Absorption: you are what you eat, or are you?

Absorption is probably one of the least glamorous or talked about nutrition principles, but goodness it matters.

Why?

Because you could be eating wonderfully healthy and beautifully prepared food, but if it’s not being absorbed properly by your body, it’s going to waste. Umm, I don’t know about you but food is ridiculously expensive and I don’t want anything going to waste!

Let’s say you eat an omelet with fresh spinach and herbs, fruit and sourdough bread, but your body ins’t in a place to absorb those wonderful nutrients properly—well you aren’t gaining much from this meal.

What hinders absorption?

Stress is the biggest factor that decreases absorption! Now, stress can be hidden—mineral imbalances, blood sugar swings, nutrient deficiencies, or underlying infections in the body.

Stress depletes stomach acid and digestive enzymes. This is why when we are stressed we (often) stop eating, it’s actually one of your body’s beautiful built in defenses, because your body knows that when under more stress its not going to digest and absorb properly.

Your body brilliantly prioritizes.

Remember how overwhelm is actually a beautiful defense mechanism?

When your body is in a weakened state of energy, it thinks: “digestion is important but it’s not essential for keeping you alive.” Digestion is one of the systems that gets put on the back burner so that your body can send all available energy to keeping you alive and your heart beating.

What happens when we boost absorption?

• more bio-available nutrients to help your cells and body function effectively

• more energy

• breakdown of macro nutrients into usable building blocks (amino acids, essential fatty acids)

• less bloating

• balanced metabolism

• appropriate immune response (70-80% of our immune system is in the digestive system)

• more efficient and open detox and elimination pathways

• absorbing what you are pouring into your body (food, nutrients, vitamins, minerals)

How are stress and absorption intertwined?

I scribbled out my thoughts last week on what this cycle looks like, and it’s so clear to see how stress is at the center of it all.