July 10, 2025 • 24 mins
Text me what you thought of the show 😊
If you’ve ever felt bloated, gassy, or just off in the gut after a night shift — you’re not alone. In this episode, I unpack exactly why shift work messes with your digestion, and what you can actually do about it.
Forget blaming food intolerances — the root issue is often your disrupted circadian rhythm, not the food itself. I break down how your internal body clock affects digestion and share simple, evidence-backed habits to get your gut back on track (without resorting to expensive supplements or guesswork).
Whether you’re battling gut discomfort, irregularity, or just feel like your digestion is out of sync — this episode is for you.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why your digestive issues may not be food-related at all
- How every cell in your body, including your gut, runs on an internal clock
- What happens to digestion during your biological night (9 PM–6 AM)
- Why eating at regular times (yes, even on shifts) helps your body work better
- The gut-damaging combo of stress, dehydration, and irregular eating
- Smart strategies: low-GI eating, movement during shifts, and hydration tips
- When (and if) supplements like probiotics are worth trying
Let’s Stay Connected:
If this episode helped you, please share it with a fellow shift worker, nurse, or emergency responder who might be struggling too.
----------------------------
ANNOUNCING
"The Shift Workers Collective"
https://join.ahealthyshift.com/the-shift-workers-collective
Click the link to learn all about it
-----------------------------
YOU CAN FIND ME AT
_____________________
Disclaimer: Roger Sutherland is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before implementing any strategies mentioned in this podcast. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Roger Sutherland will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this podcast including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness, or death.
_______________________
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Shift work can be brutal, but it doesn't have to
be.
Welcome to a healthy shift.
My name is Roger Sutherland,certified nutritionist, veteran
law enforcement officer and 24-7shift worker for almost four
decades.
Through this podcast, I aim toeducate shift workers using
evidence-based methods, to notonly survive the rigours of
(00:29):
shift work, but thrive.
My goal is to empower shiftworkers to improve their health
and wellbeing so they have moreenergy to do the things they
love.
Enjoy today's show and welcometo A Healthy Shift.
I'm Roger Sutherland, your hostand veteran shift worker of
(00:50):
just over four decades.
Now, today we're tackling acommon issue amongst shift
workers and that is thedigestive issues like gas,
bloating and discomfort.
Now, these are not just a minorannoyance.
They can significantly impactyour well-being, especially you
ladies.
But you ladies, you don't havethis all on your own, because
the guys do as well.
(01:11):
It's all about the circadianrhythm.
So let's talk about that andhow it impacts on it and give
you some strategies that willactually help you.
So, first of all, I got this asa question from someone who I
don't know whether you'venoticed, but in the show notes
you can actually message me andmessage the show and let us know
(01:33):
what you thought of it, and sowhat I've done is I can't reply
to that message.
That message just goes therefor other people to actually see
, to let us know what youthought of the show.
Now, this is enormously helpfulbecause what it does is it lets
other people know what youthought.
It's like writing a review onepisodes or on the podcast, so
(01:59):
that when other people find it,they can go oh no, I need to
learn about this, and this iswhat this person has said.
So if you go to the show notes,you'll see message the show and
you can message.
Now I got a message fromsomeone asking about, as a male,
what strategies are there orwhat podcasts would you listen
to in relation to gas bloatingand discomfort, and it made me
(02:23):
realize that I've probably donethis to death for the ladies,
but this is a problem thatactually impacts on the men as
well.
So what I want to do is I wantto cover both in today's episode
.
Won't be long.
It's an espresso episode, solet's get into it.
So why does shift work actuallymess with our digestion?
So, first of all, let'sunderstand that our body
(02:45):
operates on that 24-hourinternal clock that is known as
a circadian rhythm.
Now, this regulates variousfunctions and one of those is
our digestion.
Every single cell in our bodyhas its own clock and they all
need to be in sync.
Hello shift workers.
What happens when they all goout of sync?
(03:07):
Well, we've got differentbiological functions happening
at different times.
I've likened this before to ifyou imagine, the body's master
clock is like the conductor ofthe orchestra, and then every
different cell in our bodies hasall got completely different
instruments and they're allplaying their own piece of music
.
And that's what a shift workeris like.
(03:29):
One of our regular day walkers,our regular day walking friends
.
Their clocks are more in linewith the master clock all the
time, but as shift workers,because our master clock is
running at that normal time.
