9 Things That Improve Digestion, Increase Nutrient Absorption & Energy

Nutrients are necessary for our bodies to function and operate correctly. They’re required to live.

If you don’t get the appropriate amount of nutrients each day, you could end up feeling moody, tired and even depressed.

If it persists for too long, you end up with chronic problems like heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes, and anxiety. Even depression is linked to nutrient deficiency.

How Deficient Are We?

According to the CDC and scientific studies, 92% of Americans are deficient in important nutrients. Even when eating a lot or taking supplements, the problem is our bodies are not absorbing them properly. For example, here are some common deficiencies:

9 out of 10 Americans are deficient in potassium
7 out of 10 are deficient in calcium
8 out of 10 are deficient in vitamin E
50 percent of Americans are deficient in vitamin A, vitamin C, and magnesium
More 50 percent of the general population is vitamin D deficient, regardless of age
90 percent of Americans of darker skin color are vitamin D deficient
and 70 percent of elderly Americans are vitamin D deficient

The Good News

With a little bit of knowledge you can begin making changes to help your body absorb more of the nutrients from food and supplements.

How Do I Start Improving My Absorption?

Understanding the common habits that hurt your chances of absorbing nutrients from food is a perfect start.

Things like…

Eating at your desk or while working
Eating while on-the-run
Eating while multitasking

And even,…

Eating while standing or walking

How Do These Things Hurt Us?

Its important to understand that your body is one of two states all the time, a sympathetic state also called the “fight-or-flight state” or parasympathetic state also known as the “calm-absorption state”. It matters what state you are in when eating.

This understanding is fundamentally the start of health.

Sympathetic “Fight-or-Flight” State

This is the state we are in most of the time when we are awake. From the moment we wake up and begin standing, walking and thinking our body is in the sympathetic state. It prepares us for the day and all the challenges that come with it. A special hormone called cortisol is secreted to ensure that our muscles have the blood flow and oxygen necessary to move, think– and perform necessary daily duties.

While in this state, your body is not thinking about digesting food or absorbing nutrients.

The mere act of standing or walking can put you in this state. And if you are stressed thinking about bills, problems or issues, cortisol increases even more and your body becomes incapable of digesting or absorbing.

So if you are eating while thinking, analyzing, stressed or “on-the-run”, chances are your body is not digesting the food or absorbing nutrients properly.

Parasympathetic “Calm-Absorption” State

This is the state our bodies enter into when sitting down and relaxed. Our heart beat relaxes, our mind stops racing, and the blood moves from our muscles to our organs.

Now we are ready to digest food and absorb.

It takes a lot for our bodies to break down some of the food we consume. Meats require more work and can take as much as 1-2 days to fully digest. Bacon, whole milk, hard cheese and nuts being the harder foods for our body to digest. Whereas, fruits like melons, oranges, grapefruit and bananas only take 20-30 minutes.

But regardless of the food you eat, if you are not in a calm-absorption state chances are you are not digesting and absorbing properly. This is often why people experience bloating, gas, constipation and more.

9 Things That Boost Absorption

These 9 things might seem unusual or even fluffy but they’re not. It’s physiology and science. It’s how we are hardwired to work.

If you don’t make an effort to put your body into a “calm-absorption” state, the only alternative is to be in a “fight-or-flight” state while eating–and you won’t absorb the nutrients.

You can improve your mood, health, weight loss, and chronic issues but you must work on this foundational component.

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mindful eating by stinkybody

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About the Author James Ko

It wasn't long ago I felt over stressed, out of shape, and overfat.

I was overloaded with work, bills, kids, To-Do Lists, and projects, I neglected my own needs (my sanity) and became deeply concerned about my health. All while working as a Sports Medicine Physical Therapist helping others reach the pinnacle of their own health and athletic performance.

Feeling like a fake, a hypocrite, I decided to make a change.

It was easy for me to help others improve their health and bodies but very difficult to do for myself. With a busy schedule, constant travel, and high stress, it was impossible to eat healthy and exercise regularly.

This left me feeling even more defeated; and my health declined even further. Things spiraled out of control until one day I thought I was having a heart attack. It scared me. I took it as a red flag warning to make a commitment toward change.

I made it my mission to find a way to make it work. To achieve better health despite stress, bills, work, kids and travel.

One day I stumbled upon a life-altering method. Everything began to change. And now my health and body is better than ever (in many ways even better than in my 20's). I feel incredible. I don't get sick like I used to, and I have high energy to attack the day.

I now have a mission to share it with others. I believe everyone should have access to this groundbreaking information regardless of socioeconomic or educational status. It should not be only privy to the elite and wealthy. So join me. Let me guide you to discovering your inner power and make health, fitness and wellness a reality and lifestyle.

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