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February 25, 2021Ayurvedic Tips to Help with Digestion and Igniting the Digestive Fire
Digestion is a common subject among health enthusiasts. Consider the common phrase “we are what we eat” and change it to “we are what we digest.” Today I will be sharing amazing tips about how to help strengthen your digestive fire and how to use Ayurveda to get healthier every time you eat.
Tip 1: Stimulate your digestive system before eating
There are certain poses that we can do before eating that are ideal for the digestive system. These poses create a twist in the GI tract that ignites the digestive fire responsible for facilitating gastric juice flow that aids digestion. An example is the Marichi Pose that helps prepare the body for digestion.
Tip 2: Eat foods in the right order
Certain foods have to be eaten in the right order to help with the breakdown of components such as proteins and carbohydrates. For better digestion, it is recommended to always start with proteins. This is because the stomach produces a certain amount of hydrochloric acid at a given time. In our foods, only proteins require hydrochloric acid to be broken down. In this regard, it will be best to start with that piece of chicken or tofu before moving to other nutrients.
Another recommendation for the order of food is to avoid eating fruits after a meal. The reason for this is that fruits digest faster than any other foods. The body will focus on breaking them down first and not doing a great job on the other foods. However, this tip comes with the exceptions of fruits like mango, papaya, and pineapples. These kinds of fruits have digestive enzymes that help in the breakdown of proteins and other nutrients. Thus, it will be okay to take them after a meal.
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Tip 3: Sip a digestive tea with your meal
Tip #3 draws from the directive not to drink cold water with your meal. Drinking cold water can be synonymous with asking your digestive tract to break down food while freezing it. Instead, warm water or digestive tea is the best option to sip with your meal. Apart from the temperature, cold drinks also mess with the digestive enzymes in our mouths that help with digestion.
Try a digestive tea recipe: (pot boiled with 2 cups of water)
- Half a teaspoon of fennel
- Half a teaspoon of ground coriander
- A pinch of ground cardamom
- One crushed cardamom
Tip 4: Practice these poses after you eat
The hero pose or the reclined hero pose (also referred to as the supta virasana) is known to stimulate digestion. Alternatively, if you cannot strike the pose, go for a short walk after eating to achieve the same results as the supta virasana.
Tip 5: Lie on your left side for 10 minutes
Lying on your left side, with a proper cushion on your left side to create space for your stomach and to allow it to relax and spreading out helps optimize digestion. Moreover, the liver and gallbladder are situated on the right. Thus, lying on the left allows gravity to draw bile down to the stomach to help with digestion. Contrastingly, lying on the right side puts too much pressure on your stomach, forcing the food down to your intestines without proper digestion.
These Ayurvedic tips are beneficial for digestion. One can apply them in all three meals of the day or start with just the evening meal. As the ayurvedic clock suggests that from 12 noon to 2 pm, our digestive fire is at the highest, therefore, an ideal time to have the heaviest meals or occasionally a cheat meal.About YouVeda
Here at YouVeda, our vision is simple. We want to create a healthier, happier world using the intelligence of Mother Nature.
We believe in the ancient principles of Ayurveda and want to bring them to you in a modern, easy way. That’s why we created our innovative, full-support supplements that contain only the best, highest-quality organic and wild-harvested ingredients. Through YouVeda, we hope to ignite belief in your innate power to heal and inspire you to live a fuller life — physically, mentally and emotionally.
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