Digestive Wellness: How Awareness and Eating Hygiene Shape Your Health

In this series we give you tips on how to reach your most vibrant health by giving your body what it needs to thrive. Here are the 10 health foundations:

Come back next month to learn more about Sleep and why it is so important. But now, let’s take a closer look at digestion and our gut.

This phrase was coined by Hippocrates, the greek ‘father of medicine’, over 2400 years ago, highlighting the central role digestion plays in health. This has not changed.

Digestion is at the core of our well-being, yet many of us give little thought to how, when, and what we eat. With bringing awareness to this topic, we can seriously upgrade our health! Good eating hygiene, awareness around food and digestion, and contemplating the connection between digestion and overall health, creates a foundation for better energy, mental clarity, and long-term wellness.

Eating Hygiene refers to the practices that support optimal digestion. It’s not just about what we eat but how we eat. Distractions, rushed meals, and improper chewing force the digestive system to work harder, potentially leading to bloating, discomfort, and poor nutrient absorption, putting more strain on the body. Eating in a relaxed state, chewing thoroughly, and avoiding distractions can dramatically improve digestion and with it, overall health.

Chewing is the first mechanical step in digestion, breaking down food into smaller particles and mixing it with saliva to initiate chemical digestion. Insufficient chewing forces the digestive system to work harder, potentially leading to discomfort and reduced nutrient absorption. Thorough chewing not only aids in nutrient extraction but also enhances the overall eating experience. Experts suggest that mindful eating, which includes chewing food thoroughly, can improve digestion and reduce gastrointestinal discomfort.

Eat only when hungry. Eat only until about 80% full – this way you will avoid the stuffed feeling and drowsiness that often follows a meal. Also, treat the act of eating as a full-body experience. Ask yourself:

• How long does it take to chew each bite?
• Do you swallow when your food is fully broken down?
• Are you aware of the aroma, taste, and texture of your food?
• How does your body feel during, immediately after eating, and 2-3 hours later?

Mindful eating in this way can help identify food sensitivities, promote a more intuitive connection with your body, and make mealtime more enjoyable.

Timing plays a big role in optimal digestion. Have you heard of the Sumo Wrestlers in Japan? Their diet includes large quantities of starches right before bed. So if you would like to add bulk to your body, this is the way to go – although if you are like most people, that’s something you would like to avoid. Instead, and for improved sleep, finish your last meal 3 hours before bed.

“A sleep study has shown that eating a high-calorie meal 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime had a significant negative effect on sleep quality, especially in women.” (*see source below)

If you cherish a lean body, stay away from large meals at night, as they put a big burden on the digestive system. On the other hand, skipping breakfast may disrupt energy levels. Consider these general guidelines:

• Morning: Nutrient-dense, easily digestible foods like fruit, protein, and healthy fats provide sustained energy.
• Afternoon: Balanced meals with protein, fiber, and healthy fats support stable blood sugar.
• Evening: Lighter meals with cooked vegetables, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates ease digestion before sleep.

Taking a stroll after eating can do wonders for your health. That’s because taking a brisk walk within 30 minutes after finishing a meal has been shown to significantly lower elevated blood sugar levels.

Movement helps your body better process the carbohydrates from your meal, which may help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), heart disease, and other chronic conditions. (*see source below)

Feel satisfied and energized after every meal without the constant urge to snack by starting your meal with Protein, Healthy Fat, and Fiber. Save the sugars and starches for last.

Eating in this way, protein, fat and fiber will fill you up and help you stay that longer. They also slow the absorption of sugar and starch into your bloodstream, which helps avoid the blood sugar spikes and crashes that lead to cravings and overeating. (*see sources below)

Restricting calories from time to time is a way to up-level one’s health and longevity. Not having to focus on digesting food, the body can allocate resources to cleaning and repairing, which ultimately can prolong your life.

While a rigorous multiple day fast should not be done without doctor approval and supervision, intermittent fasting is much easier to implement for most people and has similar health benefits. Here are three common methods of intermittent fasting:

• 16:8 Method (Daily Fasting) – Fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8-hour window each day. For example, you might eat between 10 AM and 7 PM, then fast until the next day at 10 AM. This is one of the most popular and sustainable methods.
• 5:2 Method (Weekly Fasting) – Eat normally for five days of the week, then restrict calorie intake to 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days (e.g., Monday and Thursday).
• 24-Hour Fast (Once a Week or Month) – Fast for a full 24 hours once or twice a week. This means, for example, eating dinner at 6 PM and not eating again until 6 PM the next day.

Fasting while eating a daily diet of processed foods is not recommended, it simply does not provide enough nutrition to the body. Stick with fresh local and organic veggies, fruit, meats, eggs and milk products instead – see our first article in this series on Nutrition. If you are interested in fasting, seek your doctor’s advice if this is right for you.

