Outsmart Your Stomach This Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the time of year when we love to eat way too much! We end up tired, bloated, and plagued with heartburn and gas. This year, combat the digestive troubles of Thanksgiving Day with vitamins and supplements that speed up the process combined with a few tricks that will enable you to eat more and suffer less.
First we must understand how the body digests what we eat. If we eat the hard to digest foods first, then it will slow down the digestion process and make you feel fuller a lot faster. This is good if you’re trying to eat less, bad if you are just getting started on your favorite meal of the year. Eating the easy to digest foods first will leave room for the harder to digest foods later.
Start by cleaning out your colon with soluble fiber. Soluble fibers combine with water to form a gel the slides through your intestines, getting them cleared out for the big meal. Drink plenty of water to keep things moving throughout the day.
Fruits, vegetables and sugars should be the first things that you eat off of your plate because they digest very quickly, in as little as 30 minutes. Some may interpret this as an excuse to eat dessert first, which would probably work if the dessert doesn’t have a lot of fat in it! Remember to drink a room temperature or hot beverage with your meal instead of a cold drink that can make things move much slower. Room temperature water, coffee or hot cider should do the trick.
The next thing to eat would be your bread and stuffing. Mix in cranberry sauce if you can to make things keep moving quickly. Chew all of your food for a long time before you swallow so that you don’t make things harder on your digestive system. Grains and starches can take two or three hours to digest, so make sure that you thoroughly chew before you move on and take as much time as possible to eat your meal.
Proteins and fats are bigger molecules that take a lot longer than three hours to digest. Eat these last and conservatively to keep from getting so full that you feel bad.
One reason you feel bad and tired after a big meal is that excess food stresses the body and it becomes like a toxin in your system. The liver and immune system take the biggest hits after overeating. Try to control your portions so that you don’t consume more than 3-4 cups of food during any three hour period.
If your body is depleted of vitamins and minerals, it will function at a slower pace. Vitamin C removes excess toxins before you eat so that your body is more prepared to handle a big meal. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, or ubiquinone) activates your body’s enzymes and makes digestion much more efficient. Your body makes less and less ubiquinone as you age, so many people are unaware that they are deficient. CoQ10, along with vitamin C, boosts your immunity and removes toxins. Vitamin C and CoQ10 are likely to greatly reduce your chances of feeling bad after dinner.
Following these steps will keep your digestion running smoothly and quickly throughout the Thanksgiving feast. If you experience any severe symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. Sometimes an underlying gastric condition can be aggravated by over-indulgence in food and alcohol. Also, talk to your doctor before you buy vitamins to make sure that the normal dosages are right for you.
