Dr Lark.com: Improve Digestion and Reduce Stress

June 11, 2004

Improve Digestion and Reduce Stress

Poor or inadequate nutrition can be a major cause

of anxiety, because it puts undo stress on your body. That’s why

eating right for your pH type, is so important.

Improve Digestion

To improve your digestion, I suggest relaxing for

at least five minutes before eating. Enjoy the aroma, and anticipate

the meal. The first step in digestion occurs before you eat, when

you salivate and produce digestive juices in anticipation of the

meal. When you skip this step, as many stressed-out people do, you’re

setting yourself up for poor digestion.

Digestive enzyme production diminishes with age.

Your intestines also have reduced motility, increasing the time

it takes for a meal to be digested and eliminated. Chew food thoroughly,

to break it into smaller fragments and increase its exposure to

digestive enzymes in your saliva. This also triggers the release

of other digestive juices farther down the intestinal tract.

Consider supplementing with digestive enzymes.

In particular, I recommend bromelain (an enzyme extracted from

(from animal sources), 300-500 mg four times per day between meals.

If you are overly acidic, avoid acidic enzyme products containing

betaine or glutamic hydrochloride.

Detoxify Your Liver

Your liver governs your body’s ability to metabolize

important chemicals (such as dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine,

and the sex hormones that affect mood and attitude). The hard work

the liver has to do in its role as a detoxifier takes a toll, in

the same way a water filter becomes clogged and sluggish after purifying

several badly contaminated loads. The first sign of liver backlog

often appears as mood changes—depression or anxiety, sleeplessness,

food cravings, irritability, and emotional roller coastering.

Try going on a mild detox diet to lighten

the liver’s workload so it can focus more energy on cleansing and

rejuvenating. The liver literally can re-grow brand new liver tissue—as

much as one third of its total mass at a time—if given the

chance. To detox, eat a predominantly vegetarian diet, with emphasis

on raw, organic salads and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

Soft-textured fish such as salmon, and eggs, are permitted if desired.

Avoid fatty or processed foods, refined white sugar and flour, alcohol,

caffeine, and non essential drugs. Drink chamomile or peppermint

teas, and mineral water. Make your last meal of the day the lightest

so that your liver can spend the night rejuvenating instead of detoxifying

food by-products. The longer you follow this diet, the more refreshed

your liver will become.

Read More on Anxiety and Stress:

Getting Started

“Fight or Flight”

Systems in the Body Affected by Anxiety

Quiz: How Balanced are Your Neurotransmitters?

Keep it SIMPLE tip — Think Good Thoughts

Nutritional Therapies

Restore Your Ability to Manage Stress

with a Stress-Reducing Diet

Restore Your Ability to Manage

Stress with Stress-Reducing Supplements

Replenishing the Pathways

Sugar Causes High Anxiety

Complementary Therapies

The Sponge Yoga Pose

Reduce Stress with Reflexology

Aromatherapy for Relaxation