Ayurveda to Improve Digestion
According to Ayurveda, the health and integrity of the digestive process is truly the fulcrum of one’s health.
Did you know that 74% of Americans are experiencing some form of digestive distress? With optimal digestion being the driver of a healthy immune system, balanced moods, steady energy, stable blood sugar, and strong vitality, this is a very disturbing statistic!1
Things You Don’t Need to Do to Improve Digestion
- Stop eating gluten
- Stop eating dairy
- Stop eating big lunches because they make you sleepy
- Become a vegan or raw foodist
- Start eating Paleo
- Start eating six small meals a day
Instead, consider these three simple digestive habits that people with perfect digestion are sure to practice to improve your digestion naturally and effectively. Today, there is compelling evidence to suggest that these three things can boost digestive strength and lower blood sugar.2-6
Before I start, let me say that neither gluten nor dairy are required as part of a healthy diet. Whether or not you become a vegan, raw foodist, or Paleo eater is not the issue.
Changing your diet may help settle down your digestive imbalance, but it will likely not solve the underlying digestive problem.
Now, I am also not naive enough to think that relaxing during a meal and resting and walking after a meal will fix your gluten intolerance, but these changes, along with herbs to reset digestion (see my Digestive Health article archives), are part of a comprehensive package to keep digestion strong.
3 Tips to Improve Digestion
Don’t Race Through or Eat Meals While Angry
Traditional cultures would never consider eating in front of the TV or while driving or stressed. Sayings such as, “Don’t eat standing up or death looks over your shoulder” or “Better not to eat at all than eat while angry” are actually based on some hard simple science.
When you eat stressed or on the run, the sympathetic fight-or-flight nervous system engages to address the stress. The fight-or-flight response activates the muscles to “run for your life” and significantly inhibits proper digestion. When you take time to relax during a meal, the parasympathetic nervous system, also called the rest-and-digest nervous system, turns on. This increases parasympathetic activity.
Relaxing and enjoying a meal encourages digestion, while stress literally turns it off.2
Rest on the Left Side After Meals
When you take a few minutes to rest after eating a meal, lying or leaning on your left side, this allows your stomach to cradle the food and then to move along and empty in a more relaxed fashion. If you were to lie on the right side, gravity would force the food to potentially empty prematurely from the stomach, allowing undigested food to enter the small intestine.
Studies suggest that when babies are fed and allowed to rest on the left side, they enjoy better digestion.3
Take a Walk after Each Meal
Taking a 15-minute walk after breakfast, lunch, and supper has been shown to lower after-meal blood sugar levels.4-6 In one study with prediabetic adults, an after-meal walk lowered blood sugar levels on average from 129mg/dL to 116mg/dL.6
If you cannot get the walk in right after a meal, a longer 45-minute walk at either 10:30am or 4:30pm was also found to lower average blood sugar throughout the day.
In a culture with epidemic prediabetic blood sugar levels, a simple walk can help the muscles use up excess sugar in the blood before any damage is done.
Studies have also shown that taking a walk shortly after a meal supports healthy weight loss, compared to not walking or waiting an hour after the meal. Having to walk to and from your lunch break may make all the difference!7,8
Have you tried any of these simple and free digestive techniques? Have you seen improved digestion? What have you noticed?
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Thanks all for your interest in healthy lifestyle. Truth be told, you need to sit back for a few minutes after eating to aid the food eaten to get inside the stomach and avoid a reflux of food back to GI tracts causing heart burn
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Linda says
Might make a difference whether or not you are trying to stabilize your blood sugar. I have read elsewhere that 7 to 12 minutes of walking after each meal will help normalize your blood sugar. I would be interested in other opinions.
Nora says
Good information to know but I just read other articles stating people shouldn’t walk directly after a meal because it redirects the energy away from digesting and toward the exercising or walking. Which method is correct? To walk or not to walk directly after eating.
Subramanya says
Thanks for the article, one thing I have heard and practicing for many years is after food eating , if you sit in “Vajrasana”, for about 15 minutes, it would help digestion process. We can start with 5 minutes and by practice increase to 15 minutes
annette wass says
why have you written something virtually identical to claires post? : she wrote:
“Thank you for the specific recommendations regarding walking after meals. I no longer have any blood sugar issues, stable as a rock I am, due to having a seriously veg based smoothie with nuts and seeds for breakfast….. this keeps me going with not thoughts about food until 2 p.m. if necessary. Also just being satisfied with my large 5-a-day breakfast means no nibbles ever between meals ( See Dr John, I do listen to a lot of what you say) and I have lost about 8 kilos over a year without noticing it.”
