10 Natural Ways to Improve Your Digestion (#4 Is Already in Your Kitchen)

3. Chew Slowly and Eat Mindfully

Digestion doesn’t start in your stomach. It starts in your mouth. Chewing breaks food into smaller pieces and mixes it with saliva, which contains enzymes that begin breaking down carbohydrates. When you rush and swallow big chunks, your stomach and intestines have to work harder, and you’re also more likely to swallow extra air, which leads to gas and bloating.

Eating slowly also gives your brain time to receive fullness signals, which usually take about 20 minutes. That’s why people who eat fast often overeat, and overeating is a very common cause of that stuffed, uncomfortable feeling.

How to do it: Put your fork or spoon down between bites, chew each mouthful until it’s soft, and try to make meals last at least 15 to 20 minutes. Eat at a table, not in front of a screen, so you can notice when you’re comfortably full.

Now for the one you’ve been waiting for.