Nothing you do has a bigger impact on your physiology than the foods you choose to put in your mouth every day. And this is still an understatement.
Your diet will make or break you.
Get it in your head. If you’re eating a junk diet, you’ll have a junk body. You can’t out-train or out-supplement bad nutritional habits.
But what if you’ve already cleaned up your act and still face digestive issues like indigestion, bloating or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)?
You’re trying to eat healthy (whatever that means to you) and stay active. You’re avoiding gluten like the plague and dairy has been off the menu since breast milk. Yet, despite your efforts, you’re frequently feeling bloated, tired and fuzzy after eating. Like your ability to enjoy simple meals, your energy, drive and day-to-day performance are fading.
I was in the same spot a few years ago.
I wouldn’t wait on the sidelines hoping for things to get better, though. I took matters into my own hands, consuming more information on the subject than most experts ever will, experimenting with a variety of diets, supplements and designer remedies.
I did all of that only to find that nothing and nobody addressed the issue at hand. These band-aid solutions only masked the symptoms without addressing the root cause of digestive dysfunction.
Bursting At The Seams
If you live in the civilized parts of this world, chances are you have a couple pounds to lose. You probably can’t remember the last time you skipped a meal (or dessert) and you’ve noticed a steady decline in digestive power over time, or worse even, developed full-blown food intolerances or allergies.
The solution, however, is much simpler than you know.
Forget elimination diets, forget the pre- and probiotics, the superfoods and other designer remedies that do little more than empty your bank account. You can get rid of your issues overnight by following this one rule.
Repair your digestive system by eating less.
The metabolism of food is a very energy costly process. In order to regain your digestive function, you need to start reallocating the energy spent on breaking down and assimilating food to the repair and recovery of your digestive system.
It’s not the acid-alkaline balance. It’s not the gluten in your muffin. And it’s not the milk in your coffee.
It’s the chronic excess. The chronic energy imbalance in your body is sabotaging your digestion and crippling your health.
Insulin Sensitivity and Your Digestion
Anytime you eat something your pancreas releases insulin, a hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar in your body, to shuttle the nutrients floating through your bloodstream into your cells (muscle, liver and/or fat cells).
If this insulin pathway is working efficiently you are considered “insulin sensitive”. And insulin sensitivity is paramount for good digestion.
But what happens when your body, your cells, are no longer receptive to the incoming food? What happens when the meals you eat don’t nourish you but start debilitating you?
Once your body becomes resistant to the actions of insulin, the foods (sugars in particular) you eat can no longer be transported into your cells, leaving your blood sugar perpetually elevated and causing a massive inflammatory cascade inside your body.
If left unaddressed, insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes.
Nothing diminishes insulin sensitivity faster than a chronic excess of calories (i.e. eating too much food).
The human body simply cannot cope with a permanent energy surplus (regardless of source).
“But I don’t eat sugar, so I don’t have to worry about this stuff, right?
Wrong.
It’s not the sugar or fat you eat. As far as your digestion, overall health and body composition are concerned it’s still a matter of how much food you consume at the end of the day, week and month.
Nothing wrong with the occasional piece of chocolate cake, if you’re lean and your diet is on point. On the other hand, if you’re overweight, nothing will improve your digestive function (and quality of life) more than eating less and losing the excess weight.
Bulletproof Your Digestion
Start paying attention to the amount of food you eat. Cut snacks and junk out from your diet, eat at regular intervals and practice proper macronutrient balance.
Make friends with hunger. Eat less and allow your system to restore gut integrity and digestive power.
If you think the solution can’t be this simple you’re mistaken. This is the single most powerful weapon in your arsenal. Mark my words.
Stop wasting time with designer diets and fancy supplement cocktails. You’re not helping your cause, you’re only throwing money out the window (and making a fool out of yourself in the process).
Eat less, lose the gut and bulletproof your digestion.
Thank you for reading
Victor
Resources
Chiu HK, Tsai EC, Juneja R, et al. (August 2007). Equivalent insulin resistance. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 77: 237–44
Janket, SJ; Manson, JE; Sesso, H; Buring, JE; Liu, S (2003). A prospective study of sugar intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Diabetes Care. 26 (4): 1008–15
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