How to naturally boost your digestive juices and why it is so important to do so
First of all…What are digestive juices? When I talk digestive juices i’m talking about all the enzymes that your body produces to help break down your food. It is one of the initial stages of digestion and if this process isn't working properly then you are making it extra hard for the rest of your digestion to take place. Digestive enzymes are things like hydrochloric acid, lipase, tripsin, amylase and even bile.
Increasing your digestive juices is so important for a variety of reasons. Increasing your digestive juices enables the body to properly digest foods, as well as allowing optimal absorption of nutrients from your diet. Having optimal hydrochloric acid is also an important element of the immune system, as it has the ability to prevent pathogens entering our body and causing gastro like symptoms. When we have optimal digestive juices it also reduces the likelihood of reflux symptoms from occurring, reduced bloating and abdominal discomfort and improves overall digestion.
Some ways you can tell if your digestive juices are not optimal is by the following symptoms:
The presence of undigested food in the stool (gross I know, but have a look next time)
The feeling of being full very quickly, or the feeling of food just sitting in your stomach
Reflux symptoms
Bloating and overall abdominal discomfort.
So how can we increase our digestive juices?
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is a favourite of mine for helping to increase the bodies digestive juices. It works in a couple of ways to do so.
It is believed that when we ingest apple cider vinegar the natural acidity assist the breakdown of food in the stomach as it immediately enters. Anotehr way which it works is by the taste. When the taste of the apple cider vinegar hits the yur tongue it stimulates the body to produce its own digestive juices naturally. Either way it is a great way to easy boost your digestive juices. I would normally do a cap flu in a small amount of warm water to have the desired effect.
Bitter greens
Bitter greens such as rocket, chard, kale, spinach etc are excellent at stimulating your digestive juices. They work with the same principle as Apple Cider Vinegar. When the bitter taste receptors are activated it stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid within the stomach. Increasing the greens is also great for people who suffer with reflux, as it helps to tone the muscle at the bottom of the oesophagus, essentially retraining it to close off the oesophagus once food has passed down, preventing it from being regurgitated.
Increase your protein
This is so important for the long term production of healthy digestive enzymes. Protein is the building block of hydrochloric acid (along with zinc) so ensuring that protein intake is optimal this will assist in the long term production of digestive juices, long after treatment is stopped.
Reduce your stress
When we are stressed the stomach reduces the amount of digestive enzymes being produced, no matter how much protein we have or how healthy we are. Managing stress levels, or at least not eating large meals when we are stressed is so important for allowing optimal digestion to take place. Even if this stress is long term, trying your best to eat in a relaxed environment away from distractions is so important.
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KARAH xx
