• Welcome
  • About Me
  • Services
  • Blog
    • Recipes
      • Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup
      • Morning Glory Muffins
      • Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup
      • Pumpkin Banana Bread
      • Ground Beef Stir-fry Bowls
      • Adaptogenic Peanut Butter Cups
      • My Go to Energy Bite Recipe
    • Skincare
      • Top Clean Beauty Products
      • My Skin Story – Part 1
      • My Skin Story – Part 2
      • My Skin Story – Part 3
    • Wellness
      • Essential Fats
      • Balanced Blood Sugar
      • Optimum Digestion
      • Wellness Foundations
      • Tips for Staying Healthy While Traveling
      • Healthy Kitchen Swaps
      • Staying healthy and positive
      • The Supplements I Take Daily
      • 10 things I do every day for my health
    • Motherhood
      • Pregnancy Recap
    • My Appoach
      • My Approach to Wellness
    • Monthly Reflections
      • March 2020 Reflections
  • 7 Days to Balance
  • Favorites
  • Contact

Mikaela Lauren Wellness

Mikaela Lauren Wellness

Optimum Digestion

Digestion - Mikaela Lauren Wellness

A properly working digestive system is imperative to your health. Without it, you will not absorb the nutrients your body needs to function properly. Your gut also plays a huge role in your mental health as well as your immune system. 

Digestion is “the process of making food absorbable by mechanically and enzymatically breaking it down into simpler chemical compounds in the digestive tract.” Now let’s break down how the digestive system works. 

Do you know where your digestion starts?

Digestion begins in the brain. As soon as you see food, your nervous system releases chemicals that prompt your mouth to release saliva with enzymes that help break down your food and prepares the rest of your body to begin the digestion process. You must be in the parasympathetic nervous state (rest & digest) for your digestion to properly function. 

From your mouth, your food travels to your stomach where gastrin, hydrochloric acid, and pepsin are released to further break down your food. Hydrochloric acid kills pathogens and harmful bacteria. Here the release of nutrients begins. As your food travels through your small intestine, your body releases more enzymes like protease, amylase, and lipase to help break down protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Finally, with the aid of your microbiome, any leftover waste is eliminated from the body as feces. 

Mikaela Lauren Wellness Optimal Digestion

What can you do to support your digestion so it functions properly? Here are some tips:

Take a moment before your first bite to smell your food, think about your food, give thanks all with the purpose of getting into that parasympathetic state. Take three deep breaths to ensure your body is relaxed and ready to eat. 

When you begin to eat, chew your food! I can’t emphasize this enough. In our culture, we eat so quickly and hardly chew our food (myself included!). Take 20-30 chews per bite. Your food should pretty much be mush before you swallow it. 

Eat foods rich in probiotics to diversify your gut microbiome. I love sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, yogurt, and kombucha. 

Drink ginger tea. I love mashing up 1-2 inches of ginger root and a fresh cinnamon stick and let that simmer in water on the stove for 10-15 minutes (or longer to infuse the flavors even more. This creates, a delicious, warming ginger drink that helps soothe your digestive system. 

Eat a broad array of plants for adequate fiber, micronutrients, and a diverse microbiome. The average American eats only 10-15 grams of fiber a day. The recommended intake is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men but research shows we may benefit from closer to 50 grams a day. 

Use a squatty potty! After living in SE Asia and only having a squatty potty in our home (which at first I hated!), I ultimately became a big fan and saw how awesome it was for helping with regularity.  

In my practice, digestive health is extremely important and plays a huge role in my work with clients. Since your digestion has an impact on all aspects of your health, it is imperative to support a healthy and diverse microbiome and properly functioning system to optimize your health. If you’d like to learn more about healing your digestion, contact me for a free nutrition assessment here. 

By purchasing items from above, I receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Resources: 

  1. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/digestion?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld. Accessed May 24, 2021. 
  2. Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis. Megan Clapp, Nadia Aurora, Lindsey Herrera, Manisha Bhatia, Emily Wilen, and Sarah Wakefield. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/. Accessed May 24, 2021. 
  3. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Legacy Release. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov. Accessed May 24, 2021. 
  4. The Need to Reassess Dietary Fiber Requirements in Healthy and Critically Ill Patients. Stephen J.D. O’Keefe. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6312100/. Accessed May 24, 2021. 
  5. Photo from Canva
  6. Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Pin this Post
Share this Post

You May Also Like...

Wellness Foundations

March 24, 2021

March 2020 Reflections

April 1, 2020

10 things I do every day for my health

April 23, 2020
2 Comments
  • Joelle
    May 26, 2021

    I remember squatty potties from my Indonesian days! I made a dyi version by keeping a small stool near the toilet. Works great!

    Reply
    • Mikaela
      Joelle
      May 28, 2021

      Yes! That’s a great option!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel Comment

Recipe Rating




Previous Post
Wellness Foundations
Next Post
Balanced Blood Sugar
Mikaela Lauren

Mikaela Lauren

Follow Along @mikaelalaurenwellness

Happy six years. I love you more everyday. 🤍
mikaelalaurenwellness
mikaelalaurenwellness
•
Follow
Happy six years. I love you more everyday. 🤍
4 days ago
View on Instagram |
1/6
Welcome to our family Ezekiel Jude Muzira Norman. 

Born 7.22.22. You are so loved already ☺️❤️
mikaelalaurenwellness
mikaelalaurenwellness
•
Follow
Welcome to our family Ezekiel Jude Muzira Norman. Born 7.22.22. You are so loved already ☺️❤️
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
2/6
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
Last few days before baby arrives.

Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
mikaelalaurenwellness
mikaelalaurenwellness
•
Follow
Last few days before baby arrives. Date night, walks with Zimbi, reading at the park, pie baking, and of course lots of cleaning and nesting for me 😌💗
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/6
Pregnancy has been wonderful and at times very hard. Nausea, indigestion, carpal tunnel, and other symptoms have challenged me. But ultimately, I will miss feeling baby’s kicks and being his home. It’s truly a miracle and I’m so grateful to walk through this amazing journey. 💙

Just posted a recap of my pregnancy on my blog. Link in bio 👆🏼
mikaelalaurenwellness
mikaelalaurenwellness
•
Follow
Pregnancy has been wonderful and at times very hard. Nausea, indigestion, carpal tunnel, and other symptoms have challenged me. But ultimately, I will miss feeling baby’s kicks and being his home. It’s truly a miracle and I’m so grateful to walk through this amazing journey. 💙 Just posted a recap of my pregnancy on my blog. Link in bio 👆🏼
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/6
Got our maternity session photos back. So many favorites! 😍😍

Thank you @absthomps
Got our maternity session photos back. So many favorites! 😍😍

Thank you @absthomps
Got our maternity session photos back. So many favorites! 😍😍

Thank you @absthomps
Got our maternity session photos back. So many favorites! 😍😍

Thank you @absthomps
Got our maternity session photos back. So many favorites! 😍😍

Thank you @absthomps
mikaelalaurenwellness
mikaelalaurenwellness
•
Follow
Got our maternity session photos back. So many favorites! 😍😍 Thank you @absthomps
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
5/6
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
mikaelalaurenwellness
mikaelalaurenwellness
•
Follow
I’m so grateful for our life together, the season we’re in, and for what’s to come. Happy birthday Abe! 🎉
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
6/6
View on Instagram
  • Welcome
  • About Me
  • Services
  • Blog
  • 7 Days to Balance
  • Favorites
  • Contact

Copyright © 2020 Mikaela Lauren Wellness. All Rights Reserved. Site Powered by Pix & Hue.