Welcome to my new monthly blog! It's the 1st of November and I'm looking forward to sharing a couple of life, work and knowledge updates with you each month. The world of the blogosphere and social media can be overwhelming with a never-ending list of things you feel you have to do! So here I aim to share a couple of things once a month that feel alive for me, and may be of interest for you to read with the aim of hashtag keeping-it-real! Ps: My photos are taken on an old i-phone :-)
Living on the East coast of Ireland- just south of Dublin in the beautiful county of Wicklow I am ridiculously grateful to live in walking distance to a stunning coastline where over the last 10yrs or so there is a growing delight for sea-swimming. I've always considered myself as a "fair-weather" swimmer, preferring blues kies and (slightly) warmer sea temperatures. For a couple of years I was barely able to get into the salt water due to my compromised skin (more on that another time), but this year I have found myself almost craving the cold salty sea and surprising myself with continuing early morning swims through the autumn season.
Earlier this year I met a gorgeous woman on the beach who had recently turned 92years of age, sitting on the rocks drying feet and putting her socks back on after her morning swim. We struck up the chats and I asked her if she swam all year round. She replied that she had started sea swimming 20 years before and had decided for herself that if she swam on the 30th of September, she could swim on the 1st of October. And if she could swim throughout October and on the 31st, she could swim on November the 1st.... and so on! So yes, she said, she swims all year round.
I will always remember that beautiful conversation of connection, fun and inspiration.
And here we are in November with a sea temperature of around 13C (55F), I've just made a pot of hot coffee and feeling inspired to continue these cold water dips that help me feel more confident in my skin, more resilient in my mind, and more open in my heart for the beautiful conversations as we dry the sand off our feet and wish each other a lovely day.
Having experienced compromised skin health for a number of years and working with folks experiencing all kind of health issues it is not lost on me that feeling well is a complex mix of an inside out and outside in web of factors. Some factors that we are not in control of and others that we do have some leverage of in terms of supporting bodily functions that impact the greater sum of our well being. Coupling this with my work as a tutor teaching anatomy and physiology in digestive health and disease, I'm updating a new section of our module looking at gut motility.
Gut motility is essentially the movement of the food [that we eat, chew and swallow]- through our digestive tract. Muscular contractions and relaxations ensure that this food is propelled properly through our digestive tract so that it can be broken down and extracted of its nutrition for absorption. As with all things muscular gut motility can be hindered at various stages of our digestive tract. This is particularly so within our large intestine causing slower colonic transit and constipation or faster transit reducing time for absorption contributing to loser stools and urgency.
Here are 4 things that may support effective colonic motility:
Proper chewing- our stomach has strong acid that helps breakdown foods BUT it doesn't have teeth. Proper chewing supports our stomach to receive food and helps digestion at this early stage. There's no need to count your chews (unless you want to of course) but even slowing down your chewing will increase the time for salivary enzymes to begin their work.
Minerals- are like spark plugs that, amongst many essential functions, support effective muscular contraction and relaxation- especially that of our digestive tract. Mineral-rich foods that are properly digested are essential for good gut function- aim to incorporate whole foods into you diet including root and green leafy vegetables, eggs, fish and meat (if you eat animal proteins), well prepared beans and legumes (soaking them for a few hours ideally overnight). Some great additions include bone or vegetable broths that are seasoned with good sea salt and or seaweeds, fermented foods such as kimchi and sauerkraut, and for those who eat animal proteins- some organ meats such as liver (delicious in a chicken liver pate)
Manage stress- Our digestive system loves rest and rhythm and favours our nervous system to be more predominantly in parasympathetic mode. Busy life schedules and eating on the run do not benefit our digestion as they contribute to our nervous system being predominantly in sympathetic mode- shunting blood flow away from our digestive tract to support oxygen and fuel to our limb muscles and respiration. Taking some deep breaths before eating, enjoying meals a little more mindfully and aiming to eat at similar times each day can go a long way to support improved gut function and motility.
Hydration- the colon is the main gastric site for water and electrolyte absorption helping to regulate hydration levels, gut motility, gut microbial ecology and stool formation for comfortable defecation. Staying properly hydrated can be tricky with high sodium diets, stress and mineral depletion and simply drinking adequate volume of clear fluids to support our needs. Chia seeds are little absorbent powerhouses of functional fibre! Soak 1-2 tsp in a glass of water, stir well and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes. I soak them overnight and put them beside my bed, ready to drink first thing when I get up in the morning. Drinking these soaked chia seeds in water brings amazing fibre and hydration right down into the bowel and for many folks are an amazing tonic for supporting gut motility and normalising bowel motions.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
And so... I'm signing off with the hope of more beautiful sea swims this coming month... I'll let you know if I made it through to December :-)
Comments