1. Drink more water.
Hydration is crucial year-round, but did you know that drinking more water can aid the digestive process? Drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water every day will get things moving in your stomach. So if you weigh 140 pounds, you’ll need at least 70 ounces of water every single day.
2. But skip the ice.
Another tip with water is to try what Dr. Douillard refers to as “hot sips.” “Hot water softens the intestinal tract, moves the lymph, and hydrates the cells much more effectively than cold water,” Dr. Douillard says. In his Short Home Cleanse, he goes into further detail about his “hot sips” technique, but you can start by adding a cup or two of plain hot water to your morning routine to help kick start your digestion and break down any lingering matter from the day before.
3. Focus on light, fresh, seasonal foods.
Eating seasonally is not only important for environmental reasons but also for digestion. As mentioned above, digestion is actually weaker in the summer than it is in the winter. It “revs up” in the cooler months to break down nuts, grains, seeds, and meats—foods that help to warm the body from the inside out as they’re metabolized.
During the summer months, the body prefers to consume light whole foods that take minimal work to breakdown. Less digestive work actually means the body is able to stay cooler. “In the summer, the foods are ‘cooked’ on the vine, so to speak, under the direct sun,” Dr. Douillard says. “The takeaway is to eat light, fresh, and seasonal—that would be more fruits and veggies and less heavy, cooked foods.” This is why you may tend to gravitate toward stews, soups, casseroles, and such when the temperature drops and gazpacho, salad, fresh fruits, and cold pasta dishes as it rises. Lighter foods equal quick and easy digestion, which mean a less full and bloated stomach.
4. Avoid grains and dairy.
Foods, such as dairy and grains, that aid in “bulking up” for winter tend to be harvested in the fall, Dr. Douillard says. “Traditionally speaking, the cows [were] giving all of their milk to their [calves] until late summer,” Dr. Douillard says. “[The] excess milk was then used by farmers to make butter and cheese for enduring winter, when the [calves] are more self-sufficient.”
5. Make lunch your biggest meal.
Aim to eat the majority of your calories earlier in the day, have your biggest meal at lunchtime, and end with a lighter dinner. “As the word ‘supper’ suggests—eat supplemental or ‘soup’ at night,” Dr. Douillard says. According to Ayurveda, the digestive fire is strongest during the Pitta cycle of day between 10am 2pm.
6. Skip snacks.
“Snacking is poison for weight loss,” Dr. Douillard says. “If you want the body to burn fat, you must give it a reason, which is meals with 4–5 hours in between. [This] forces the body to burn in between-meal fat.”
7. Fast daily.
Dr. Douillard also recommends incorporating a short fast into your routine by not eating between supper and breakfast and spacing them 13 hours apart to allow the body to burn fat and take a break from digesting. This means resisting late-night snacking and overindulgent binges. Since most of that time is spent sleeping, the fast is more doable than you might think.
8. Be mindful of sugar.
“Fruits will help you lose weight, too. But if eaten with a lot of other carbs, the fructose (which burns slower) may store as fat,” Dr. Douillard says. “Once again, the key is to eat light, in season, big meals at lunch and light at night.”
9. Choose healthy fats.
Adding 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to your diet per day can help make sure you’re getting the good fats that your body needs. Dr. Douillard claims that the key is to become more aware of fat burning by choosing fats that are minimally processed. But finding a healthy option has been made difficult in recent times due to our consumption of processed foods loaded with cooked vegetable oils often used as preservatives.
10. Add a touch of turmeric.
So how do you make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need? Dr. Douillard recommends adding turmeric into your diet to support de-bloating in the summer. It does tend to be quite heating, however, so adding it to a little bit of water with some lemon or ginger is a great way to get the little bit that it takes.
“Turmeric is a great way to decongest and support healthy liver and gallbladder function and make us better able to digest and use good fats like coconut oil,” Dr. Douillard says.
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online.
