Digestive system

How many calories? how many grams of sugar? How much fat? Do you recognize the questions? How much salt? I cant have this and that? Yes all the above is good to know but in the end it does not really matter. It is all about what kind of food and how the food gets processed in our body not how many calories. Don’t get me wrong I also believe in portion control. The right kind of food will nourish your inside and that is where it all begins. Having a great digestive system with a great many good gut bacteria and enzymes as well as your hormones in check is key to a healthy and energized life style. Eating whole and organic foods is a great start.

Your digestive system starts in your mouth where you chew your food. Can you think of a time where you just literally inhaled your food and didn’t even remember what you ate? I know Rob does. The break down of our food starts in the mouth. We carry very important digestive enzymes in our saliva. When chewing, you give the food digestive enzymes and also lubricate the food, all this makes it easier to break down and absorb nutrients from the foods. Chewing our food also helps us break it down to smaller particles and that makes it easier to digest and absorb all the nutrients. The more you do the work the better for the gut. When in the stomach we need digestive enzymes and good bacterias, living probiotics. We carry digestive enzymes naturally in our bodies. Unfortunately, as we age, the gut becomes less efficient and we naturally begin to produce fewer digestive enzymes. As a result, our digestive tract gradually becomes less alkaline and it becomes more difficult for our bodies to completely break down the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the foods we eat. Raw foods contain natural enzymes that make their own digestion easier, but the more refined foods are, the more digestive enzymes your body must produce on its own to absorb nutrients properly. That being said, if you grow up on lots of processed and refined foods, you might be lacking in digestive enzymes.

We have digestive enzymes throughout our digestive track but mostly in the upper gut where the main breakdown of the food happens. Probiotic bacteria are another important part of our digestive system. Probiotics are the good bacteria in our gut that help fight the bad bacteria and promote overall digestion and health. The bacteria lives predominantly in the lower part our gut. It is important to have both digestive enzymes and probiotic bacteria in your system.

Foods that are rich in digestive enzymes include avocados, bananas, pineapples, Apricots, papayas and kimchi. Foods that are rich in live probiotic bacteria include: sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir, harvest vegan cashew yogurt, anything pickled, some cheeses, Harvest vegan cashew cheese, kombucha and water kefir . If you need an immediate booster there are supplements out there. Digestive enzymes: Bromeliad, amylase and lipase as well as probiotic supplements. Use carefully and ask advice from your doctor about what kind (there are lots of non good quality ones out there). Or simply enjoy foods that are listed above at Harvest cafe :).

Boost your digestive track by chewing, eating whole and organic foods, DRINK LOTS OF WATER and avoid over eating in one sitting.  Your digestive system likes medium sized breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as small snacks in between to keep the fire going as well as avoid crashing and overeating. 

What I do:

• Drink matcha daily (see previous blog post)
• Taking B+, an herbal formula from Peak Harmonic that is for sale at Harvest Cafe.
• Drinking water throughout the day (see previous blog post)
• Having a healthy snack in-between meals, most likely a superball with herbal tea.
• Trying to chew my food!!
• Living by the 80/20 idea

I truly believe in 80/20! Meaning 80% of my intake I like to eat healthy and nutritious food. 20% I think about my social and mental well being, meaning that I don’t really pay attention to what I eat.  A glass of wine, some actual cheese and a brownie from time to time. Balance is a healthy mindset.