Hack your digestion whilst studying

Whatever the level you are studying at a fully functional digestive system is paramount to your success.

The digestive system is a bit like a baby, it learns from routine, and if the routine is present, then so too is a fully functional gut. When a baby cries, it usually needs one of three things—a nappy change, feeding or attention. As we grow up, we do not stray far from these three essentials. For regular bowels to happen, regular meal times need to be in the timetable, and the most important of these is breakfast.

You may have heard of the phrase eat like a king a breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. Breakfast is king, though, and this is why. Missing out on breakfast induces a stress response. Starting the day on black coffee increases the stress response tenfold. Both these reduce the HCL ( Hydrochloric acid ) in the stomach the first line of defence and the acid that helps breakdown protein. Not being able to produce HCL also may indicate that your adrenals and thyroid may be under pressure leaving you with low energy and potentially an underperforming metabolism.

So here are my tips for a fully functional digestive timetable:

• Wake and drink a glass of water
• Eat within the hour
• Stretch, move walk 20 mins
• Make sure there are fats, proteins and carbohydrates on your plate
• Snack in between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner for a fired-up metabolism
• Drink water for energy, not fizzy drinks that will make you crash
• Get to bed for 10 – 11 pm, so you create a sleep and wake cycle. 

Having a regular wake/sleep time will regulate your energy, metabolism and your safety.

Breakfast for Kings: Beta Caratone Eggs

Snack: Berries 

Lunch: Mackeral on toast: Brain food

Snack: Dark chocolate, blueberries and a ginseng tea.

Dinner: Pimp your pasta 

Skipping meals, leaving out fat, juice cleansing, going vegan, fasting, and forgetting about protein, will all backfire. The question you want to ask yourself is when? It is about creating a tried and tested robust physiology that will keep you at the top of your game. You have four bodies, the mental body, the physical body, the emotional body and the nutritional body and they all rely on well-sourced, organic, seasonal and energetic food to feed you at a cellular level and be the best you can be.

If you are studying, then your most significant tool is breakfast! 

Hannah Richards: Registered Nutritionist and Author of ‘The Best Possible You’ A unique guide to healing your body.