Gratitude and the Gut

By Jessica Starnes, Coastal Rebel Wellness

It's that time of year where thankfulness and gratitude take center stage. If only we could keep that momentum going all year!

Having a daily practice of gratitude can help shift our thoughts, energy, and nervous system to a calmer, less stressed state. This is a state we want to spend most of our time. This is a state where we heal, detoxify, ovulate, digest, and rest. This is the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system - opposite of the fight or flight energy of the sympathetic branch.

Proper digestion only occurs when we are relaxed and calm - a state that can come from practicing gratitude. When we are wound up, on the go, driving, watching TV or on our phone, upset, angry, working etc our nervous system isn't primed for the parasympathetic task of digesting food well. We then tend to get indigestion, bloat, gas, not-so-pleasent bowel movements, and other digestive woes.

If we continuously eat in stressful states like this, we wind up lowering our stomach acid and inhibiting the break down, assimilation, and absorption of nutrients in the food we eat. This can lead to a whole host of health issues attributed to nutrient deficiencies.

Ever heard of the gut-brain axis? While things happening in the gut can affect the brain, the brain also affects the gut. Hello, vagus nerve! This is the main highway of communication between the two. Our thoughts are more powerful that we tend to think they are and strongly impact our physical body. The mind and body are not separate. If you have gut issues, the emotional component is a huge factor to address along with healing the gut lining, supporting the gut microbiota, and lowering endotoxin with nutritional interventions.

While there are a plethora of tips on WHAT to eat for gut health, what's often missing from the conversation is HOW to eat. How do we translate safety to the body so it is primed well to receive and digest the fuel?

Pausing for gratitude before a meal is an old practice that many of us have gotten away from with our modern, fast-paced lives and abundance of food choices and availability. Something as simple as a few slow, deep breaths prior to a meal, sitting down and not standing to eat, eliminating distractions and allowing time to truly focus on the food in front of us, praying or expressing gratitude for our food, not skipping meals and getting too hungry can dramatically shift our state and support the production of stomach acid and digestive enzymes for more efficient digestion of our food.

So, I challenge you to allow a slow down to express gratitude for your meal or anything else you might be grateful for and see what might shift in your digestion, energy, and health. Consistency is always the name of the game so give it a try for a couple weeks for the most benefit and maybe it will become a life-long habit. And best of all, it's free!

Sometimes it's the simplest of habits that make the biggest impact.