Food & recipes

Diet: Emma Cannon on improving your digestion

Our integrated east-meets-west expert Emma Cannon on the importance of digestion

Our integrated east-meets-west expert Emma Cannon on the importance of digestion
On the whole we are all much more aware these days as to just how important our diet is.

Clearly this is a positive trend as a good diet provides the building blocks for good health. More than that, foods can even be used to address some conditions and give people a great tool to enrich their lives and their health.

While debates and discoveries about what constitutes the healthiest diet go on, something is often missing from all the discussion, and that’s the importance of our digestion. Because the benefits of even the most impeccable diet can be seriously diluted by a faulty digestive system.

Recently a woman came to my clinic for fertility problems, and as we talked I discovered she had been taking 28 different vitamins and supplements every day. I had already taken her history and established her digestion was functioning below par. She suffered from loose stools, bloating and a tendency to ruminate and worry a great deal. A tendency to over-think is often a sign that the digestion is poor. Her tongue was swollen with teeth marks down each side, another indication that her digestion was weak.

Taking such high levels of vitamins and minerals was really a waste of time and might even have caused more damage than good. It is, if you like, a case of being ‘overly nutritious’ and it makes it hard for the body to digest, putting further strain on the body, and further weakening the digestion.

Supplements can be extremely helpful, in the right circumstances. But sometimes we need to work on the digestion first. As a general rule I am of the belief that the majority of our nutrition needs to come from food; that is our diet is healthy, varied and our digestion is strong – then we get everything we need.

Having a good appetite is a sign of good digestive health. This does not mean that you are constantly hungry, only that you are appropriately hungry. Although these days many women value a lack of appetite, as it makes them feel in control of their eating, it is not a good sign in terms of digestion. It is really important to cultivate a healthy approach to eating and to be good to yourself because our thought process and digestion are one.

My best piece of advice for anyone who is struggling with food, be it using it as comfort or using it as a means of control, is to not only address your eating but to look at the emotional issue behind your eating.

TEAS TO AID DIGESTION

include fennel, aniseed and caraway

TIPS TO HELP IMPROVE DIGESTION

Body

20 mouthfuls in 20 minutes – slow down and chew your food
Eat regularly and do not skip meals
Keep food combinations simple; for my patients who have weak digestive function I advocate the Hay diet where carbohydrates and proteins are not mixedDo not flood the digestion – don’t drink lots of fluids with your meal.
Keep liquid, especially cold drinks, to a minimum, instead take your liquid away from meal time
Eat mostly cooked foods and avoid eating cold food straight out of the fridge. The digestion likes food that is warm and cooked, particularly in cold and damp climates like the UK
Including some fermented food like sauerkraut in your diet will improve your gut flora.

Mind

‘Eat light and live long’; remember stop when you are about two thirds full (your brain takes a little while to catch up).
Do not read while eating; remember that thinking and digesting are a similar function and the body sometimes struggles to achieve both at once

Heart

Do not argue or discuss contentious issues while you eat, it really knots the stomach and slows down digestion
Try not to stress too much about what you eat, it is important that you feel good about what you digest. So as long as your diet is generally healthy don’t beat yourself up about the occasional indulgence.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & GINGER SOUP

This recipe is very nourishing and gentle on the digestion; it is a perfect lunchtime meal if you want to simplify your diet. Squashes of any description are extremely good for the digestion and ginger is warming and moves stagnation so is a great tonic.

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash • 35g of fresh ginger
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

Peel and roughly chop the butternut squash, and do the same with the ginger. Put both in a heavy-based saucepan with a little of the stock. Cover and sweat over a gentle heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft.
Add the rest of the stock and bring to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree. Serve with a swirl of natural yoghurt.

Article by

Emma Cannon

Integrated Health Expert & Acupuncturist