Rooted Mama Podcast
Episode 11: Digestion and Nutrition Absorption
Hello friends, welcome to another episode of the Rooted Mama podcast. Today we’re going to talk about digestion and gut health.
The last time we talked about blood sugar and I struggled a little bit to decide what order I should release these episodes in because they really all are interconnected, but I had to just pick one and kind of build. But I would encourage you to kind of think of these as like foundational pieces that you really need all five of them. Work on one at a time, but kind of keep that in mind as we go through this topic and add things to our arsenal, so to speak.
Habits of a Health Mind and Body [00:00:41]
If you are struggling in any of these areas, I encourage you to focus on one at a time. Sometimes it’s really easy to think, oh, I have to fix this and this and that. And practically, that doesn’t always make the most sense. Often it really works better if you choose to focus on one thing at a time and get really clear on how you’re going to implement that and really make it a habit and then start to add to that habit because it’s much easier to build onto an existing habit than it is to create a brand new habit altogether.
Digestion and Lifestyle [00:01:12]
Today we’re going to talk about digestion and this is a topic that I think people don’t really pay attention to unless it’s causing them problems. And so we really want to shift our mindset to be more proactive when it comes to digestion instead of just reacting. Even though it sounds simple, this process of digestion often gets overlooked.
We tend to eat on the go, eat in our cars. We don’t always sit down as a family every night and have dinner or we’re busy, busy, busy so that we don’t really prioritize sitting and actually digesting our food. And these two topics I think are really related because if you’re not digesting well, you’re not getting the nutrients and the benefits from the food you’re eating. So your overall health is going to be suboptimal. So I think it’s important to keep in mind that just because you consume something doesn’t automatically mean that you will absorb the nutrients in the food.
Relaxing while you Eat [00:02:12]
You have to be in a relaxed state so your body can actually work on digesting and prioritizing the nutrients that your body takes in. Because your food really is fuel for your whole system, especially your mental health. That’s something a lot of people don’t think about. If you’re running on empty, you really need to work on fueling your body if you want it to function well and perform optimally. Energetically, you really need to be in a parasympathetic or a rest and digest state. And I’ll go over some ways to get into a parasympathetic or a rest and digest state.
And I’ll go over some ways to get into a parasympathetic state when I do the nervous system episode. But until then, some ways you can kind of do this mindfully and intentionally is to make sure you sit down while you eat. And before you just shove the food in your mouth, like take some deep breaths and try to be in the present moment and try to relax. So you can kind of get into the mindset of like, okay deep breaths and try to be in the present moment and try to relax.
Cueing your Body for Digestion [00:03:05]
So you can kind of get into the mindset of like, okay, I’m going to consume this food. Smelling your food is also really helpful because your saliva and your chewing actually plays a big role in kind of cueing your gut and your digestive tract to actually get ready to receive the food you’re taking in. Another way to get into a parasympathetic state is to make sure that you’re around people that make you feel safe and loved.
Obviously this isn’t always possible, but being, like eating a meal with someone is actually like a very, it can actually be a very spiritual thing. And so being around people who help you be in that safe space is actually a really positive thing to do for your health.
Practically, we need to be in that rest and digest calm space. And for some people, that’s a totally new concept because they are insympathetic and they go, go, go, and they literally never stop. So for some of you, it’s going to take more work than others to actually pause and get into that restful digestive state.
The second part of digestion that a lot of people forget about is just chewing your food. Taking time to chew your food is really important. I have two kids, one in particular, who just, I don’t know that he chews so much as he just inhales his food. And he does it so quickly that I’m like, one, that’s not good for you. But two, like your brain literally hasn’t had any time to process, like how you’re feeling. And if you’re full or not, because it takes your brain about 20 minutes for it to register, okay, I’m actually full and satisfied.
And so if you scarf down your food and you’re like, oh, I want more, oftentimes you’re going to overeat because your brain hasn’t time, hasn’t had time yet to catch up with your body that like, oh, I’m full. So taking time to really chew your food and chew it well is a key part of digestion because if you have big chunks of food that aren’t chewed well, your stomach’s going to have to work harder to break that down, which can lead to other problems down the line. So the more thoroughly you chew your food, the easier it is for the rest of your system to do its job as well.
Acid in the Stomach [00:05:20]
The next part of this that you need is you actually need sufficient stomach acid in your body. Most people think they have too much stomach acid and that’s where acid reflux comes from. In fact, the opposite is true. Most people who have acid reflux actually don’t have enough stomach acid because what happens is the food sits in their stomach and starts to ferment and then that builds up pressure in the stomach and it actually pushes the acid back up into the esophagus, which causes the heartburn.
