How To Support Your Nervous System And Get Out Of Fight Or Flight In Order To Digest Your Food Properly

Stress inhibits digestion on a physiological level. It inhibits:

• Salivation
• Digestive enzyme release
• Bile release
• The categorization of foods as nutrients or waste
• Nutrient absorption
• Bowel movements

Stress may also cause a decrease in blood flow and oxygen to the stomach, which could lead to cramping, inflammation, or an imbalance of gut bacteria.

That’s why it’s so important to be relaxed and in the parasympathetic state (the rest and digest) state as apposed to the sympathetic (fight of flight) state while you eat.

Ever feel knots in your stomach, a sinking feeling, your stools backing up, or just no appetite at all?

If you do you’ve probably noticed it most often when you are stressed!

Stress is our bodies response to perceived danger and it diverts energy and nutrients away from the digestive track into your eyes, heart, muscles, and other areas that will sharpen your reflexes, allow you to fight, flee, and hopefully survive.

For most of human history this stress response was activated in response to predators like bears and mountain lions or physical dangers like falling or drowning.

Once the danger was no longer present your body would slip back into the parasympathetic state and be able to effectively digest food and repair itself.

However now a days our bodies get a bit confused because most stress is created in our mind.

We get stressed over things we think about and sometimes this goes on for several hours or even days. During this time your body in the sympathetic mode and can’t digest food or repair your body properly.

If you eat anyways, you won’t be able to digest it properly and will likely end up bloated, gassy, in pain, and constipated!

So how do you make sure you’re in the parasympathetic state when you go to eat:

First tune into your body. If your salivating, hungry and in a good mood you’re good to go! If you aren’t hungry or know you’re stressed, wait to eat.

Do something de-stressing to help bring your body into the parasympathetic state like meditate, go for a walk, do some stretches, lay down for a few minutes, etc. and wait a bit till you feel hungry and calm.

When you go to eat:

•  Take a few deep breaths before starting
•  Eat slow
•  Chew your food thoroughly
•  Be present while eating, don’t multitask
•  Don’t talk about or think about stressful things (there’s a reason they say not to bring politics to the dinner table)
•  Sit and relax for a minimum of 10 minutes after you eat