Digestion... and it’s difficulties

Once it was easy…

Youthful and robust, with vigor and buoyancy, and an appetite fueled by a digestive power house equaled to that only of an ox.

Or maybe the belly has always been a sensitive place for you?

First, a bit of anthropology...

In many cultures around the world, our bodies were seen to house 3 minds.

One in our belly, another in our heart, and the final in our brain.

The primary mind, our belly, was the one to consult the majority of the time, for sensing our way through the landscape with that deep ‘gut instinct’, we made most decisions from here.

The second, our heart, was for feeling, understanding another, yet less practical in a survival situation.

The final, our brain, also known in indigenous Australian dialogue as “Nandu ka ru” – the tangled fishing net. To be used only in certain situations, as pure logic generally doesn’t meld too easily into the natural way of things.

We have since moved far away from this way of existing. I have heard one psychology professor say in jest, “most of us believe our body is just made to get our brains from point A to point B…”

And at times it appears to be that way. With the constant of the clock, meeting after meeting to discuss business issues, when is the moment to stop and feel?

Besides, where are we supposed to feel from anyway!?

Back to digestion…

Have you found sensitivity to certain foods, such as grains, dairy, sugar? Maybe the sensitivity exists all the time, or only in certain periods? Possibly your digestion seems difficult to track, and you’re unable to identify the causative agent causing the bloating, diarrhea, constipation?

When our digestive system is moving outside of harmony, it can be draining, taking all our energy and focus into the pain, discomfort, or embarrassing odors.

The thing is, it is not easy.

The taking of nutrients and breaking them down, the absorption, the highly complex biochemical pathways undertaken to power our cells eventually in the electron transport chain, and the elimination of what’s been decided as non-essential, are all performed by the enteric nervous system, unguarded by a conscious witness.

But, so what? This is what our species has trained itself to do since we identified as ‘Australopithecus africanus’…

In our earlier lifestyles, there were no freezers, no deep fryers, no takeaway cafes, no microwave ovens. There were only seasons and food supplies depended on the annual rainfall, the sun, and quality of the soil. There was no shipping trans-continent. There were no year-round fruits readily available, nor was the soil sprayed heavily with glyphosate.

One lecturer at university used to say to us,

“Gluten intolerance… or glyphosate intolerance...?

The deep, deep, listening of the abdomen. Do we still have that capacity? To know when to stop eating. To feel that a certain food will not serve us. To take extended periods (beyond 8 hours!) without putting something in our mouth and giving our bodies the chance to break down all the energy stored as fat around our midline? - known as gluconeogenesis for readers interested in a little more biochemistry homework.

The gut microbiome is the home of trillions of microbial cells. All of which are directly linked to our diet, environment, lifestyle, and medications. Underlying health conditions also influence the microbiota, with any gut dysbiosis easily altering the balance of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms.

If you wish to find that place of ease within your belly, here are a couple of ideas...

Listen!

There is hunger, and then there is ‘believed’ hunger. Generally, the latter arrives on a workday at lunchtime at 12pm. But perhaps doesn’t on the weekend? Check-in. is it really time to eat.

Let the moment be empty.

When you find yourself with nothing to do, don’t fill it with eating. I call it, ‘the prison of the fridge’. Just sit and watch that craving to go to the kitchen and put something in your mouth. Sometimes in that action, we are looking to simply change the way we are feeling through a flavor.

Watch your energy levels and mind after food.

Feel like sleeping after food? Perhaps you ate too much. Churning stomach after coffee? maybe try a weaker one, or wait until after breakfast before drinking it. Irritable or anxious if you’ve missed lunch or a snack? Perhaps insulin secretion is a little out from constant snacking and blood sugar spiking.

There never is a time when your diet will be perfect. Simply due to the mere fact of the only constant on earth, that is, change. The time of day, the season and temperature, your age, activity, metabolic needs, will continue to alter throughout your whole life. The sooner the deeper investigation and inquiry into our connection to food, the sooner we can begin to heal and express excited energy equal to that of the colorful cuisine we consumed.