GOT BELLY?
by Philip Nation, nationtraining.com
I want to inform you about one of the most important topics to your general health—and your progress in the gym—your digestion. There are scores and scores of people who work out like crazy, yet still have a distended stomach and abdomen (aka “pooch belly” ). There can be a number of causes for this but one of the main culprits can be food intolerances and stress. Stress and food intolerances can cause a condition called “leaky gut syndrome.” In this condition, the junctions in your gut wall actually separate and allow undigested food particles to cross the gut wall where they don’t belong. This activates your immune system and promotes an inflammatory response and a ton of gastrointestinal disorders.
Why does all this matter? Well, the more inflammation you have in your gut the less likely you will have that flat midsection you want. Inflammation in the gut weakens and disables important abdominal stabilizer muscles. The greater the inflammation, the less your abdominals will respond to exercise!
More inflammation and poor digestion also mean you will not absorb and digest your macronutrients or your expensive supplements! So if your goal is to either gain muscle or lose fat, your progress, or lack thereof, depends a lot on your digestion of food to grow bigger muscles or lose fat.
_____________________________________________________________________
Below are some tips which really work and will improve your digestion TODAY!
1) Never eat standing up
2) Chew all your food until it’s a fine paste. Never swallow big chunks.
3) Drink a glass of water with each meal
4) Eat raw veggies with each meal; they contain enzymes that help digest proteins and other foods!
5) Avoid stress or discussion of stressful subjects when eating. Strive to reduce stress in general.
6) Take digestive enzymes with each meal. Stress decreases stomach acidity thus hampering proper digestion. The enzymes above have made a world of difference for me; I take 3 in the middle of my meals 3 times daily. They are about ten bucks and well worth it!
