“We are what we eat”- Is it true? – Ruchika Behal


Nourish your life- with every thought and every bite.

“We are what we eat” —-is partly true- Because we are just not what we eat, we are what we eat
and absorb.

Eating well isn’t enough, we also must digest, absorb, and eliminate well for optimal health.
For optimal digestion, while it is important to eat foods that empowers the body to use the
nutrients that promote health and wellness, rather than create inflammation, malabsorption,
weakened intestinal wall, and an open door to infection and disease.
It is equally important to focus on eating hygiene- which is how we eat those foods to maximize
our body’s ability to digest and assimilate nutrients.
Incorporate these four simple tips into your daily life to help maximize your
nutrient absorption as well as begin to alleviate mild GI frustrations. Don’t be fooled by
how simple these ideas seem at first; they are powerful!

 Slow Down and prioritize eating- Eating is a sacred nourishing act. Sit down, eat
without scrolling Facebook and responding to that last text message, put your fork down
between the bites, use your hands to eat, when possible, breathe and smile. When we eat
slowly, we consume less, savor the food more and digest better.

 Chew more- Chewing is the only part of the digestive process that is voluntary – that we
control. Our stomach does not have teeth – the less we chew our food, the harder our GI
tract has to work.​ This creates post-meal fatigue. Ideally, we chew our food until it’s
almost liquid before swallowing. This can reduce gas and increase post-meal energy.

 Don’t drink liquids much during meals- When we consume large amounts of water
during a meal, we dilute the acidity of the stomach acid and slow the digestion.

 Hara Hachi Bu- Stop eating when 80% full. When we wolf down our meal in a hurry, a
very full stomach has trouble mixing digestive juices with our food. All on its own, this
creates indigestion.​ Think of trying to blend a batch of fruit in an already full blender.
There’s simply not enough room. When it “spills over”, you belch and burp and may
have reflux.

As a health coach with training in functional medicine, this is one my prime focus areas with all
my clients- why? Because it’s a completely free tool and everyone benefits. When we take care
of our digestion, we take care of all parts of our body because our gut is connected to brain
health, organ health, hormone health, tissue health, energy levels, skin, etc.

Ruchika Behal

  • Certified Health Coach
  • Nutritional Therapist + Detox Specialist 
  • AFMC Certified Practitioner (Advanced Training in Functional Medicine)

Ruchika is a certified health coach and nutritional therapist with training in advanced functional medicine. She has helped over 100s of individuals overcome their health challenges using food and lifestyle. Whether you are constantly fatigued, stressed out, want to shed that unwanted weight, have messy hormones, or digestive distress   — she believes optimal health is not complicated. It requires maximizing what the body needs most, minimizing what is harmful to the body, and prioritizing an environment for healing.  


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