach to the brain to tell it we are full. Furthermore, this style of eating doesn’t make us aware of what we are actually consuming. Not only do we not enjoy the meal but, as mentioned, we tend to overeat, putting added stress on our digestive system.
Another tip is to pay attention to what we are eating. Some foods cause gas and bloating while others cause cramping. Paying attention to what you are eating can help you narrow in on possible food reactions and intolerances. This can help deter you from eating the foods that don’t make you feel good in the future. You may also want to play around with cooking styles. For example, you might find you can tolerate cooked broccoli but can’t enjoy uncooked broccoli. When you eat slowly, you can pay attention to these factors.
Furthermore, becoming aware of the foods you can’t eat can prompt you to try them again in the future to determine if it was a one-off situation or if you are unable to ever eat that particular food.
By following these tips, you can prevent digestive issues from occurring and improve your digestive process overall.
Related: Simple tips to prevent bloating and indigestion
