When the digestive system is functioning properly, this "metabolic maintenance" can only be accomplished. The digestive tract is the beginning of everything.
Chewing your food signals the beginning of the digestive process. It is essential to chew thoroughly in order to break down the food into small enough pieces for optimal digestion. I believe that you can lose more weight by chewing more. Nutrients won't be absorbed into your body unless you are able to break down your food properly. Additionally, the nutrients cannot benefit the rest of your body if you are unable to absorb them. If you want to lose weight in a healthy way, digestion and absorption of nutrients are absolutely necessary.
In Chapter 10, I will discuss why it may be especially important to keep the body's inflammatory balance balanced during times of weight loss.
Keeping your digestive system in top shape is one way to keep this equilibrium. This is due to the fact that unwelcome molecules, such as allergens or toxic residues, can occasionally enter the bloodstream and elicit undesirable inflammatory responses if digestion is compromised.
CHAPTER 7: The World's Healthiest Foods Help Maintain Digestive Health The World's Healthiest Foods Help Maintain Optimal Metabolism Although all nutrients are necessary for maintaining digestive health, the following are a few of the health-promoting nutrients that are found in the World's Healthiest Foods that have been specifically cited for their unique contribution.
Dietary Fiber Dietary fiber is at the top of many lists for supporting the digestive system.
Without fiber, your food cannot simply pass through you in the best possible way. Although 20 grams per meal and 10 grams per snack would also be beneficial to the majority of our digestive systems, we should aim to consume at least 10 grams of fiber with each meal and at least 5 grams with each snack. For adequate fiber, whole, unprocessed foods are essential. The World's Healthiest Foods, such as vegetables, legumes (like beans or lentils), and whole grains, are especially important. Additionally, fruit skins are high in fiber. Fiber keeps food moving through our intestines slowly, not too quickly or too slowly.
One of the primary fuels for the cells that line our small intestine, glutamine is an amino acid that is less well-known outside of the conventional nutrition community. It is also present in a number of the World's Healthiest Foods, such as cabbage, beets, beef, chicken, fish, beans, and dairy products. It can be made from other amino acids that are present in food or in our bodies, but it is also present in them.
Short Chain Fatty Acids Short chain fatty acids, also known as SCFAs, are a key nutrient that serve as preferred fuels for the cells that line our large intestine. Like glutamine, SCFAs are not widely known in conventional nutrition. These cells cannot properly process our food if they lack sufficient energy. When bacteria in our small intestine process starches, particularly resistant starches, as well as a number of other kinds of carbohydrate-related molecules in our food, SCFAs are produced. Whole grains like corn, oats, wheat, rye, and brown rice, which are among the world's healthiest foods; citrus fruits and apples, for example;
All legumes are excellent sources of resistant starch and non-starch carbohydrates that our intestinal bacteria can convert into SCFAs, as shown in 66 Healthy Weight Loss Without Dieting.
Other Nutrients for Digestive Health The digestion and absorption process is complicated because it involves dozens of different cell types, dozens of different enzymes, the movement of smooth muscles around our intestines and the nerves that control these muscles. It is literally impossible to name a single mineral or vitamin that does not influence digestive health in some way, either directly or indirectly. As a result, foods that provide the greatest variety and concentration of nutrients are ideal for digestive support. This description is exactly what the World's Healthiest Foods are because they were all chosen for their high nutrient content. They avoid putting undue strain on the digestive system while simultaneously supplying it with all of the nutrients it requires.
The keys to supporting your liver and supporting healthy weight loss are dietary balance and nutrient richness.
Because both processes are dependent on the same dietary foundation of nourishment, good balance and nutrient-richness work equally well for weight loss and liver health.
The World's Healthiest Foods are essential for providing your liver with a concentrated and diverse supply of nutrients that support metabolism. If you can, opt for the certified organic version of the nutrient-dense World's Healthiest Foods. This way, you won't have to put extra stress on your liver from the metabolic processes caused by toxic residues in non-organic foods (for more information on organic foods, see page 199). Because the World's Healthiest Foods are foods that have been minimally processed, they also support liver health by removing additive processing from your liver. Your liver and your ability to maintain a healthy weight loss program can benefit greatly from a diet based on the World's Healthiest Foods' nutrient-dense foundation and organically grown options whenever possible.
What is the significance of the liver in healthy weight loss? Losing weight has an additional negative impact on our metabolism. Our body faces a metabolic challenge when it transitions from weight maintenance to weight loss. Our liver, along with the digestive system, is at the center of this process. In terms of metabolism, our liver is where things get sorted out. A healthy liver is necessary for both the transport of unwanted fat and the conversion of fat into energy.
The same holds true for the production of energy to sustain the brain during times of metabolic stress, as outlined in Chapter 8: World's Healthiest Foods Promote Liver Health69. A healthy liver is necessary for a healthy blood sugar balance, good sleep and wakefulness, and good vitamin and mineral processing.
Will you be able to maintain your healthy weight loss? Will you be able to continue the process over several months because you believe you are healthy and ready for it? Your liver is the organ system that is focused on metabolic challenges and optimal metabolism, according to the responses to those questions. As you can see, supporting your liver is a crucial part of healthy weight loss, and the nutrients that can help your liver are found in the World's Healthiest Foods.