“Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff- it is a palliative rather than a remedy.” Peter De Vries
I can't compete for your attention during the holidays, so I'll be brief with this Wednesday edition before the stateside Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. (Or depending on when you open this email, it could already be today, like for my mate in New Zealand. Cheers Craig!)
I'm secure enough to say this out loud: "I promise I know more about soap operas than you do AND I read women’s magazines…on occasion."
There, I confessed.
Recently, I read a fantastic article about digestive enzymes in the December issue of Vogue magazine, of all places. For me, there are no boundaries for good gut health information.
Even women’s magazines.
Let me try to explain.
Spending my formative years around soap operas is where the ever-so-occasional habit of perusing the latest women’s periodical started. You see, being exposed to fictional, yet diabolical female characters in any number of soap operas I followed (all of them), I had always been intrigued with how the TV-version of the opposite sex was wired.
For the life of me I couldn’t understand what would make a girl fake a pregnancy to trap a guy. Or how she could be so conniving and vindictive toward her best friend, over you guessed it, another guy.
I know, I know. This was only made-for-TV drama, but answering these questions ate at me and maybe finding some answers would tip me off to what was coming on tomorrow’s episode.
So occasionally… I might peruse a women’s magazine for deeper research. I thought perhaps I would learn a thing or two about the female psyche as I turned these perfume-scented pages.
Now perhaps you can imagine how I was triggered when I saw the headline "How Digestive Enzymes Can Stop Bloating for Good" in, of all places, the December issue of Vogue magazine.
The comforting milieu of my youth returned. It wrapped me like a flannel blanket in a cold November rain. (OK, that was an embellishment, I saw it online, but November Rain is also a killer Guns N’ Roses tune)
Finally, and with deference to Shakespeare, “what’s past is prologue”.
For now, a Vogue magazine would allow me to provide a service to my Gut Pilot subscribers while returning to the yesteryears of my youth. I must admit though, the pages read a bit differently than when I was younger.
But I did manage to catch up on some of the latest fashion trends, pixie cuts, and 2nd date updates.
Back to the digestive enzymes.
Since we're embarking on the traditional holiday season where housing a bunch of food and drink can take us a bit off course, some extra attention to digestive health might help.
Before the first bite of food or sip of a drink hits your lips, your saliva glands get the digestive enzyme party started.
We enlist the support of these enzymes in a few different ways.
First and foremost, our bodies produce plenty of these enzymes to aid in digestion. However, their success will depend on how much we shovel in and what type of material needs to be dismantled.
Another way to recruit these enzymes, and we're especially familiar with this method in this space, is by eating fermented foods. Sure, probiotics are important but one of the many redeeming qualities of fermented foods is the ability to aid in digestion and enhance nutrient absorption from all of the other food we eat.
So, early and often, crush some sauerkraut, drink some kefir, or take a gut shot and set yourself up for success for the duration of the holiday.
Last but not least, taking a supplement containing digestive enzymes can be the cavalry needed to do battle with the ingested mess from holiday festivities. I’m always a “food before supplement” guy, but if there was ever an occasion for some digestive adult supervision, Thanksgiving might be it.
Other good tips for holiday digestion include a quick walk after eating and staying hydrated. There’s a ton of good stuff in this article, so give it a read.
And if a post-meal nap is in order, before you relent, dial up an old episode of General Hospital, maybe from back in the "Luke and Laura" days.
You'll learn a LOT, right before you leave Port Charles and drift off to sleep.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
