The Basics of Digestion

Our plan is to take a deeper dive into many topics, but we are going to start by building onto some of the fundamental concepts that are important to our overall health and subsequently weight loss. One of the most important topics that we are going to start with is the basics of digestion.

Many of you reported coming into this program with digestive issues, or wanting to know more about how your body may respond to the plan with issues like IBS, Crohn’s disease, GERD (Gastric-Esophageal Reflux), missing your gallbladder, gastric bypass or other modifications. So, we are going to break this all down for you in our series about the digestive system!

Why is digestion so important?

Digestion is the complex process where our body breaks down the food and liquids that we eat in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, into smaller components and nutrients, which the body uses for energy, growth, and cell repair. If there are any impairments in this process, there can be an impact in how our body is able to absorb and utilize the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that we need to maintain optimal health! This is why with The Livy Method, there is a huge emphasis on improving digestive health, eating nutritious food, and making all meals and snacks as nutrient dense as possible.

The cephalic phase:

Many of us don’t realize this, but digestion actually starts in our brain! When we think about, see, smell, touch, or taste food, our hormones become activated. We begin to secrete saliva in our mouths and our stomachs begin to secrete gastric juices. In fact, this phase is responsible for the secretion of up to 50% of our gastric and digestive hormone secretions, in order to aid in the processing of what we eat (Zafra, M.A., Molina, F., & Puerto, A., 2006)!

This is where our mindfulness should really start, in order to take full advantage of the optimal digestion of our foods. We can do this by checking in with ourselves to see what ingredients appeal to us most, taking the time to prepare our foods thoughtfully, and using all our senses in the food preparation process. Be in the moment and enjoy it!

Thus, the cephalic phase is a perfect time to really dive into the first two mindfulness questions of eating: Are y