2. Set your nervous system state – Rest and Digest vs. Fight or Flight. Consider for a moment that our autonomic nervous system has two different states, parasympathetic and sympathetic. The parasympathetic state is designed for mechanical and chemical digestion and nutrient absorption. We have the power to set our nervous system state with our breath, intention, and environment.I challenge you within these 40 days and beyond to fight the current of modern society that has us humming in a sympathetic state more often than not, and do the work to protect your eating time and get into a parasympathetic state to digest. You can do this by learning to slow things down around you, by turning off devices and nervous system stimulation around you when you eat, and harness the power of your own breath to change your state.
3. Chew your food – Lastly, the mechanical breakdown of food happens in your mouth and stomach. As I’ve stated before, the stomach doesn’t have teeth, so we need to utilize chewing to do the initial breakdown of food. Chewing your food more helps accomplish several things:
- Slows down the eating process, which allows for better feedback loops to signal satiety
- Denatures proteins and cell walls of our foods so we can have better subsequent breakdown in the stomach and small intestine