And when that happens, you kind of have a bunch of issues because you feel uncomfortable. But then when you take an antacid to lower the acid even more, it actually just compounds the problem. So that’s how a lot of people get hooked on these antacid medications and then aren’t ever really able to fix the root cause because the issue is they’re not making enough stomach acid to actually properly digest the food they’re taking in. And you can kind of see how this ties into the whole system.
The Antacid Problem [00:06:12]
When you have a problem at the beginning, it kind of compounds the whole thing the further down the process you go. And so if you take antacids on a long-term basis, I would encourage you to meet with a holistic provider who can help you get off of them because getting that stomach acid level where it needs to be is a really critical piece for your overall health because there’s actually certain nutrients that can only be absorbed in that part of the digestive tract. And so without sufficient stomach acid, your body’s not going to be able to process the nutrients that you need for your health. B12 is a big part of that.
And so insufficient stomach acid can cause a lot of health issues overall because the stomach acid breaks down the food, but it also kills the bacteria and negative things in the food that could potentially make you sick. And so if you don’t have enough of it, you can get chronic health issues from that as well. So it’s actually a really big deal. And so if you’ve been on it for a while, I encourage you don’t just cold turkey it yourself, really try to work with a professional who can walk you through how to get you off of it and get your levels back up to where they need to be. Because for some people, it will be a physical issue.
For other people, it will really be more of a nervous system issue. Because again, if you’re not in that rest and digest place, your body’s not going to turn on the mechanisms that need to turn on in order for you to have optimal digestion. Another common problem that people have is a term that’s been referred to as leaky gut. I really like to think of this concept as just inflammation in the body.
Leaky Gut and Inflammation [00:07:39]
When the body is inflamed, it kind of puts the whole system on high alert. And in fact, a few years ago, when I cut out grain and dairy from my diet, one of the first things I noticed was how much the swelling in my stomach decreased. I lost so much inflammation in my body. It was crazy. In fact, I think most of the quote unquote “weight” that I lost during that time was really just inflammation. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think everyone needs a six pack to be healthy, but I do think that if you’re dealing with a lot of chronic inflammation, it really is a sign that your body’s struggling and needs some help and needs some support.
What happens is your body’s put into this high alert, high stress state, and your immune system gets turned on because the immune system and that inflammatory response are very much so connected. And so the body is looking for danger and looking for something to attack so it can fix the problem and the inflammation can go down. Well, when it doesn’t find anything, it can start to attack the body itself. And so when you get damage to your digestive system, then different food particles can come in and then your body can actually become sensitized to those food particles because it’s reacting to those food particles as though they’re the enemy.
Your body starts to react to itself and the food you take in instead of actual predators and enemies because the inflammation is telling the body, oh, something’s wrong, something’s wrong. We need to find the bad guy and we need to take the bad guy out and fix it.
Everyday Pesticides and Toxins [00:09:23]
Some different causes of inflammation that people may not think about. A big one is just pesticides and toxins. There’s a lot of toxins in our water. There’s lots of chemicals in the food we eat. There’s a lot of chemicals in the products we put on our body. Our bodies are exposed to a lot. And don’t get me wrong. I really do believe our bodies can, body, our bodies are exposed to a lot. And don’t get me wrong, I really do believe our bodies can, our bodies are resilient and can handle that to a certain extent. But the more you can do in terms of your own choices to remove some of those toxins out of your life, the easier it will be for your body to handle the stress of what’s going on.
Trans Fats and Processed Foods [00:09:55]
The other thing to keep in mind is trans fats are fats that are known to cause cardiovascular issues and heart issues. And really trans fats are just damaged oils. And so if you’re cooking with oils on high heat that aren’t really meant to handle high heat, that can damage the oil. If you buy just poor oils like canola oil or seed oils that are really sensitive to heat and light, they can be damaged just from being exposed to the sun. You can get more free radicals from things like that.
There’s also just processed foods that are really inflammatory and really hard for your body to digest. The gluten that’s in our food now is not the same that was in our food a hundred years ago. Our food systems have dramatically increased the production of food, which is a positive thing. But the downside of that is a lot of the food is still really inflammatory, and we’re not yet equipped to be able to handle and digest the food we’re taking in. Being mindful of processed foods and the oils in your house can really make a big difference. The other thing that causes inflammation, ironically, is stress.
