Let's face it.  The next six weeks from Thanksgiving through New Year's are all about eating.  Eating with family.  Eating with friends.  Eating at parties.  Eating at restaurants. Eating here, there, and everywhere.  Nothing will ruin the joy of the eating extravaganza faster than digestive troubles.   Maybe you can relate to the story of someone I know very well who had to spend most of one Thanksgiving dinner talking to everyone seated at the dining table from a hallway because her flatulence was so bad.  

Luckily, there are some easy ways to support good digestion.  You see, how you eat is just as important as what you eat.  You can eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, but if you are sucking your food in like a vacuum cleaner on steroids, it can wreak havoc with your digestive system.  Digestion is the most stressful activity our body does.  The key is to find ways to support the digestive process and relieve the body of unnecessary stress.  

Here are four easy ways to improve your digestion this holiday season:
​
1.  Breathe
The act of taking a deep breath turns on the parasympathetic nervous system and stimulates the relaxation response in the body (Source).  Full and proper digestion can only occur in a relaxed state. Right before you eat, while you are sitting with your food in front of you, close your eyes and take three deep breaths with the inhale and exhale being of equal length (4 seconds each is a good starting point).

2.  Drink Water
This may seem obvious, but when you drink water is just as important as drinking water itself.  Drinking a glass of water, eight ounces or more, before you eat, stimulates saliva production.  Drinking water while you eat helps the stomach break down food before sending it into the small intestine.  Drinking water also aids digesting soluble fiber and helps prevent constipation. 

3.  Chew Your Food
Properly chewed food is important for living a healthy, vibrant life.  It aids digestion, the most stressful thing our bodies do.  Chewing your food, rather than eating it on the run and gulping it down, produces extra saliva with enzymes that aid in carbohydrate digestion.  It also sends signals to the brain about what you are eating so the brain can alert your stomach about what it will receive.  If you properly chew your food, you are eating more mindfully and slowly.  When you eat slowly, you are likely to become full on less food thereby preventing overeating.  If you are spending less energy on digestion, then that energy is available for other activities in the body.  There is no perfect number of the times you should chew your food before swallowing.  A good place to start is to eat more slowly, putting down your fork (or food item) between bites, and really savoring and tasting your food.

4.  Practice Gratitude*
Multiple studies have shown that practicing gratitude has numerous benefits for the body and mind.  These benefits include an enhanced immune system, lower blood pressure, a more optimistic outlook, and less stress.  The conventional wisdom used to be that happier people are more grateful.  However, research now shows that gratitude cultivates personal happiness.  If you are grateful, you have less stress, you are more relaxed, and therefore you are more easily able to digest your food and enjoy your meal.  That’s a fist-pumping yes! right there.

​Wishing everyone a holiday season of good digestion!

*This tip originally appeared as part of a larger article I wrote "Top Three Ways To Eat Without Stress" that appeared on the Becoming Joy blog in May 2015.  

On my recent trip to Florence, Italy, after my long night and day of travel to get there, I was greeted by this amazing salad and a delicious pumpkin soup with white beans, courtesy of my friend Kate.  It was the the first of many pumpkin soups I enjoyed on our trip as October is a very popular time for pumpkin everything in northern Italy.  One version from Macafame in Verona had roasted slices of pumpkin in the soup that were slightly caramelized.  Another version was pureed with red lentils.   All were exceedingly delicious and memorable.

During the flights home, which involved flying from Venice to Istanbul (two hours in the wrong direction) and Istanbul to Los Angeles (over 13 hours in the right direction), Brian, my husband, developed a case of the sniffles.  When he woke up the next morning in his own bed in California, he felt worse, and this, I felt, called for soup!  I wanted to make pumpkin soup but between jet lag, a sick husband, and a dog who needed to come home from boarding, it had to be fairly easy to make using ingredients I had on hand.

The pumpkin soups I experienced in Italy stayed with me.  They were delicious, full of flavor, and the essence of pumpkin. Their soups involved roasting sugar pumpkins and scooping out the flesh.  My version is decidedly less time consuming but no less flavorful.   It mostly relies on pantry ingredients.  This soup can easily be served for a weeknight meal with a salad to make a heartwarming meal.  The use of pancetta is a nod to Brian as it's one of his favorite ingredients.  However, this versatile soup can easily be made vegetarian or vegan by omitting the pancetta.

Pumpkin Soup with White Beans
Serves 4-5

Vegetarians/Vegans:  Skip step one and omit the pancetta.  Proceed to step two, using 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat the pan for sauteeing the diced onion.  Substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

2 ounces cubed pancetta

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

Pinch of sea salt or more to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (I prefer grade B for better flavor)

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1 15-ounce can cannelli beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can organic pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling!)

11/2 to 2 cups chicken broth

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  In a 4-5 quart pot, brown the pancetta over medium heat.  Removed with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with a paper towel and pat dry.

2.  Add the olive oil to the pot still on medium heat until it shimmers and then add the diced onion and a pinch of salt.  Stir to coat the onion.  Lightly caramelize the onion, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning.  If it seems like it is becoming too dark, turn the heat down and add a little of the broth.  Caramelizing the onions will take 7-10 minutes.  As they turn light brown, add the maple syrup and the sage and stir to coat.  

3.  Add the beans, the pumpkin puree, and the broth.  Stir to combine.   Simmer over medium low heat for 7-10 minutes.  If it seems too thick to your liking, add more broth.  Stir in the pancetta.   Heat one more minute.  Taste the soup, and, if necessary, add salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve.

Nutritional awesomeness:  Pumpkin is, "low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Potassium, Copper and Manganese, " (source).  White beans are an excellent source of fiber, protein, and iron.  They are a very good source of calcium.  




​