India CutlerConfidence and Self Help Expert

Doctor Shares 5 Things To Do For Better Digestion

2 Sept 2026 · 3 min

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2:51

In this health‑advice monologue, the clinician outlines five practical strategies to improve gastrointestinal function. First, she recommends meal spacing—avoiding snacks and leaving 4–5 hours between meals—to trigger the gut’s “cleaning waves” and reduce bloating. Second, she advises mindful eating: eliminating devices, breathing deeply, chewing thoroughly, and savoring each bite to activate the parasympathetic (vagal) response, which boosts stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, and motility. Third, she stresses eating only when truly hungry, because hunger correlates with optimal acid and enzyme secretion. Fourth, she encourages staying active, especially taking short walks after meals, to naturally stimulate gut motility and counteract the negative effects of prolonged sitting. Fifth, she cautions against drinking large amounts of water with meals, as excess fluid dilutes gastric acid and enzymes; instead, sip minimally during the meal and hydrate the bulk of the time later, which can reduce the need for supplemental digestive enzymes. Throughout, she frames each tip as evidence‑based, patient‑tested advice aimed at enhancing digestion and overall comfort.

Chapters

So the first thing I recommend to all my patients is to practice meal spacing. Meal spacing? Yep. So meal spacing essentially means no snacking between meals. So that's having 4 to 5 hours between your meals. And what that does is it activates the cleaning waves in your gut. So it really reduces bloating. The second thing I recommend is to practice mindful eating. So I think so many of us are eating under very stressful circumstances. You know, we've got stress from work. We may be eating on the go, you know, or while doing work or scrolling through stressful emails or news. And that stress puts us into a state of fight or flight. So when you're eating, you want to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you rest and digest. So, one of the easiest things you can do is put away all your devices, take a few moments for yourself, take a few deep breaths, and that's going to activate that vagus nerve. And that vagus nerve is what tells your stomach to make stomach acid, your pancreas to make pancreatic enzymes, and it gets that motility going. So, your digestion will be so much better. And when you eat, you really want to enjoy every bite. Mm-hmm. You know, take the time to chew your food, taste your food. The third thing would be to only eat when you are truly hungry. So when you are truly hungry, that's when your stomach acid is going to be strongest, your pancreatic enzymes are going to be strongest, your motility is going to be activating, and your digestion is just going to be so much better. So the fourth thing is to stay active throughout the day. So after eating, if you can go for a little walk, again, you're going to naturally activate the motility in the gut. So, you know, if you can work in a little bit of movement throughout the day, that's going to help your digestion so much more. Again, being stagnant and just sitting at your desk is probably the worst thing you can do for your digestion. And the 5th thing is to try not to drink too much water with your meals. Really? Yeah. Why? So water obviously is important for hydration, but when you drink a ton of it with your meals, you're actually diluting your stomach acid and your pancreatic enzymes. So what I've observed with my patients and with myself is when I eat my meal, I'll take a few sips of water if needed, but I'll save the bulk of my water for like 45 minutes later. And by doing that, I need far less digestive support. Like, I don't need to take as much digestive enzymes because my natural acid and enzymes are concentrated.