By Josiah Groth

Featured Columnist

The ancients considered undigested matter to be the basic material that—after it builds up in the body—disrupts normal processes and accelerates disease progression. The ancients used fire as a metaphor to encapsulate lots of healthy eating wisdom.

As we move into the holiday season, try using the metaphor of fire to aid you in making food choices. A few gentle adjustments to our eating habits over the next two months can lead to fewer bouts of indigestion.

To keep our fire healthy, we should eat in such a way that we burn (digest) all our food with as minimal ash (bathroom waste) left over as possible. Then, we want to dispose of the ash as fast as possible so it does not accelerate the disease process.

We do this by keeping our fire pit (stomach) clean, choosing cleaner wood (food) to burn, and tending to the flame (acids and enzymes) so that it stays at a consistent burn. This last bit happens in the short term, meal per meal, and over the long term as we nurture digestive system function and vitality.

While the advice contained in the metaphor of fire can fill a whole weekend seminar, here are two gems to think about that help us avoid creating an uncomfortable digestive fire this holiday season.

The stomach is a single pot

Think of cooking rice. What would happen if you added a second serving of rice to the pot about half way through cooking?

If you were to serve the rice when the first half finished cooking, you would have a whole bunch of crunchy rice ruining the meal. If you were to keep boiling until everything finished cooking, half of the pot would be pure mush. It means we should fully digest each meal before we eat again.

The stomach empties fully in four hours. So hold off on snacks for a while after your meals to decrease indigestion.

Water puts out fire

Water douses a flame, and the same is true for your digestive fire. Stomach acids and digestive enzymes work better in stronger concentration and with elevated temperature.

By diluting your digestive chemicals you slow down the speed and effectiveness of your digestive fire. The result is a poor performing digestive process that results in increased indigestion. Basically, the advice is to drink fewer liquids with meals and, when possible, to switch the liquids you drink closest to meals from cold to hot beverages.

Remember: Eating poorly over the holidays is a tradition. Enjoy the special moments and times with loved ones fully. Do what you can to keep your digestion happy and your heart full.

Caution: Feast day meals are not the real problem, no matter how bloated you may feel from your indulgences. The long-term habits that dim our digestive flame are the ones that lead to the deepest problems down the road.

Josiah Groth is the owner of Back to Bliss Wellness. More information on his practice can be found at www.backtoblisswellness.com.