OPTIMIZING YOUR DIGESTION

Previously we talked about the importance of digestion. If you haven’t read this article yet, you will find it here . In the article you are reading now, I want to elaborate on this topic. Because, as I mentioned in the previous article, digestion is much more important than many people realize. If your body cannot properly break down and absorb the food you eat, you can do much less with it than it could potentially. Then it may also screw up a few things for you, because undigested food can put a lot of stress on the intestines.

Digestion is also not an isolated thing. Few people are aware of it, but the intestines greatly affect our body, both physically and mentally. In addition, our intestines are in turn greatly influenced by lifestyle and body. It is clear that this can lead to a downward spiral in which it is no longer clear what influences what, but in which it is clear that the complaints are very annoying!

In this article I want to introduce you to this complex, but interesting story. You will also learn how to optimize your digestion!

PROBLEMS WITH YOUR DIGESTION: THE CAUSES

Problems with digestion can of course come from being allergic or intolerant to certain foods or simply because you eat too much. For example, I often see with myself and with customers at the end of a bulk that more problems arise around the digestion of food. Think of a bloated stomach, a lot of gas, an uncomfortable feeling and constipation.

In addition, we sometimes see such problems recurring in women with some regularity depending on their period. These inconveniences are not ‘just like that’. There is genuinely a lot to be done in terms of optimization. In the near future, the ladies can expect a lot about this from this angle. I can advise you to keep an eye on this when you encounter these inconveniences, because there is a very nice collaboration coming up.

However, the list does not end here. The very factors that I want to discuss with you in this article may not seem to have anything to do with these complaints at first, but they can absolutely solve them!

TRAINING AND LOADING

The first factor that is important to keep an eye on is, yes: training. We have already talked about it in so many articles, but training is stress and when you just do something there is a chance that you will do the same for too long at some point. When the body does not recover from this, purely because the stimulus is no longer trainable, or because of other preconditions, inflammation can develop. This can have consequences for your physical, but also your digestion.

Have the problems you are experiencing started recently and if so, have you happened to make any recent adjustments to your training program or was the previous program extreme? It might be a good idea to set up a deload .

Perhaps you are taking too much volume, or your nutrition is not well attuned to the stimulus you want or think you will train.

ALWAYS THAT STRESS AND SLEEP

The following point arises from this: stress . We have discussed training stress, but life itself also consists of stress. As you know from previous articles, stress is not bad, but uncontrolled and long-term stress is. Not only physical, but also mental stress can, among other things, turn your hormone system upside down.

There are supplements that can help manage stress, but it can also be very wise to prioritize them in terms of lifestyle. Both for absorption and digestion of food, as for recovery, and for your physical and mental progression and condition. In recent months I have been focusing much more on the mental aspect with my clients and I literally see more results with less.

Find out what causes you stress and what you can do about it, or find someone who can help you optimize this! Sleep also responds perfectly to this. It is not without reason that I have already dirty many words about sleep and lack of sleep ;

Sleep. Affects. Everything. From recovery, to muscle growth, to your life expectancy, to your risk of Alzheimer’s, to the risk of injury, to even how well food is digested. So if your sleep is not optimal, improving it should be your first priority .

YOU DON’T GUESS … NUTRITION

Hell yes. One of the things that can affect the digestion of food is food itself.

We’ve talked about allergies or intolerances for quite a while, but it goes beyond that. The more additives there are in food, the more ingredients can potentially affect your stomach, intestines and bacteria in your intestines. An imbalance of the different bacterial colonies in your intestines (you may remember the effects of antibiotics) can have very unpleasant consequences. Each type of bacteria has its own preference for food.

Aside from all the other reasons we can come up with to go for fresh, unprocessed food, this is definitely one. And no, I’m not saying that you should only eat unprocessed food. However, it is wise to give your body what it needs and that goes beyond just proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Research even suggests that the bacteria in your gut communicate with your brain in some way and can influence your cravings. Do you eat a lot of junk food? Then bacteria that go well on this will indirectly ensure that you feel more like junk food. Do you eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and good quality food? Then you will start to like these foods better. Choose for yourself!

DEAR DIARY…

If the problems persist, it may be wise to keep a diary in which you write down what complaints you have and what you eat when. In this way, it can be quite easy to find a pattern of which foods seem to trigger certain complaints.

When this is not enough, an elimination diet is an option. However, this takes a lot of time, but you should never just accept permanent discomfort or complaints in your life.

You change your diet completely and then see what the complaints are like after a certain time. If they are less, you will gradually start to implement ‘old’ foods again in a logical way. This way you discover what causes the complaints.

Of course it is also possible to have an extensive test done for intolerances and allergies. However, this is not 100% accurate and costs considerably more money.

SUPPLEMENTS AND DIGESTION

In addition to nutrition, it is also wise to look at the quality of your supplements. Choose a brand of which you are sure that it guarantees quality and do not always only think about your wallet. As with many things in life, cheap is often expensive.

Adding fiber (supplements) to your diet can certainly be of added value. Besides that fiber binds certain toxins and bile and thus helps with its excretion, some fibers are also perfect food for the good bacteria in your intestines.

HEALTH (AND DIGESTION) ABOVE ALL ELSE

As I explained at the outset, this can be a pretty complex topic to sort out, but there is the potential to be extremely profitable. In addition, no one has ever achieved worse results by putting health first.

Take the time for this and in the longer term this investment will pay for itself several times over.