Regular digestion is a sign of a healthy gut. Ideally, bowel movements should occur 1-3 times daily, be well-formed, and pass with ease. Irregularity, constipation, or diarrhea can indicate imbalances in hydration, fiber intake, stress levels, or microbiome health.

Irregularity might sound like a little nuisance not worth mentioning (and maybe hard to talk about because of stigma), but if this is you, be sure to mention it to your naturopathic physician. It can impact your health immensely. Read on for some tips on how to get more regular.

Sitting vs. Squatting

The position in which we eliminate waste can impact our digestive health. Squatting, or using a footstool to elevate the feet while sitting on a toilet, aligns the colon for easier elimination, reducing strain and supporting bowel regularity. Try it out to see if this works for you!

Support a Healthy Gut Microbiome

The gut microbiome, composed of trillions of bacteria, affects digestion, immunity, and even mental health. Supporting it with prebiotic-rich foods (onions, garlic, bananas), fibers (grains, legumes, vegetables), and probiotic sources (fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi) promotes a balanced gut environment and will help with regularity.

Following the ‘Urge’

Ignoring the natural urge to eliminate can lead to constipation and disrupt digestive patterns. Tuning into your body’s signals and responding when needed supports natural detoxification and gut function. Make it a point to listen to your body, even if it’s inconvenient. Your health is worth it!

I’m sure you have heard of the gut microbiome before, but did you know there might be more bacteria in your gut than there are cells in your body? It is estimated that your gut houses about 39 trillion microbes!

The microbiome influences mood, cognitive function, stress responses, even cravings. If it’s healthy it supports emotional stability, while an imbalanced microbiome can contribute to anxiety, depression, and brain fog. Having a healthy gut microbiome means that there are more beneficial microbes than harmful ones. ‘Good’ microbes can keep the ‘bad’ ones in check, and what you ingest has a direct influence on it.

For instance, taking antibiotics is sometimes necessary, but it wipes out large parts of your ‘good’ microbes as well as the ‘bad’ ones it is targeting. The result is a decrease of beneficial bacteria, an increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a less diverse gut flora. This can have long-term health consequences, including increased susceptibility to infections, altered metabolism, and a higher risk of developing conditions like obesity, allergies, and asthma.

Eating probiotics, prebiotics and fiber-rich foods during and after a course of antibacterial medication helps mitigate the deleterious effects and can get your microbiome back into balance quickly. (*see sources below)

Permanent stress is an unfortunate side effect of our society. When the body is in stress, the sympathetic nervous system (flight-or-fight response) is activated. This affects a body in several ways: the blood flow goes out to the limbs, the brain triggers  automatic responses rather than thinking, and digestion is turned off. After all, digesting food is not important when you run away from a lion, right? When you try eating in this state of mind, you probably won’t feel good afterwards.

If you find yourself wanting to take a meal when you are stressed, create a relaxing eating environment, try some deep breathing and grounding, and be mindful during the meal. This will activate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, its ‘rest-and-digest’ response, allowing for optimal nutrient absorption and digestive ease. (*see sources below)

Conclusion

Bringing awareness to how, when, and what we eat transforms digestion into a conscious practice that supports overall health. By improving eating hygiene, honoring natural digestive rhythms, and nourishing the microbiome, we can create a foundation for vitality, energy, and long-term well-being.

Sources

Cibele Aparecida Crispim, Ioná Zalcman Zimberg, Bruno Gomes dos Reis, Rafael Marques Diniz, Sérgio Tufik, Marco Túlio de Mello
Relationship between Food Intake and Sleep Pattern in Healthy Individuals
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3227713/

How Stress and Constipation Are Connected
https://www.health.com/can-stress-cause-constipation-8772553

Maintaining a Healthy Gut
https://www.self.com/story/how-to-improve-gut-health

What You Should Eat During and After Antibiotics
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-to-eat-antibiotics#antibiotics-explained

Antibiotics Alter the Gut Microbiome and Host Health
https://www.nature.com/articles/d42859-019-00019-x

Do antibiotics really wipe out your gut bacteria?
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230825-do-antibiotics-really-wipe-out-your-gut-bacteria

Tyler LeBouef; Zachary Yaker; Lacey Whited
Physiology, Autonomic Nervous System
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538516/

Tia M. Rains, Heather J Leidy, Kristen D Sanoshy, Andrea L Lawless & Kevin C Maki 
A randomized, controlled, crossover trial to assess the acute appetitive and metabolic effects of sausage and egg-based convenience breakfast meals in overweight premenopausal women
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-015-0002-7

Loretta DiPietro, Andrei Gribok, Michelle S Stevens, Larry F Hamm, William Rumpler
Three 15-min bouts of moderate postmeal walking significantly improves 24-h glycemic control in older people at risk for impaired glucose tolerance
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23761134/