Mindful Comfort Eating Strategies

There is A LOT of stress going around right now. You may be directly affected by our pandemic or you may not, but either way, you have added some stress to your life. If you are anything like me, you are finding that you are suddenly craving more carbohydrate-rich foods, comfort foods that bring you back to your childhood, or just straight-up sugar.

Do not feel bad about this. This is a completely natural and human response. As it turns out, our bodies are hardwired to combat stress with food. In times of stress, our bodies require energy, lots of energy to feed the hormones that cause anxious feelings. We crave high-sugar foods because they are highly palatable (i.e. they taste good!) and provide our bodies with the quick energy it is craving.

While these foods do give us a sense of calm in the short term, in the long term you are not doing your body any favors. When we overconsume refined sugar, we are continuously raising our blood sugar which requires the continued release of the hormone insulin to lower the blood sugar back to homeostasis which is taxing to our pancreas. When we eat too much-refined sugar and processed foods our pancreas can often overproduce insulin leading to low blood sugar or hypoglycemia and the roller coaster starts all over again as we eat more sugar to make ourselves feel better.

While I am not necessarily suggesting that we give up all of the treats that are making us feel good right now, I am suggesting that you listen to your body, notice how you feel AFTER eating so many of these foods, and consider some strategies that can help you to be more mindful of what you are doing to combat the stress you are feeling.

Here are my tips for mindful snacking:

1. Slow down, and consciously choose a snack. Recognize if it is a snack that just tastes yummy and/or if it is a snack that will nourish you and satiate you. Remind yourself that it’s ok to have a snack when you are hungry.

2. Pay attention to your hunger level. Think about the questions: Will this meet my needs? Will it take the edge off my hunger or cravings?

3. Make sure that when you eat, you have as few distractions as possible. Sit at a table and eat slowly, chewing well. Keep distractions such as your phone or the TV off or away from you. Food is meant to be enjoyed so enjoy the process!

4. Ask yourself if you are being kind to your body right now. Pay attention to how you feel. Is it time to stop or do you need more?

If you need more, that is OK. If you are ready to move on to another activity that can also help with stress relief, here are some ideas, but remember there are many more options:

• Lean into your feelings, and let them wash over you. 

• Distract yourself with a mindful activity. Do a project, watch a movie but make sure it is without distraction from phone or anything else

• Call, FaceTime, or chat with a friend/family member

• Move/exercise.  Go on a walk or bike ride, or find an exercise or yoga class online.

• Play with your pet

• Take a bath (Epsom salts or essential oils can be nice additions)

• Write about how you feel in a journal

• Change up your surroundings, just do something different

• Be gentle with yourself and give yourself grace during this stressful time.

How to Naturally Support Digestive Function

A lot of factors influence the amount of stomach acid and digestive enzymes our bodies produce. As we grow older, our bodies naturally produce less stomach acid and digestive enzymes, but this is also a function of our diet and lifestyles as well. Digestion can become impaired due to a number of different issues including stress, excess sugar and alcohol consumption, nutritional deficiencies, or allergies and food sensitivities.

HCl is a critically important part of digestion. It is a gastric secretion originated in the stomach that enables the body to break down proteins (into amino acids to be used for neurotransmitters), activate important enzymes and hormones, and acts as the first line of defense against pathogens, parasites, and bacterial overgrowth in the gut. Given that HCl is such a critical part of the process at such an early stage, not having enough can really wreak havoc on the entire digestive chain.

You might be surprised to know that symptoms of low stomach acid include heartburn, indigestion and bloating. Conventional wisdom has led us to believe that these symptoms are caused by too much stomach acid and doctors commonly provide us with prescriptions for antacids, H-2 receptor blockers, and proton pump inhibitors all of which are designed to reduce or block stomach acid. Most of the time, people with these symptoms actually have low stomach acid, and not high. These drugs end up masking the problem instead of actually trying to help it and often make the problem even worse.

Other symptoms of low stomach acid and other digestive aids may include a desire to eat when not hungry, a sense of fullness after meals, flatulence, constipation and diarrhea. Our body also produces bile to break down fat, which originates in the gallbladder and other digestive enzymes which are produced by the pancreas. So how do we best support our bodies to allow them to naturally improve your body’s ability to get this digestive fire going? 

Here are my suggestions to naturally and easily stimulate your digestive juices and get the process working like it is supposed to without adding another supplement to your diet.

Prep your body for digestion. This will stimulate the production of gastric juices and send signals to your digestive tract to know that food will soon be coming down the hatch. Here are some good options:

1. Drink warm water with lemon. Half a cup of warm or room temperature water with a squeeze or two of lemon should do it.

2. Drink apple cider vinegar. Take one to two teaspoons diluted in about a half cup of room temperature water. The key here is, raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (preferably organic). 

3.  Take bitters before meals. Bitter flavors stimulate the digestive flow, increasing the production of saliva and salivary amylase and triggering stomach acid and other digestive juices. Take about ¼ teaspoon of bitters before your meal (or suggested serving size) straight or diluted in a half cup of water. Make sure to use real bitters (my favorite is Urban Moonshine) that are made from organic ingredients and don’t contain fillers or additives. These days I keep the travel-sized bitters in my bag and use it on the go. Instead of the dropper, it is in a convenient spray able bottle. I use my larger bottle to refill the travel bottle when it runs low

Breath. If you are stressed out, you will not properly digest your food. Aim to always sit down to eat, with minimal distractions. Try taking 5 deep belly breaths before you eat can help to switch your body from a sympathetic “fight or flight” mode to a parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode.

