The Secret to Truly Nourishing Your Body

What Meredyth Fletcher, author of "The (Good) Food Solution" taught me.

“Your body will not digest until you rest.”

—Meredyth Fletcher, The (Good) Food Solution¹

The Secret

On this week’s show, Nutritional Therapist Meredyth Fletcher shared this profound secret:

Anxiety and stress take a large toll on us. They even impair the way we take in nutrients. For instance, we must be calm internally for our digestive systems to properly break down food and draw out the nutrients. Mindlessly gulping down food once will cause discomfort; when it becomes a regular practice, it will likely contribute to pain, bloating, constipation, and more. The body prioritizes the parasympathetic state so much so that it will literally hold on to the food dumped in your stomach while you’re running around and
begin to fully digest it once you are able to sit still.”

This made me think about the beautiful practice of Sobremesa.²

Meredyth writes about her time in a rural village in South Africa, where it took almost a full day to gather all the necessary ingredients for a family dinner.

1. Gathering fruit and vegetables from the fields.

2. Procuring and killing a goat for meat.

3. Hours spent skinning, prepping, sanitizing, and cooking the goat over an open fire.

4. Hours spent peeling and boiling the beets and potatoes.

5. Walking an hour to the well to draw pots of water.

I witnessed this in Kenya, as well.

Even with our conveniences, we rush the process of family meals—or we drive through or use DoorDash.

No judgement, even though it has a ring of judgement, doesn’t it?

All I am saying, and speaking to myself first, is why rush the beautiful practice of meal time?