06/08/2024
We’ve all heard the expression “you are what you eat”, but that’s only partially true. The truth is that you are what you absorb, so if you’re not digesting your food properly, you won’t get the nutritional benefits of the food you’re eating.
Digestion is a complex process which relies on many factors and steps to properly transport and use the food you eat to fuel your body. When something goes wrong in this process, it can manifest in a multitude of ways, most commonly gas, bloating, abdominal pain, food sensitivities, acid reflux/heartburn, constipation or diarrhea. If allowed to continue, digestive problems can lead to more serious problems such as fatigue, IBS/IBD, SIBO, depression, diabetes, weight loss resistance, and auto-immune disease.
Unfortunately, our ability to properly digest food can easily be disrupted by chronic stress, poor diet, environmental toxins, pharmaceuticals (acid blockers or PPIs are particularly problematic), age (stomach acid starts to drop off in our 30’s and 40’s), and chronic illness, and often it is hard to determine which came first, the illness or the gut dysfunction.
But the good news is that there are many ways in which to boost our digestive capacity, or “digestive fire”, to help relieve symptoms and restore nutrient absorption.
Digestive fire is a term used to describe the ability of our body to produce sufficient enzymes, stomach acid, and bile to break down our food into tiny particles which can be absorbed through our intestinal tract. Read my latest blog post to learn more about how to boost your digestive fire. Click the Blog link in my bio or go to joliverwellness.com/blog to read the whole post.