Chew, chew, chew. Digestion is a very demanding task for the body and actually requires a great deal of energy. Saliva contains digestive enzymes, so the longer you chew, the more time these enzymes have to break down your food, making digestion easier on your stomach and small intestine. Shoot for about 30-40 chews per bite. This may seem like a lot, but your food should be liquid before it goes down to the small intestine.

Put that fork down. Between bites that is. This will encourage you to slow down and keep calm. It also makes for more mindful eating where you will be able to taste your food better, enjoy the process and also check in with your hunger cues to avoid over-eating.

Keep water drinking to a minimum. Drinking too much water or other beverages with your mail can dilute your stomach acid and other gastric juices. Aim to take small sips and aim to drink more water away from mealtime.

These strategies are great for supporting your digestion and will allow the process to function in the way that it is meant to. Try these out for a few weeks and let me know how it goes! Many of my clients notice big changes in their digestion by incorporating these habits. You might see less bloating and gas and better (and more consistent!) bowel movements.

If you’ve tried these strategies, but continue to struggle with digestive symptoms, let’s do a deeper dive into the root cause of your discomfort. Schedule a session with me and let’s get started!

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gerd/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20361959

https://nutritionreview.org/2018/11/gastric-balance-heartburn-caused-excess-acid/

Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You by Jonathan V. Wright

Nutritional Therapy Association FNTP Curriculum

Feel Your Best, Even When Travelling

Sticking to your usual diet and lifestyle routine can seem daunting and stressful when you are travelling, particularly when you are travelling for work. Here are my strategies for feeling your best no matter where your plans lead you. I realize that sometimes we don't want to stick to our schedules when on vacation, for example, so please feel free to take from this post what you want and disregard what you don't find helpful or useful to you.  Travelling can be stressful enough!

Lodging. If possible, find a place that offers a mini-fridge or even a small kitchen in the room in order to store healthy snacks and prep quick meals. Sometimes hotels are the only option, but some may have kitchens or refrigerators available in the room.

Food. You can easily take a variety of foods with you depending on the length of your trip, and the luggage you are travelling with.

For perishable foods, take a small cooler bag along with ice packs to keep foods cold during transit. When flying, if you’re unsure if you will make it through security with your ice packs, bring along a closable bag and get ice from an airport vendor once you’re in the terminal.

You can always prep a few items to bring if you have the time. All of which will survive just fine without ice packs.

• Precut raw veggies of all kinds (i.e. carrots, celery, broccoli, cucumber, bell pepper)

• Fruit, wash and bring whole if it travels well or cut up and put in small containers

• Hard boiled eggs

• Homemade muffins

• Homemade granola

• Energy bites

• Trail mix

You can also bring, or purchase any of the following when you arrive at your destination:

• Bananas, apples, citrus, berries, and avocados

• Single serving packs or small containers of guacamole, hummus, coconut oil and nut butters

• A loaf of your favorite bread

• Packets of plain oatmeal

• Granola (watch for high sugar content and vegetable oils, this one uses a small amount of coconut sugar and coconut oil)

• Grass-fed yogurt or non-dairy yogurt

• Grass fed jerky or beef sticks

• Olives

• Wild caught tuna, oysters, sardines or salmon in pouches or BPA free cans/tins

• Hemp hearts, chia seeds, and raw nuts

• Dried or freeze dried fruit

• Refined sugar free bars like: RX Bar, Lara Bar, Epic Bar

• Dark Chocolate

• Saurkraut and/or kombucha to keep your digestion in check

 Eating out. Try not to stress too much about this, especially if you are on vacation.  Sometimes what we eat can’t always be in our control and some balance is good for us. It is ok to not always eat 100% healthy all the time. If you eat well most of the time, your body can handle some not so great for you meals once in a while. Some digestive enzymes and HCL support can help support your digestion if you are eating things that you are not used to. A warm cup of lemon water can be helpful too following a meal or in the morning. Here are my tips for when you do what to stay on track:

• Let the wait staff know if you have any dietary restrictions and ask for their suggestions, especially at places where items are not labeled (i.e. gluten free, dairy free)

• When ordering salads, find out what kind of oils they use. If they don’t know or if they are vegetable oil based, ask for a side of olive oil and lemon wedges or vinegar. Ask them to hold any croutons or cheeses if you’re avoiding gluten and processed dairy.

• Burgers without the bun or a lettuce wrap are always an easy option. When in doubt meat or wild-caught fish with vegetables are your best bet. You can avoid sides fried in vegetable oils by asking for a side salad, or steamed or grilled vegetables.

• Avoid vegetable oils by asking if there is an option to have your meat or vegetables cooked in butter (instead of the typical canola or soybean oil).

Creature Comforts. Bring your own reusable water bottle and travel mug for coffee or tea to use throughout your trip. Don’t’ forget your usual supplements, favorite teas and additional immune boosting supplements in case you need them. As your digestion can be off when travelling, some extra magnesium can help to keep you relaxed and keep things moving. Natural Calm makes some handy packets that are great when you are on the go. I like to bring my favorite essential oils too, along with a detoxifying face mask or beauty treatment for some inexpensive self-care. I always bring good walking shoes to make sure I can get in some movement and if I have the space I bring my travel yoga mat (if I have room) for hotel room workouts in case there isn’t a good gym or the weather outside isn’t ideal. It is important to note that if you are not up for working out at your usual level, don't stress. Travelling is tiring to your body and this might be a great time to give your body a rest or try a different way of being active or working out that your normally don't do. Keeping as normal of a routine as possible is crucial to overall health and longevity, especially if you travel for work often.  If you are travelling for pleasure, try to unplug and de-stress as much as possible, you have earned it!