Ahhhhhhh, August! Time for vacations, porches, and…….ideal digestion. So many of my patient have remarked that their digestive issues disappear while on vacation. But Why?!?!

While we can’t bottle up ‘vacation’ and serve it up 2x / day, this should inspire patients that their digestive issues are not permanent. You are experiencing food sensitives, you do not have food sensitives. Due to the transience of food sensitivities, I do not test patients with complicated food sensitivity panels, because one week they might say one thing, then next week they will say another thing. To be clear, a food intolerance is very different from a food allergy, which are severe, even life-threatening, and are in response to one or two very specific foods.

Back to vacation, why can I digest on vacation but not in my day to day life? In one word, it is because you are relaxed. When you are in ‘rest and digest’ mode, your blood moves down and into your body perfusing your internal organs optimizing digestion. When you are stressed in your day to day family and work life, your blood moves up and out perfusing your skin, muscle, and brain to think and react.

The lemniscate approximates these two polarities: upper – ‘think and react’ and lower ‘rest and digest.’ Of course, health is found in the middle being able to move between the two polarities. You can’t vacation forever. For those of you that get ‘food comas’ after meals, it is a counter-response to too much time spent in the ‘think and react’ mode.

What can I do to bring more of vacation digestion in my day-to-day life? Well, it is very simple: relax. You got that?

RELAX!!!!!!

In all seriousness, try to eat more of your meals when you are in a more calm environment. For some, that may mean eating less at work. For others, that may mean eating less in the morning when they are rushing to get out of the house.

Other steps you can take is to increase your intake of bitters which shunt blood flow down and into the digestive system. Bitter foods include capers, chocolate, kale, and even coffee (if it does not irritate your digestive system too much). You can also take a few drops of a bitter extract in a small cup of water before eating to get your body ready for food. Good sources of bitter are fresh squeezed lemons, and my personal favorite gentiana root which can be found at both health food stores and liquor stores as a cordial.