Stefan Åkesson says
I am more relaxed having dinner watching reruns of something fun and light such as for example The Big Bang Theory, than having to dine alone. A familiar show with episodes I have watched before make me focus on my eating, yet gives me the feeling being part of a relaxing and fun dinnner with friends.
Catherine says
You know, that is an excellent point! (I, too, love Big Bang Theory!) I also like to watch a little television while I eat dinner for the same reasons you mention. In fact, I did watch TV last night and I don’t remember what I watched but I DO remember that I had salmon, asparagus and red carrots. I remember also their appearance, their smell and their taste.
Courtney says
The link is broken for reference #3; could you please update?
JC says
“FOOD COMBINING CHART”. You will be more pleased learning how we are supposed to eat and not what we eat. I’m sure Mr. John means well but honestly he’s so far from the truth. It could be all about the Benjamins. If you continue to eat wrong you will still have questions unanswered. John will have more answers which will lead to more money spent on so called diets. Please learn what’s foods to eat with one another. This will make anyone lose weight or maintain weight with little or no exercise at all. This i promise you…
Catherine says
I have read many of your comments and I would suggest you find another website. This is a SPECIFIC type of dietary information, namely Ayurveda. It has been around for centuries. It is not about whatever you learned in nutrition school or reading various books. Please refrain from continuously commenting on everyone’s posts. It is annoying. No one has any idea if you are qualified to make these suggestions and this is not your forum to do so.
Katy says
Weight watchers thrives on food combining and millions have lost weight doing it. Their frozen meals are processed and unhealthy but the food combining is the reason why people are losing weight. That is just one point. The advice I’ve received from this website since 2011 has been extremely helpful for ailments and digestive issues I have HAD. And I haven’t spent money. I’ve followed diet suggestions, either w/food or “how to eat” and that has worked.
You haven’t said anything with any backing, fact or knowledge to it. As Catherine said, this is an ayurvedic approach which is thousands of years old and coincidently, is being proved to be correct scientifically piece by piece. jc you are the one that is not speaking the truth. I can only assume you are a troll jc.
Suresh says
Sir we shoud rest after lunch pls sugest me
Gary says
Lions always relax after eating. They don’t move at all. I think animals know a thing or two you know.
JC says
U are so correct. We humans are too smart for our own good. Just sometimes we have $ and other things (cars,houses,attire,etc) that’s animals will not lose if they don’t have the money. So they get to do what nature intended for the body to do after eating(rest). We humans have to work right after eating or squeeze that workout routine into our already busy schedules. Gary you said it all. We may have bigger brains but nature still means natural state……..
Liv says
I lie down on the left side after every meal once I am full, and I didn’t know about this. Is it common for people to naturally do this?
By the way, the post was great 🙂
Kristina Wilson says
Much obliged to you for the particular proposals with respect to strolling after dinners. I no more have any glucose issues, steady as a stone I am, because of having a truly veg based smoothie with nuts and seeds for breakfast… .. this keeps me running with not considerations about nourishment until 2 p.m. in the event that fundamental. Likewise simply being fulfilled by my substantial 5-a-day breakfast implies no snack ever between suppers ( See Dr John, I do listen to a great deal of what you say) and I have lost around 8 kilos over a year without seeing it.
JC says
Try proper food combination’s. It’s not what we eat but how we eat. “Food combining chart”. You will eventually wear and tear you digestion and will put to much strain on other organs.
Cheryl says
After a meal, should you lie down first for a couple minutes, and then go for a walk as the order suggests here? Or walk first, then lie down? Does it matter?
John Douillard says
Hi Cheryl,
If you lie down for a few minutes and then walk that would be ideal.
Great question. Thanks!
Aria says
Why does the 45-minute walk have to be at either 10:30am or 4:30pm? What is significant about those times?
JC says
Because lunch should be around 11:30 and supper around 5:30-6:30. Hence is why you eat post workout and not prior. The gi tract needs the blood for digestion. So when you’re moving/ exercising, the blood that’s needed for digestion is directed away from your digestive system and to the lungs and extremities. “Timing”……. Best time to workout,walk, etc., is before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner. Never after. It takes our bodies at least 3hrs after eating to produce adequate amounts of digestive enzymes,bile,etc to break food down into micronutrients. 6-8 for full digestion. Unless you eat for two. Then the food consumed may never digest all the way……
Lol I’m sure you’ve figured this out since your question was in 2015……
JC says
Plus makes perfect since the more you need out of your food the better you digest. Vice versa……
Claire says
Thank you for the specific recommendations regarding walking after meals. I no longer have any blood sugar issues, stable as a rock I am, due to having a seriously veg based smoothie with nuts and seeds for breakfast….. this keeps me going with not thoughts about food until 2 p.m. if necessary. Also just being satisfied with my large 5-a-day breakfast means no nibbles ever between meals ( See Dr John, I do listen to a lot of what you say) and I have lost about 8 kilos over a year without noticing it.