Stress and Inflammation [00:11:04]
And this is something I think sometimes we don’t think about is if you’re walking around stressed out all day, every day, I mean, your body’s going to be on high alert and that’s going to impact every part of your system. And so learning how to manage your stress load, I would say is probably the number one thing you could do to improve your overall health. And that is something that is not going to happen accidentally. It takes some very intentional effort and work to be able to address the root cause of that stress.
The second part of this equation is nutrient absorption. If you aren’t getting the support your body needs, it really makes it challenging to function optimally and actually feel good and have energy and be able to do the things you want to do. So I’ll use sleep as an example here. Key nutrients for sleep include melatonin, which is made from serotonin, vitamin D and magnesium. And so if you’re low on these nutrients, it’s really challenging for your body to create a stable sleep structure so it can actually get the sleep that it needs.
And then it becomes kind of a vicious cycle of you’re not sleeping, so you’re tired, but you don’t have the nutrients you need to sleep. And it goes on and on from there. I think because our bodies are really good at adapting to stressors that sometimes we view nutrition as like extra or like a bonus, or it would be nice, but it’s really not. It can make a world of difference in how you feel every day. But the key is you really have to be consistent with it. And I think that’s where people get into trouble. They, they kind of have this all or nothing mindset of like, Oh, if I don’t do it perfectly, then I shouldn’t do it at all.
Balancing Expectations [00:12:39]
I can just eat junk food and do whatever I want. I think there’s some beauty and grace to be found in the middle of like the majority of the time we want to eat healthy. That doesn’t mean you can’t ever have unhealthy foods. But for me personally, what I found has worked really well is if a food makes me feel bad, I tend to just avoid it. Like there’s just certain foods that like after I consume them, it’s like it wasn’t worth it to me because I don’t feel that good after. It’s like my body can handle it and it’s resilient and it can figure it out. But I just, I feel blah afterwards. And so really paying attention and learning how to listen to your body and do a cost benefit analysis of like, is this food really worth it to me?
And sometimes it may be worth it to you and that’s okay. But the more mindful you are about it, the more times than it may be worth it to you. And that’s okay. But the more mindful you are about it, the more times than not, I’ll be like, hmm, that pizza wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I’ll remember that next time. Next time, I’ll just say no, thank you. Because in the moment, something can sound really good. But if you think about the price you’re paying to have that, you really need to ponder like, is this worth it to me? Because if every, every single thing is worth it to you, then I think there could be something deeper going on because we really need to get better.
The Broader Perspective [00:13:51]
I think as a society, learning how to listen to our bodies and take care of our bodies and be better stewards of our physical health, because that impacts so many other things in the world around us. For a lot of people, this is a challenging topic because it’s not just about eating the food. Food touches on so many areas of life, emotional, mental, social, physical, you name it. And if you’re struggling to take care of yourself, a topic like this can be really challenging because you have to really look at the root cause of your behavior.
Are you struggling to take care of yourself? Are you trying to fix everything at once and then getting overwhelmed and then you quit?
Are your finances a mess and you can’t afford healthy food? Or for some people, just affording any food is an issue. They don’t eat not because they don’t want to. They don’t eat because they don’t have money. So I’m going to give you some practical tips that you can use to start supporting your digestion. And I really want you to be intentional here to not beat yourself up.
This is not another guilt trip. Guilt and shame literally serve no purpose whatsoever. It’s a completely useless response. So for this episode, I really want you to be mindful of like, I’m going to bypass the guilt and shame response here. And I’m going to think about what is one thing I can take away from this that I can actually work on implementing in my life. Cause this is meant to be a blessing to you, not to add to your to-do list.
So you kind of have to have them both and you have to have the, I need to take personal responsibility because I’m not feeling good, but I’m also not taking care of myself. And I don’t need to take personal responsibility because I’m not feeling good but I’m also not taking care of myself and I don’t need to beat myself up because I’m not taking my taking care of myself and going to go in shame I can take responsibility but I can recognize yes this is something I need to work on but beating myself up is not going to serve any purpose whatsoever as I go through this list keep in mind I’d really rather you focus on one to two things and actually do them than try to do the whole thing and quit because you get into a perfectionistic mode and get stuck.
Tip #1: Be Intentional when Eating [00:15:49]
Tip number one, be intentional about getting into that digestive state. Deep breathing, chew your food, shut off your phone. Those are all really easy things you can do that take maybe five seconds, maybe 10.
