We’re all prone to a little indulgence at Christmas, but rich food and overeating can play havoc with your digestion, leaving you bloated and uncomfortable. It’s not surprising – we consume on average 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone. That’s three times the recommended daily intake for women!
There are a variety of reasons why the holidays create more tummy troubles than the rest of the year:
You often eat more than you usually would, putting pressure on the digestive system.
You might be drinking a lot more when you eat – whether it’s prosecco at a party or red wine on Christmas Day – and this dilutes stomach acid, making it harder to properly digest your food.
Rich, creamy foods that are more common at Christmas can trigger heartburn or reflux, or worsen IBS symptoms.
Though festive food and drink can be tough on the digestive system, it doesn’t have to be this way. Just follow my expert tips to keep your tummy happy this Christmas.
Use your senses
The first step in the digestive process is often overlooked, but it’s incredibly important. It's called the cephalic phase, and it’s triggered when you see or smell food. This gets your digestive juices flowing, even before you've taken the first bite.
The act of thinking about or smelling your meals helps to prepare your body to digest food by releasing enzymes in your saliva. This means your body is actually getting ready to digest your meal before you've even eaten. Simple, right? But so often we're so busy rushing through meals or distracted by the TV we miss this important step.
Try this: Take a moment to truly focus on the food you’re about to eat. Let your senses enjoy the flavours, and watch how your digestion improves.
Chew your food properly
Remember what Mum used to say? Well, she was right! Chewing your food is key to good digestion. When you chew well, you break your food into smaller pieces, which increases the surface area and makes it easier for your digestive enzymes to do their job.
And the bad news? If you’re not chewing properly, it’s highly likely that you’re not digesting your food properly. And that means you won’t be absorbing the vital nutrients either. Not chewing also means the food you eat takes much longer to break down, and, as it hangs around in your digestive system, it can start to ferment, causing uncomfortable wind, gas and bloating.
The goal is to chew until the food is unrecognisable. Think of it as a test – if someone asked you to spit out your food, would they know what you’d eaten?
Balance your stomach acid
Its a common misconception that digestive troubles, like heartburn, are caused by too much stomach acid. What nutritionists like me find more frequently in clinic is the total opposite! Getting older, stress and some over-the-counter medications can make your stomach acid levels drop to the extent that you don’t produce enough to digest food sufficiently.
Why is this important? The stomach acid you produce not only kills any bacteria in the food you are eating, it also breaks down the protein in your meal. If you’re not properly digesting the protein element in food, it can start to ferment, creating gases that force up the oesophageal sphincter muscle (a type of muscle flap) and what little stomach acid there is can escape. So the burning feeling, especially if accompanied by smelly gas, can be a sign your digestion isn’t working as well as it should be.
A simple solution is to have a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (with 'mother') before your main meals.
There are people who genuinely produce too much stomach acid and, if you try the apple cider vinegar trick and it seems to make things worse, you can neutralise the acid by taking a little bicarbonate of soda.
Take a digestive enzyme supplement
Digestive enzymes break down our food into nutrients so our bodies can absorb them. But as we age, we naturally produce fewer of these helpful enzymes. You can counteract this by including foods that are high in enzymes, like pineapple or papaya, before a meal.
If you aren’t a fan of these fruits, instead try a digestive enzyme capsule (available from health food shops), which will give your system a gentle boost and help you to feel more comfortable after big meals.
Space out your meals
Your digestive system needs time to rest and reset. If you’re constantly nibbling on Christmas nuts, chocolates, or leftovers, your digestive system is working overtime.
Eating every 3-4 hours is a good benchmark to aim for, and gives the body enough time to completely digest the previous meal and have a break before you put it to work again.
Of course there will be days, especially in the holiday season, when your eating routine falls out of whack, but don’t stress. Just try and get back to your usual routine the next day.
Walk it off
After a big meal, instead of reaching for the sofa, try a gentle walk. A short 15-minute walk after eating helps lower blood sugar levels, reducing insulin release. Since insulin is the hormone that promotes fat storage, taking a walk makes it less likely that you’ll store extra fat from your meal. Plus, it helps your food move through your digestive system more quickly, improving digestion.
Give these simple tips a try this Christmas and see if you feel better! If you’ve been struggling with digestive issues or perimenopausal for a while, I’d love to help. Book a free health and energy review call with me, and together we’ll figure out what’s going on with your gut and create a plan to get you feeling great. You can book that call HERE
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