Christmas: Five Quick Tips to Help Your Gut.

If you have IBS, bloating, heartburn, or are prone to indigestion then these five tips should help you survive Christmas without feeling like you’re missing out.

Tip #1 – How to avoid digestive symptoms over Christmas – keep anxiety under control

Accept that you probably are anxious and stressed, even if you don’t feel like you are in the moment. It’s usual not to feel like you’re stressed while you’re stressed, but you may well recognise it as such afterwards.

Anxiety, worry and digestive symptoms such as IBS unfortunately often go hand in hand. Your gut and brain are always talking to each other – you can read more about that here – so it’s very important to avoid anxiety as far as you can.
Unfortunately Christmas and all the running around shopping, wrapping and cooking can cause even the most laid back people to become stressed – so make sure you ask for help when you need it, if you want to avoid aggravating those IBS symptoms.
When we experience stress (and it doesn’t have to be excessive) we tend to produce less stomach acid and digestive enzymes, and it also has a negative impact on our friendly gut bacteria. This can result in uncomfortable digestion and excessive bloating and gas.

If you don’t already, a crucial part in overcoming gut symptoms is learning to manage stress with techniques such as meditation and yoga. If you’re already in the habit of practicing these, then remember to fit them in over the festive season too.
Read more about managing stress and anxiety here.

Christmas IBS survival tip #2 Eat mindfully

This leads us nicely into tip number two – eat mindfully.  It’s necessary to get your body into the right mode for eating, especially if you’re sitting down to a large meal, larger than you usually eat. You need to smell your food and relax to get those digestive juices flowing nicely.

A good way to do this is to take some time before eating to do some simple breathing exercises.

Here’s a good one –

Breathe in for a count of six
Hold for a count of six
Breathe out for a count of six

Repeat this several times until you feel yourself begin to relax.

If you’re feeling stressed and eating lots more than you usually would, you may not be producing sufficient levels of digestive enzymes to properly digest your food. This is where apple cider vinegar may help you – add a tablespoon of ACV to a glass of warm water before meals to help stimulate your digestive system.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Tip 4 – keep hydrated

Water is vital for your digestive system, it really does keep everything lubricated and moving along nicely.  It also helps you avoid constipation.

The temptation is always there over christmas to consume too much alcohol – this is very dehydrating and the dehydration will wreak havoc with your digestive system.

You need plenty of water on board to ensure your gut can make all the digestive enzymes and acids it needs to.

Keeping hydrated will also help your liver to detoxify if it is getting over burdened.

When you do drink alcohol, make sure it’s a good quality wine and drink less of it – avoid anything too sugary.  Aim to alternate an alcoholic drink water to keep things moving along nicely.

I hope that helps you survive this year’s festivities and I hope you have a great Christmas!