Dietary lessons
Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen, Maimonides five pieces of wisdom:
Eat until you’re three quarters full:
Overeating makes you feel sluggish and sick. Your body can only digest so much food at once, and when food isn’t fully digested it causes poor nutrient absorption, gas, and bloating.
From the TCM perspective, stuffing yourself causes stagnation, which leads to a number of health problems.
Don’t eat until you’re warm – and move afterward to promote digestion.
Doing light exercise before you eat is an ancient concept. It gets your body warm and prepares for digestion, things like light walking. Movement after a meal is helpful too. Eating three hours before you go to bed improves digestion and decreases the risk of stomach cancer.
Consume fruit by itself
Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine both suggest this. Your body uses different enzymes to break down fruit that it does to digest meat and grains.
Berries are easier to digest with other foods, but you’re better off eating other fruits by themselves.
Sleep eight hours – and wake up slightly before sunrise
This allows your body’s internal clock to stay in sync with the circadian rhythms of nature, which bolsters the functions of your body as a whole including digestion.
At the beginning of the night, sleep on your left side to get more blood into your small intestine and liver, both of which are involved in digestion. If you awaken in the middle of the night, flip over and spend the latter part of your sleep cycle on your right side to get blood to your heart and stomach, which prepares you for the day ahead.
Eat according to the season
Shift your food intake so you’re eating foods that are fresh and ripe during each season. Seasonal fare gives you what it needs with the changing weather and temperature.
Summer – cooling foods
Spring – pickled foods, vinegar and fermented to help liver detox, stay away from dairy and other damp foods.
Winter – pungent foods that are balanced with sour, cooked vegetables, garlic, onions, parsnips, sweet potato
Autumn – warming foods and spices, mustard, ginger, cinnamon and pistachios.
Plus a few more to take note of…
Savour meals
Turn off your phone, TV and set the table, eat with family and friends. Working while eating activates your sympathetic nervous system, which interferes with your digestion.
Chew
Digestion starts in your mouth, with a substance in your saliva known as amylase. Chewing breaks down food before it hits your gastrointestinal tract, maximizing your ability to extract nutrients. (your stomach doesn’t have teeth).
Chewing allows you to enjoy the flavours, which helps you feel more sated and may reduce calorie intake.
Eat with gratitude and joy
Throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean, meals are celebrated as a time for nourishment and bonding. There’s a lot to be grateful for!
Heal your body with tea and soup
In ancient times, herbal tea, as well as soups made with broth, vegetables, herbs and rice, were the go-to foods for healing.
Ancient cultures typically consumed tea one to three times a day for protective benefits.
Green tea – reduces inflammation and cholesterol, it’s a potent antioxidant.
Oolong tea – antiaging, can reduce stress, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Reishi mushroom tea – anti cancer properties and boosts the immune system.
Tulsi herb tea – combat respiratory ailments and ease arthritis related joint pain.
Ginger tea – relieves nausea, strengthens immunity, promotes healthy blood circulation.
Turmeric tea – potent anti-inflammatory, reduces arthritis pain, boost immune function, ease irritable bowel symptoms
Chamomile tea – promotes relaxation and reduces inflammation and blood sugar.
If you found this interesting please pick up a copy of Dr Josh Axe’s book ‘Ancient Remedies’ it is an amazing book full of insightful information to help improve your health through Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine that has been around for millions of years.
Take care
