Easy Ways To Boost Your Digestion

A fundamental Ayurvedic philosophy is that “food is medicine and medicine is food”. An Ayurvedic proverb is “When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet is correct, medicine is of no need.

There are essentially 3 parts to the digestion process:

1. Digestion of food,

2. Assimilation of food, and

3. Elimination of food.

When digestion is strong, the rest follows more easily - we get the optimal benefit from our food, and we are more in balance. Another Ayurvedic saying is:“If agni is strong we can convert poison into nectar; if agni is weak, we convert nectar into poison.”

*Agni = digestion

Here are some practical, easy ways you can boost your agni:

• Sit down while you eat

• Sit in a quiet, peaceful atmosphere and focus on the food

• Don't rush your meals

• Eat meals at the same time everyday

• Stop eating before you're completely full

• Allow 3-6 hours between meals for digestion

• Eat when you're hungry (when the stomach is empty)

• Avoid ice cold food & beverages

• Sit quietly for a few minutes after eating

Remember that it's not all about WHAT you eat but HOW you eat it. Sometimes the "quick wins" or "low hanging fruit", so to speak, may simply be a matter of changing your approach to eating - so that your entire digestive system can be optimized to your benefit.