Less is More: How Minimalism Can Restore Your Digestive Balance

Introduction

Over the past 10 years in private practice as a dietitian, I have seen hundreds of people with digestive symptoms and conditions. The most common are irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating, and food sensitivities. Unfortunately, our modern life brings many health challenges that impact digestion, such as stress, overcomplicated diets, and the use of different medications. I want to step outside the box today and introduce the idea of using minimalism to improve digestive health. Minimalism is simply the act of being more intentional in the way you live your life by promoting the things you value most and removing those that distract you from them. This article will show you some simple and effective ways to improve your digestion by incorporating the principles of minimalism.

Understand digestive overload

Poor digestion can happen for many reasons. Some reasons are obvious, but we tend to do these things regardless and often do not realize the magnitude of the impact on our gut health. The first reason we can experience poor digestion is due to eating too many processed foods, consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, and excessive intake of sugary foods. All of these things can be fine when done in small amounts on occasion, but when done regularly in high amounts, they can affect digestion. Too much of a good thing is just overloading the body.

The second reason for digestive issues is information overload from conflicting dietary advice. Many good healthcare practitioners provide dietary information, but it is often not tailored to a person and is more general in nature. Again, when people consume information online, there is a wealth of fantastic information available, but it can be hard to know whether it pertains to you or not. 

Finally, stress and multitasking during meals can profoundly impact digestion. It has become normal to eat in this manner, but our bodies were not designed to work this way. Stress, eating too fast, or trying to drive or do other things while eating can be particularly harmful to proper digestion.

The consequences of digestive overload can be a variety of chronic conditions, with the most common being IBS, bloating, or nutrient malabsorption. People may also experience after-meal symptoms such as acid reflux, stomach pains, or inconsistent bowel movements. These symptoms are not part of normal digestion and are your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right.

The minimalist philosophy in health

Let me share with you what minimalism means for digestion. Minimalism is simplifying things and giving priority to what is most important. Minimalism doesn’t need to be applied only to decluttering the material things in your life. If we apply this to health and eating, simplifying our eating process, lifestyle, and mindset could provide us with better digestion. This means focusing on what’s essential and avoiding the latest trends or fads in diet. It also includes connecting some of the minimalist habits and reduced stress. Since stress is a significant factor in gut health, reducing stress through using minimalist habits could improve gut health.

Steps to apply minimalism to digestion:

1.      Simplify your diet

Try to focus on eating whole foods that are natural with only minimal ingredients. This is a good basic approach that will essentially simplify and clean up your diet. Simple, whole foods are easy to eat and can be a real-time saver. (For example, chicken breast, baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli.) If you are really struggling with digestive symptoms, you could also consider eliminating one thing, such as gluten or dairy, to see if you notice improvements.

2.      Reduce meal complexity

Simplify your meals by sticking to 3-5 ingredients per meal. An example might be pasta

with cooked spinach, seasoned with herbs and parmesan cheese. Another strategy to keep meals simple is to embrace meal repetition for consistency. This also makes it easy for the body to digest.

3.      Mindful eating practices

This is something that can be challenging for people to follow. Try eating slowly and without distractions. Put away your phone, newspaper, or books, and turn off the television or other electronic device. Sit in silence or with friends or family and just have a conversation. Another mindful eating practice involves slowing down the process and chewing food thoroughly. I cannot stress this one enough for those with digestive issues to allow for proper digestion. It is nearly impossible for the body to digest a meal if it is eaten quickly and hardly chewed. You will ask your body to work so hard to break down the food into nutrients for absorption.

4.      Declutter your supplement routine

Many good supplements are available, and for some people, this can be a great way to bridge any gaps in the diet with their needs. But, I think the supplement industry has become confusing and overwhelming for most people. It is hard to know which supplements are needed and whether they are high-quality. I would suggest focusing only on those you think are essential.

5.      Streamline your lifestyle

Try minimalist time management, prioritizing the most important tasks and removing anything distracting. Most of us can look at how we spend our time and find many things that could be eliminated or reduced that would be considered distractions. By practicing this, you should notice a reduction in stress levels because you will now have more time to do the most important things. Some lifestyle practices to prioritize are sleep and rest, hydration, and exercise such as walking or yoga.

Overcoming common barriers

As you change the way you eat using a minimalist approach, you might feel deprived with a more straightforward way of eating. Having the same meals or foods repeatedly might not suit you. Give it some time and try to be creative as you use the same ingredients by cooking them differently. Think about the meals you typically love to eat and see if you can create something similar using whole foods and fewer ingredients. Adding spices/herbs or sauce to meals can significantly add flavor to whole foods.

Another challenge might be with social situations. You might be going out to dinner

with friends or family and feel unsure how to approach the meal. Many restaurants, such as steak houses, fish restaurants, or even Chinese food, can accommodate meals based on whole foods. Order something that is more basic, or look at ordering several sides with an entrée to include more vegetables.

Finally, you might feel some skepticism about how less can be more in improving health and digestion. I think this is a normal hesitation that people have, but you won’t know unless you try and see how your health changes. There is limited research on the effect of using minimalism for improving digestion, but promising research shows improvements in certain areas of health, such as reduced anxiety and depression, greater sense of well-being, and more time and energy.

Long-term benefits of a minimalist digestive approach

As you make some or all of the suggested approaches to minimalism to improve digestion, you may notice several health benefits. The first is improved gut health. You may notice fewer symptoms after you eat and just a feeling of good digestion. You might also notice that your energy levels and mental clarity are better. This can result from improving the body's ability to digest and assimilate nutrients. Finally, you might notice that you better understand what your body needs. Putting more thought into what you eat and how you eat can impact your ability to know how you feel after meals and what foods make you feel your best.

Conclusion

Minimalism prioritizes what is most important in life and removes things that distract you. Although people often associate this lifestyle with decluttering their material possessions, it can also be applied in other areas of life, such as improving their health.

As you begin using some of the strategies discussed in this article, you might notice a transformation in your digestive health from reducing physical and mental clutter. I would suggest taking it slow and working on changing one meal, habit, or mindset at a time.

If you have experienced improvements in your health by following a minimalist health journey, please share your story with us! Hearing about positive results can be pretty inspiring for others. Asking questions is always a good thing, too!