by alexa berman
In Ayurveda one of the most foundational concepts to understand is how your food moves through your body. We lack the knowledge as to how our bodies function and this understanding has been lost for generations. So much of what we are taught about how to eat is based on certain goals we have – losing weight, staying thin, being fit, being a top athletic performer, or just simply being taught that we should eat what tastes the best.
A true relationship with food that serves our highest selves is one where we respect the way the “technology” of our bodies works.
We acknowledge that we cannot change the way our bodies are meant to function, so we aim to work in harmony with our bodies to achieve our own unique alignment. Once we are in alignment we can accept that this looks different for everybody, we are simply happy to feel good in ours.
The role of agni in the digestion process
In Ayurveda, it is recognized that there are six stages of digestion. The beginning stages are marked by a heavy, full feeling in the gut. As the process moves forward you start to feel lighter and emptier until you again can recognize the true feeling of hunger — an emptiness below the navel, and a pleasant anticipation of your next meal.
Each of these stages can take up to one hour to complete – up to six hours for the whole process! A true reflection of a balanced digestive fire, or agni, is how long it takes you to get hungry between each meal. If you are becoming ravenous after three hours of your meal, your digestive fire is burning too hot. If it has been six hours and you are still not hungry, that digestive fire is burning too low. Each person is different and our activity level or energy output varies from day to day as well. A good gauge is allowing four to six hours of zero intake of food items (smoothies, nibbling, and chocolate included).
The 6 stages of digestion
The first stage starts in the mouth when you chew. The taste of the food you are eating ignites the digestive process and informs your body what it’s about to consume. The food then enters the stomach, where all the food begins to break down to liquid form. All simple sugars or carbohydrates are digested in this phase. The heaviness you feel after immediately ingesting food brings satisfaction and groundedness because of the stretch in your stomach that signals to your brain you’re full.
The second stage is where the food continues to break down into smaller and smaller pieces as fire is introduced to the process. Food in the stomach becomes sour from the secretion of acid that aids in the breakdown of proteins. If there is too much acid secretion due to the diet or lifestyle you lead, this stage will provoke heartburn, gastritis, hives, rashes, or eczema.
The third stage is where food is now located in the duodenum, the beginning of the small intestine. In this stage, the food is mixed with bile from the gallbladder and pancreatic enzymes, which assist in the breakdown of fats and proteins. The fourth and fifth stages are where absorption of nutrients happens as well as peristalsis in the small intestine. Peristalsis is what helps form the bowel movement from the leftover broken-down food that was not absorbed as nutrients.
During the sixth and final stage of digestion, the food enters the first part of the large intestine where it stays for a while to finish forming itself into, hopefully, a well-formed bowel movement. Excess liquid is absorbed through the colon and eliminated as urine. Once food has made it through all these stages, true appetite returns.
Within six to twelve hours of digestion, all your tissues are nourished. The nourishment is based on how well your body can break down the meal you ate and how much nutrients it can access from what you gave it. It will take another five days for these nutrients to reach the cellular level and thirty-five days before your reproductive system receives full nourishment from this meal.
In closing
One of the more harmful habits I see in my practice consistently that can cause bloating, gas, pain, constipation, and weight gain is the nibbling, picking, or snacking of food in between meals. Our bodies are designed to eat a meal, digest it fully uninterrupted, absorb as many nutrients as possible, and then signal to you that it is ready to intake another meal. But we become stressed, anxious, bored, or caught up in conditioning around how we “should ” be eating and we start to accept food that is offered to us in our work lunch rooms, or samples at Costco, or the chocolate at our desk. If we could allow our bodies to function the way they want to and start to be mindful of this one aspect of our eating, we could feel so much more at home in our bodies.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding a medical condition.
picture: jasmine chew
