One of my favorite concepts I learned in naturopathic school was this:
"Before assuming dysfunction, let's make sure proper function can happen."
It's a philosophy that has stuck with me throughout my career, and it's one of the first things I walk every client through.
Before we start assuming something is wrong with your body, I want to know: Are we even giving it what it needs to function properly?
🌞 Are you...
☕ Or are you running on...
And we're surprised we don't feel good?!
Here's the thing: your body is incredibly intelligent, but it isn't magic. You can't consistently deprive it of the basics and expect it to function optimally.
When clients come to me with digestive complaints, fatigue, bloating, constipation, or a laundry list of mysterious symptoms, one of my first priorities is establishing their true baseline.
Not how they feel when they're underslept, overworked, dehydrated, overstimulated, and surviving on caffeine.
I want to know how their body functions when its fundamental needs are being met.
Because until we establish that baseline, it can be difficult to distinguish between symptoms driven by everyday habits and symptoms that deserve further investigation.
Sometimes the body isn't malfunctioning. It's responding exactly how we'd expect to the conditions we're putting it through.
You probably practice personal hygiene every day. You brush your teeth, wash your hands, and hopefully shower regularly.
But what about your meal hygiene?
We spend so much time talking about what to eat that we often overlook how we eat.
Digestion isn't just about the food on your plate. It's a coordinated process involving your brain, nervous system, mouth, stomach, intestines, hormones, and digestive secretions.
And that process begins before your first bite.
Here are my foundational rules for better Meal Hygiene™.
You can buy the highest-quality organic food, take expensive digestive supplements, and follow the trendiest gut-health diet on the planet.
But if you're scarfing down your meals while stressed, distracted, exhausted, and running on empty, you may still struggle with digesting and absorbing your meals properly.
That's the foundation of Meal Hygiene™.
And sometimes, the simplest changes make the biggest difference.
The Poop Doctor™
