Pascale Richy

Poor digestion is one of the common causes of weight gain and can be a barrier to weight loss. If you can’t break down your food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate toxins effectively, your metabolism will suffer, eventually slowing down. Furthermore the lack of nutrients, regardless of how well you eat, can switch your body into “survival” or fat storage mode. A lifestyle approach rather than fad dieting will enable slow but steady and maintainable weight loss and improving digestive function is key to helping your body convert food into energy rather than fat.

Warning signs of poor digestion:

·       Bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation, heart burn and indigestion, skin rashes and impurities, low libido, brain fog, allergies, bladder issues/infections, compromised immunity.

Steps to improve:

1.      Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day as it sets our metabolism, influences hunger hormones and activates gut bacteria → the time that you “break fast” is not important but what foods you do this with are, as they will influence energy and cravings for the rest of the day. Always include complete proteins to balance carbohydrates.

2.      Slow down, sense your food and let the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) kick in.

3.      Stimulate digestive secretions such as stomach acid and bile → lemon juice, apple cider vinegar before or with meals, bitter greens, herbal bitters such as gentian and globe artichoke.

4.      Digestive enzymes → are naturally stimulated for release when the above measures are taken, however some extra help may be required in the form of enzyme supplements that contain amylase, lipase and protease for carb, fat and protein breakdown.

5.      Gut bacteria → look after the good ones as they help break down foods too and prevent overgrowth of the bad guys that slow down metabolism and increase toxicity.

Things to avoid:

·       Preservatives → they interfere in the body’s ability to break down food and extract nutrients.

·       Sugars, bad fats, excess animal protein → promote growth of non beneficial gut bacteria

·       Over eating → hurts the digestive system as the body can only deal with a certain amount of food in 1 day and the excess is converted to body fat.