Now I have about 5 kgs left to lose, and I’d like to burn it off with more exercise. So it should be possible for me, mostly, to walk briskly for 15 minutes after each meal. Silly me, I always waited an hour or more, to aid digenstion, but now I know better so there is no excuse not to get out and walk after every meal I can. Sounds like a good plan. I would also like to know the science behind this. Why walk immediately after eating and not any time in the day? Is there really a measurable difference? I am a person who likes to know WHY. Thank you
John Douillard says
Hi Claire,
So glad to hear that you are doing well.
Check out references #7 and #8 above for details on the studies (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21731896 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119587/) on walking soon after a meal vs. waiting an hour.
Please let us know how the walks go for you.
JC says
Ok, I have to correct the wannabe dietitians and nutritionists. When you eat , most of your blood goes to your gi tract for digestion. So when you walk/exercise your lungs and muscles in your extremities use most of your blood. Which directs the blood flow away from digestion. So it makes since to stay hydrated before and after you walk or work out, but eating a meal before, “nawh” our digestive tract needs the blood to properly digest after walking or exercising. This replinishes the nutrients lost post workout. Also do your research because our body’s absorb more vitamins and nutrients post workout/exercising vs before because the body doesn’t have time to properly absorb in 1hr,2hrs, or even 3. Also makes perfect sense why you’re supposed to give your body 48hrs between workouts/exercising. “” I’ll put it this way , ” what makes you feel best, do it”!!!!
Katherine Czapp says
A good reminder of basic healthy approaches to eating. I just want to point out that
we do not “lay” on our left side or right side or back or stomach. We “lie” on those parts of
the body. Please lie down. Lay your phone aside and lie down quietly. Thank you for
listening!
Gail Fore says
I just saw a tee-shirt printed just for us recently:
“I am silently correcting your grammar”; although, like you,
I am rarely silent about it! But for as fussy as I am about this,
I was not clear about lie/lay, thank you.
margot says
Better not to eat at all THAN eat while angry.
John Douillard says
Nice catch, Margot. That little letter makes a big difference in that sentence! Thanks!
Lori Chamberland says
Love this post and am always teaching my clients about good eating habits including avoiding stressed out eating. One thing I’ve wondered about is the after meal walk. Since any kind of physical activity initiates the sympathetic nervous system, wouldn’t walking inhibit digestion? What is it exactly about the walking after a meal that helps digestion? Is it just the movement that helps the food move through the stomach and into the small intestine (i.e. has the same benefit as left side-laying). Or, do we as practitioners need to specify that the walking be at a very slow and relaxed pace so it’s more like a moving meditation? Any insight would be most helpful as this one always seems contradictory to me. Thanks for all the great work you do at LifeSpa.
=)
Lori
Clayton says
Hey Lori,
Glad to hear you’re teaching people to relax during their meals. It’s very important! As for the walking, it’s actually not very likely for a person to go into ‘fight or flight’ nervous system action when doing such light exercise. We tend to think that any amount of movement is counter to relaxation, but in people of average fitness (not clinically obese), walking will not trigger the release of endogenous adrenaline or ‘fight or flight’ hormones. For obese patients, it would be my recommendation that they give themselves an extra 10-30 minutes directly after eating to relax and digest their meal, if walking is stressful. This of course depends on the meal and the patient’s current digestive health as well. I tend to have very potent digestion, and can typically feel well-digested 15-20 minutes after eating, whereas some people I know may need as much as 40-60 minutes of post-meal relaxation to avoid indigestion. The most important thing to remember here is to modify all health advice depending on each patient’s individual health conditions.
But, again, walking will not be stressful or stimulating enough for the average person to go ‘fight or flight.’
Hope I helped!
-Clayton
Tauna says
Hi Lori,
Great question! When we walk or exercise while nasal breathing, we can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system. That said, a hard or long workout directly after eating can inhibit digestion (even while nasal breathing). Dr. John has many articles on how to nasal breathe while exercising. Here are two articles you might enjoy: https://lifespa.com/bliss-workout/ and https://lifespa.com/ayurvedic-treatment-health-topics/nose-breathing/. Take care, Tauna Houghton, Ayurvedic Practitioner at LifeSpa.
Sivan says
When we lie on our left side it activates the symphathetic nervous system.But Parasymphathetic nervous system is responsible for digestion.So right side or left side.
James says
Every other article I read says either, “walk after dinner or a meal”, or ” don’t walk after dinner or a meal”.
Luckily, I’m too lazy for to make any difference