Weekly Wellness Practice The Chewing Challenge — 7 Days to Transform Your Digestion
Digestion doesn't start in your stomach. It starts in your mouth. Yet most of us barely chew our food before swallowing. Meals get rushed. Bites get inhaled. And the digestive system pays the price.
Why Chewing Matters More Than You Think
Proper chewing does several things at once. It mechanically breaks food into smaller pieces, giving your stomach less work to do. It mixes food with saliva, which contains enzymes that begin carbohydrate digestion right there in your mouth. It also signals your brain to prepare the rest of your digestive tract for incoming food.
Skip this step and problems follow — bloating, gas, that heavy feeling after meals. Food sits longer than it should because your body wasn't ready to process it.
We see this constantly with our patients at Princeton Integrative Health. They focus on what they eat but overlook how they eat. Slowing down and chewing thoroughly often brings more relief than any supplement.
The 7-Day Challenge
This week, commit to chewing each bite 20 to 30 times before swallowing. Put your fork down between bites. Notice the texture and flavor of your food as it breaks down.
It feels strange at first. Meals take longer. But by day seven, many people report less bloating, better satiety, and calmer digestion overall. Simple practice. Significant results. Give your gut a full week and see what shifts.
Nutrient of the Week Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)
This one sits at the intersection of aging research and cellular health. Nicotinamide riboside, or NR for short, has been generating serious interest in longevity circles — and for good reason.
What NR Does in Your Body
NR is a form of vitamin B3, but its real claim to fame is what it converts into: NAD+, or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Your cells depend on NAD+ for energy production, DNA repair, and countless metabolic processes. Without enough of it, things start breaking down at the cellular level.
Here's the problem. NAD+ levels drop as you age. By middle age, most people have significantly less than they did in their twenties. That decline correlates with fatigue, cognitive changes, and the general slowdown many people accept as normal aging.
Boosting NAD+ through its precursor NR has shown promise for supporting mitochondrial function, brain health, and metabolic efficiency. Some research suggests benefits for cardiovascular health and muscle recovery as well.
Where to Find It Naturally
NR exists in trace amounts in certain foods — dairy milk, yeast, fish like salmon and sardines, and poultry like chicken and turkey. The reality, though, is that food sources don't deliver therapeutic doses. Most people exploring NR for its longevity benefits turn to supplements, and quality varies widely. We're happy to guide you toward formulations that actually absorb well.
Featured Recipe Coconut Yogurt Glow Bowl
Some mornings call for something that feels nourishing without requiring much effort. This bowl delivers exactly that.
Homemade coconut yogurt serves as the base — tangy, creamy, and rich in probiotics your gut can actually use. From there, you layer on fresh berries, ground flax or chia seeds, coconut flakes, and a generous drizzle of nut butter. Every spoonful brings together flavor and function.
Why This Bowl Works
Your gut thrives on diversity. This recipe brings together multiple sources of fiber and beneficial fats that support your microbiome. Berries add antioxidants and natural sweetness without spiking glucose. Seeds contribute omega-3s and extra fiber. Nut butter rounds it out with protein and staying power.
For patients dealing with digestive issues or blood sugar swings, this kind of balanced meal can shift how the whole day feels. You're not white-knuckling it until lunch or reaching for caffeine just to focus. Steady inputs create steady outputs.
Make It Your Own
The base stays the same, but toppings are up to you. Swap blueberries for mango, use sunflower seed butter if nuts don't work for you, or sprinkle hemp hearts on top for extra protein. Add cinnamon or vanilla for warmth. The whole thing takes minutes — no cooking involved. Perfect for rushed mornings or that mid-afternoon moment when you need something satisfying but light.
What If Healing Was This Simple? Digestion Tips, Cellular Energy, a 5-Minute Breakfast, and a Breathwork Retreat We Love
Have You Heard of It? Breathwork and Blue Lotus Retreat
At Princeton Integrative Health, we believe healing extends beyond the clinic. Sometimes the most profound resets happen when we step fully out of our routines and into a space designed for deep restoration. That's why Dr. Vinny and his wife Sue personally enjoy the Breathwork and Blue Lotus Retreat at Diamond Rose Sanctuary — and wanted to share it with you.
This is a Holotropic Breathwork retreat, and it's the real thing. Two retreats are taking place in March at Diamond Rose Sanctuary in Branford, CT — a 100-year-old house and garden nestled on the Connecticut coastline within a nature preserve — this three-day immersive experience is built around the understanding that trauma and stress live not just in the mind, but in the body. Stored in our breathing patterns. Held in our tissues. Embedded in our nervous system.
Through conscious, connected breathwork, participants access what talk therapy alone often can't reach — gently inviting the body to release what it's been carrying and restoring the nervous system's natural capacity for regulation and rest. This is precisely the kind of nervous system reset and emotional release we often discuss with patients who are dealing with chronic stress, burnout, or that sense of being perpetually "stuck."
The weekend weaves together Frequency Breathwork sessions, Kundalini yoga, a sound bath, a sacred Blue Lotus ceremony, sauna, cold plunge, and time connecting with the land and with community. All meals are included and are gluten-free, prepared with intention by the retreat's fire keeper and chef. The cost is $1,350 for the full weekend.
Dr. Vinny and Sue find this retreat to be a genuinely beautiful and restorative experience — the kind of setting and practice that complements the integrative work we do here every day. If you've been feeling called to go deeper with your healing, this may be exactly the container you've been looking for.
Learn more and reserve your spot at diamondrosesanctuary.com/breathworkretreatmarch6
Where's Your Attention Landing?
You don't need to overhaul everything at once. You just need to notice what pulls you in.
Maybe it's slowing down at meals and giving your digestion a real chance to work. Maybe NR and cellular energy catch your curiosity. Perhaps that coconut yogurt glow bowl becomes your new morning ritual. Or maybe something in that retreat description is quietly calling your name.
One thing. That's all. Let it be easy.
The shifts that stick rarely feel like effort. They feel like alignment.
With care, The Princeton Integrative Health Team