Digestion: The Front Door to Healing

Digestion isn’t glamorous. It’s not the sexy part of wellness. Nobody brags about stomach acid or bile flow at dinner parties. But here’s the truth: digestion is the front door to healing. If that door doesn’t open, nothing else gets in.

I learned this the hard way. For years, I was eating the cleanest food I could find and investing in the most “gold standard” supplements — grass-fed steak, organic kale, pristine cod liver oil. On paper, my nutrition looked perfect. But my body told a different story. I was exhausted, inflamed, and undernourished, no matter how carefully I ate.

That’s when I heard the phrase: “You are not what you eat, but what you absorb.” And it hit me like a ton of bricks. My digestion wasn’t broken, but it was squeaky, sticky, and sometimes slammed shut. Food and supplements were slipping right through me.

Here’s how I explain it now: digestion is like the lock on your home’s front door. You can carry in the best groceries in the world, but if the door is jammed, those bags sit on the porch. They don’t feed your family, and they don’t nourish you.

And digestion is also a cascade — like a line of dominoes. The first one has to fall (chewing, stomach acid) before the next (enzymes, bile, motility) can topple in sequence. When the chain is smooth, you get energy and nourishment. But if the first domino doesn’t fall, the rest never complete — and instead of energy you’re left with gas, bloating, or that heavy fatigue after meals.

Science agrees. Digestion is a whole-body orchestra — stomach acid, enzymes, bile, and motility working in rhythm. When that orchestra is out of tune, you don’t just miss out on nutrients. Your whole system feels the strain: your energy dips, your blood sugar wobbles, your hormones get shaky, and your immune system pays the price.

That’s why digestion comes first. Get it humming, and every other foundation — from sleep to stress to hormone balance — finally has the raw materials to work with.

1. Stomach acid: the unsung hero

Low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) is one of the most common, overlooked blocks to healing. Without it:

Protein doesn’t break down into amino acids
Minerals like zinc, magnesium, and iron stay locked up
Undigested food ferments, feeding bloating and reflux
Your immune system misses its first line of defense against pathogens

It’s not “too much acid” most people suffer from — it’s too little.

2. Enzymes: the scissors of digestion

Your pancreas produces enzymes that snip food into absorbable pieces:

Protease (protein → amino acids)
Lipase (fat → fatty acids)
Amylase (carbs → simple sugars)

But stress, poor diet, or chronic illness can blunt enzyme output. Without enough scissors, you’re left with half-digested food particles — leading to gas, bloating, or loose stools.

3. Bile: the forgotten flow

Bile is like dish soap for your fats. Made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, it emulsifies fats into tiny droplets so lipase can do its job. No bile = no absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) — and no glow to your skin, hair, or hormones.

Signs of sluggish bile? Floating stools, nausea after fatty meals, or the inability to tolerate rich foods.

4. Simple habits that open the door

Sit down to eat. Digestion begins in “rest and digest,” not “fight or flight.”
Chew thoroughly. Mechanical digestion is step one.
Bitters before meals. They naturally stimulate stomach acid, enzymes, and bile.
Minerals + hydration. Electrolytes support stomach acid production.
Slow, steady meals. Give your body a chance to break food down instead of rushing.

Digestion is the front door to healing. Open it, and every nutrient you eat can finally get to work — fueling your hormones, energy, and repair. Ignore it, and even the cleanest diet will leave you running on empty.

🌿 Brenna May, NTP
📝 Apply to work with me

Next Up: 👉 Nutrient-Dense Diet: Food as Medicine