Beat the bloat in time for summer

It's May. After a a 90-degree April day, I dug my summer clothes out from their hiding spot in the back of my closet.

Eager to cool off, I pulled out a pair of shorts, all wrinkled up from their winter slumber, and pulled them on. Though they're a little bit stretchy, I had to give them an extra tug to button them at my waistline. Ugh! I quickly discarded them on the floor next to me and reached for the next pair. 10 minutes later, I had created a whole pile of discarded shorts--a crinkled, disheveled mini mountain of disgust laying at my feet. I peered down at my bloated belly with dismay. "Winter, what have you done to me?" Yes, I had been indulgent. I had traveled, celebrated, met friends for drinks and eaten junky foods. I had also exercised, eaten salmon and salads, meditated, and kept up with other healthy habits. And this is life, right? We go back and forth between doing what we can to help our health and doing what feels good in the moment. I get it. I do it. So, what do you do about the belly bloat? Aside from reengaging in the habits you already know are healing for you--like drinking plenty of water, eating more organic fresh fruits and vegetables, and eliminating processed foods--here are a few tips to help your body digest better. (Digesting better = running better). 1) Bless your food. When you stop to think about the food you eat before you eat it, you're starting the cephalic phase of digestion. Like Pavlov's dogs, you begin to salivate at the mere anticipation of the meal. Saliva is an important part of digestion, because it contains enzymes, which chemically break down your food. Food turns into nutrients during the digestion process, and this chemical breakdown by saliva is the first step toward making your food's nutrients more accessible to your body. 2) Chew thoroughly. Most of us just hoover our food down, rather than savor it. Chewing enables mechanical digestion to begin, which breaks food into smaller particles and creates more surface area for the enzymes in saliva to access it. The chewing and enzymes together begin to cleave apart long strands of macronutrients into smaller units, helping to turn food into accessible nutrients. It also signals your body to prepare for the mechanical digestion that will propel your chewed food to the stomach, where stomach acids and squeezing action kill harmful pathogens and further churn food into a more absorbable liquidy mixture. 3) Slooooooow down. Eating slowly allows all of the chemical and mechanical processes ample time to take place so food gets broken down as much as possible before hitting the stomach, small intestine and colon. This means less work and less energy are required for digestion and more energy is available for other things! Eating slowly also allows your body the time needed to register that it's full. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes from the time you swallow till you begin to feel full, so if you wolf down the whole taco bowl in 5 minutes, you may be overfull by the time your brain gets the message. Eating slowly also ensures nutrients break down properly and are more accessible to your body. 4) Eat until you're 80% full. You may be surprised to know that digestion is typically the biggest stressor your body goes through each day. It takes a lot of energy, which is why when your fight-or-flight response kicks in, digestive functions are put on the back burner. Overeating is pretty stressful for your body. Eating until you're just below full allows the process to run more efficiently, with less energy expenditure. It also helps you eat less so your consumption is more aligned with your energy needs. So slow your roll, feel satiated with less calories, and allow your body to finish the digestive process with ease. 5) Optimize your stomach acid. It's the job of the hydrochloric acid in your stomach to kill harmful microbes that are on or in your food. As we age, and also as a result of poor habits, the quality and efficacy of your stomach acid can wane. This means that pathogens can slip past your stomach and even be carried with digested food into your small intestine. Most nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine. Likewise, harmful pathogens can make their way into your bloodstream if they aren't killed in the stomach. Too little stomach acid is also the true culprit in acid reflux, heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. What are the lifestyle factors that lead to compromised stomach acid? Stress is a biggie. So are caffeine and alcohol consumption. Learning to manage these three factors can help improve the quality of your stomach acid so you're keeping bugs at bay and breaking food down appropriately. Try to manage stress with deep breathing and meditation practices, and take it easy on the coffee and cocktails to keep this critical part of digestion in optimal condition. If you, like me, are feeling the bloat heading into beach season this year, try these habits as a starting point. These are healing practices, not just symptom-maskers. If (or maybe when) your indulgences get away from you, come back to them again and again to get your body back on track. In addition to watching your belly shrink, you may find you poop better, suffer from less digestive distress, and have more energy to boot.