What foods are easy to digest?
In short, when the digestive prowess is low or hindered, diet can be a way to create the conditions for more efficient and easeful digestion.
There are a few key concepts to keep in mind:
Parasympathetic Nervous Innervation
The Spleen: Ancient Chinese Wisdom
The energetics of food
Parasympathetic Nervous System and Good Digestion
We need the “rest, digest and heal” nervous system to be online for assimilation of food and uptake of nutrients. This is the opposite of the “fight, flight or freeze” nervous system tone. When this later nervous system is regulating the system, an entire cascade of physiological responses occur — none of which are to prepare for, enhance or participate in the smooth digestion of food. Common sense: if you are in the midst of danger and/or trauma, the last thing you need to be doing is up-regulating the hydrochloric acid secretion in your stomach, or expelling bile from the gallbladder… what you need in those dangerous situations is for your muscles and lungs and cardiovascular system to be ready to GTFO, or in some cases, to totally shut down and “play dead”. And, these dangerous situations are a matter of perception. Depending on each individuals lived experience, what they perceive as “stressful” or “dangerous” will change. This leads us to a much needed and more elaborate conversation, which our mentor and colleague Irene Lyon has oodles of content about if you are interested in going deeper.
The Spleen and the Earth Element
Traditional Chinese Medicine gives us so much wisdom about fundamental truths of our physiology and daily lives. One aspect that we are forever indebted (among countless others) is the Chinese concept of digestion. Remove your western lenses for a moment. “The spleen” represents and entire network of actions, reactions, connections and functions. The spleen is connected to all other organ systems and is the centre of digestion, along with the stomach (again, Chinese “stomach” here)…. Now, you don’t need to understand the intricate workings of ancient Chinese philosophy, but an appreciation for the complexing is important. A western spleen and a traditional Chinese spleen is not the same. Related, interwoven, and different. For simplicity, let’s use the term ‘SP/ST’ to denote the Traditional Chinese concept, and “spleen” for the western organ that is found in the abdominal cavity. The SP/ST organ system needs certain conditions to function well. We can address this with specific foods and practices. In some circumstances, herbs, acupuncture, hydrotherapy and homeopathic remedies are also needed to balance the SP/ST. There is a detailed handout here where you can view and print the essentials for what we call the SP diet.
Food Energetics
We pull from ancient Chinese wisdom again. Some foods are hot, some are cold, others are pungent or sour. These may be flavours and temperatures, but they can also be an energetic quality. Hot foods create heat in the system, cold foods congeal and tighten. For westerners, this may be a mind-bender. With time these concepts will become invaluable tools. Cold foods are not good for digestion and they hinder the SP/ST… think of the bubbling cauldron of acid, peristalsis, bile, enzymes and food in the digestive tract— this can also be described as ‘digestive fire’— we want the digestion to be able to assimilate everything with ease. In a way it is like incineration: foods need to be completely degraded down to their raw elements to be used as building blocks. Ashes in the metaphorical digestive fire. We need to avoid cold foods when we are looking to digest with ease. We need to create the conditions for strong digestive fire. The handout mentioned above also has a list of foods and practices to avoid. Most of these are cold in nature.
References
Pitchford, P. (2002). Healing with whole foods: Asian traditions and modern nutrition. North Atlantic Books: Berkley, CA, USA.
The disclaimer… The amazing thing about humans is that we all have incomparably unique health profiles and needs. The health-related information contained in this article is intended to be general in nature and should not be used prescriptively or a as a substitute for a visit with a naturopathic doctor. This info is intended to offer general information to individuals. If you have questions about how these strategies could be used in adjunct to your current heath regime, book and appointment with us or consult a licensed naturopathic doctor for individualized care.