Tip #2: Sub in Healthy Foods [00:16:02]
Number two, replace unhealthy fats in your home. So get rid of canola oil and other seed oils from your home. Better options include butter, coconut oil, olive oil. If you use olive oil, try to get high quality olive oil. There’s a book I read called Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat. It’s also a Netflix series. It’s a really good documentary. And she, in her book, she gives some practical tools on finding high quality olive oil that’s not rancid. And you can use that as long as you’re not cooking with it with high heat.
Tip #3: Leafy Greens [00:16:33]
Tip number three is try to eat leafy greens at least once a day. For most people, this is kind of weird, but having leafy greens as a side is really good for your digestion. And if you have good digestive health, then you can really absorb the nutrients from those leafy greens and get the benefits from them.
Tip #4: Fish are Friends and Food [00:16:53]
Number four, try to eat fish at least twice a week. I love tuna. I don’t love other types of fish. However, when I went to visit my friend Erin in California, I had some salmon tacos that were to die for. So getting high quality seafood, I think is a key to actually liking seafood and enjoying it. And if you’re like me and you’re from the Midwest, sometimes that can be a little bit of a challenge, but getting fish in your diet at least twice a week is super good for your brain. You get those omega-3 fatty acids. It’s so good for your health. It’s a great source of protein and fat as well.
Tip #5: Nativagating Organic Produce [00:17:26]
Number five, use the dirty dozen to purchase organic food. I get it. My food budget is crazy right now, but I try to really weigh the pros and cons of is organic in this case beneficial. And so the dirty dozen can really help you target like which ones make the most sense to buy organic based on the amount of pesticides and chemicals that are used in the farming practices. Because for some fruits and vegetables, it doesn’t make sense to buy organic because they’re not really exposed to things in the farming process at a very high level. Some of the big culprits are berries and nuts. Those are things that I really try to consistently buy organic if I can, because they just have a lot of chemicals in that farming process. So the dirty dozen is a great resource, or you can also use the alternative, the clean 15 to kind of keep in mind, okay, these are items that it’s maybe worth the money to spend to buy organic versus others where it’s like, I’m just going to get the regular kind.
Tip #6: Dancing Through Dessert [00:18:22]
Number six, choose desserts that also have some nutritional value. So for example, dark chocolate is a great source of magnesium. If you get a high quality ice cream, you could get some really good fats from that. I really like to add nuts to my ice cream. So that way I’m getting the benefits of pairing the healthy fat with the dessert. And so not only does this help your blood sugar, but you get more bang for your buck in terms of the nutrients and what you’re consuming. The nutrients that are really essential for your mental health are the B vitamins, magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Obviously there’s others, but the research has been pretty consistent that those nutrients really make a noticeable difference for a lot of people. Obviously there’s other nutrients that are beneficial as well, but if you want to start focusing on certain ones, that’s the list I would start with for sure.
Tip #7: Organs are a Girls Best Friend [00:19:14]
Number seven, try to add some organ meat into your diet. I have a lot of clients who really push back on this, but if you are anemic, organ meats are a great way to go. If you’ve had bariatric surgery, organ meats are a great way to go. If you struggle to eat high quality food on a regular basis, organ meats are a really good way to go because essentially what is happening is the animal is digesting the plants and absorbing all those nutrients. And then you can actually absorb the nutrients from the animal itself, because a lot of vegetables have things in it to help prevent you from actually getting the nutrients in the plant. It’s a defense mechanism. And so by eating animal products, you’re going to have a much higher potential to be able to actually absorb the nutrients you take in. Bioavailability is a big part of this because not only do you have to eat high quality food, you have to eat high quality food that your body can actually take in and absorb. So organ meats are a great way to access some of those. And it doesn’t need to be excessive. It’s not like it needs to be a daily thing. Really, if you can do organ meats once a week, you’re golden.
I love us wellness meats. They used to be a sponsor for my old podcast. They make an organ meat combo that is really tasty and my kids will eat and they love it. It’s great. So finding something that tastes good, I think is really key. You can also put it in capsule form. If you’re really like Shelby, there’s no way I could eat organ meats, you could put in capsule form and take it like a pill. Easy peasy.
Those are my seven tips for how to work on your digestion and also incorporate essential nutrients into your system and your routine. So even though it does take some intention and some focus, when you incorporate these things into your life, you really will see things pay off exponentially as you put in the time and effort, again, trying to be consistent on some of these. I truly believe that this has a compound effect on your life because when you’re able to win in one area of your life, it opens up so many doors for you to win in other areas of your life as well. Thank you for listening, friends.
I hope this gives you some foundational information to start supporting your physical and your mental health. If you have questions, please reach out to me at info@shelbyleppin.com and I’ll see you in the next episode. Thank you.
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