It’s a busy world! Most of us feel that we are ‘busy’ for a large percentage of our waking hours, and time has become the most precious commodity we have in the modern world.

The Japanese character for ‘hurry/rush’ is composed of two parts – the left side means ‘heart/spirit’, and the right side means ‘death/decease’. So ‘to rush’ in Japanese is literally translated as ‘ the death of the soul’ and I couldn’t agree with this definition more. Time-deficit is one of the most prevalent forms of stress in today’s society, and it is killing us at a rate never before experienced in human history. The ‘death of the soul’ is relevant to all aspects of our life and health, but I want to talk specifically about how it relates to our eating, and more importantly, our digestion.

The essential components of good food digestion start with chewing, maintaining a healthy stomach acid level, keeping healthy middle digestive organs and a healthy intestinal tract. So first, chew your food to a consistent texture before you swallow – yes, this takes time! – but maximizes the absorption of your food. Just think of how a cow eats grass!

Next, your stomach acidity is very largely affected by your general stress levels. Too low acidity and you are missing out on nutrients and stressing organs further down the line. Too high and you are looking at all kinds of digestive issues like ulcers, gastritis and stressing your gall bladder and liver to keep up. Your stomach actually has more nerve-endings than your brain! It is very sensitive to stress.

You need healthy functioning ‘middle’ digestive organs – liver and gall bladder – and they are best kept healthy by avoiding toxins (a chemical stress) in your diet. Lastly, you need a healthy intestinal system. Your small intestine and colon just don’t like emotional stress. Your stress levels and dietary habits control whether the bacteria balance in your colon is positive to your health or negative.

The moral of this story is the importance of investing time into your nutrition. Taking time to prepare, eat and enjoy your food as a positive life-enhancing experience is fundamental to a long, healthy life. I will leave you with an extract from the Upayogasamatha, which is the ancient Indian Ayurvedic guidelines on healthy eating. This philosophy travelled across Asia over a thousand years ago, and has a local version in most Asian cultures.