But then we eat food and weactually trigger that clock in
our digestive tract, or thoseclocks in our digestive tract,
(03:51):
which then throws out the liverclock, which then throws out all
the clocks right through thewhole body, and it causes all
sorts of disharmony in our body,which is where we end up with
all sorts of problems likecardiovascular disease, heart
disease and things like that,not to mention the cancers that
it causes as well, and this iswhy it's important that we stay
(04:14):
in line as much as possible, butlet's concentrate mainly on the
digestion in this one as well.
All right, now, when we work aregular hours, especially night
shifts, our rhythm getsdisrupted, as I just explained,
and our digestive system isn'tas active during the night.
So when we actually eat duringthese hours, it can lead to
(04:37):
issues like gas and bloating.
Now, second, irregular eatingpatterns are common in our shift
working world, isn't it?
Because we eat at odd hours, weskip meals, we rely on getting
highly palatable carbohydratesand fats as convenience foods
that can really upset ourdigestive tract.
And third, not only is our bodystressed just from this
(05:04):
dysregulated circadian rhythm,but because of our very roles,
we can also end up fairlystressed ourselves, which in
turn will affect our digestion,which leads to symptoms like
diarrhea or constipation orstomach cramps or gas or
bloating or stomach pain.
(05:24):
And this is where a lot ofpeople, and particularly a lot
of female clients, come to me tostart off with telling me that
they are at their wit's end andthey're going to go and have
gastro tests done becausethey've got IBS and gas and
bloating and things like that.
And what I do is I say to themhave some time with me, get 12
weeks with me, don't go down theline of a dietician doing all
(05:47):
the IBS tests and everythingelse.
Just spend some time with meand I will help you with this.
And if it doesn't, then you'velost nothing.
Because the amount of clientsthat have come to me with gas
and bloating and digestiveissues that I've worked with and
we've ended up just solvingthat problem quite simply with a
(06:11):
number of things that I do inmy coaching, in the way I go
about coaching, and I've got acouple of testimonies on my
website there from clients whocame to me with this issue and
they have had it solved, savingthem a fortune in actual testing
(06:32):
and all of those sort of thingsas well.
So it does make a massivedifference to getting things
like stress, regular eatingpatterns and understanding these
circadian rhythms and when toeat and what to eat makes a huge
difference.
So what is there that we canactually do to try and alleviate
(06:55):
the issues that we do get hereright, and one of the things
that we need to do more thananything else is to maintain
this consistent sleep, day andnight schedule right consistent
sleep, day and night scheduleright, because it's really
important that our bodyunderstands that this is daytime
and this is what we do duringthe day, and this is nighttime
and this is what we do.
So we need to try and keepthese consistent sleep schedule.
(07:18):
Trust me, I know this seemsstrange when it comes to your
gut health, but I've got to tellyou consistent sleep and a
routine.
Our body thrives on routine andwe need to make sure that our
routine is always there, becauseour circadian rhythm is an
anticipatory system as well, andit starts to anticipate the
(07:40):
time that we're going to havebreakfast.
We get hungry for it, and thenit anticipates the time we're
going to have lunch, and it getshungry for it and it
anticipates the time we havedinner, and in those processes,
it's also preparing your body todigest food at those times.
Now, as shift workers, one ofthe biggest problems that we
(08:01):
have is what we do is we wake upat 10.30.
So we decide that that's a goodtime to have breakfast, and
then we have lunch at 3 o'clockin the afternoon and then,
because we're still full, we'resnacking on rubbish and then we
decide we're going to havedinner at around about 8 or 9
o'clock.
This is no good.
This is literally what iscausing all of the problems for
(08:21):
you, and one of my biggest andgolden rules around meal timing
is whatever a day walker,whatever time a day walker would
eat breakfast, lunch and dinneris the time that you should be
doing the same thing.
And there will be bonus pointsas well for putting majority of
your main meals in earlier inthe day and lightening those
(08:44):
meals up later in the day.
And there's a very valid reasonfor that as well, because our
body starts to shut down laterin the day.
It's designed to actuallydigest and metabolize nutrients
most efficiently in the morningand then, as it goes through
later in the day, it starts towane off and starts to lighten
(09:07):
up.
In what?
Preparation for sleep, ofcourse.
So we don't want to be puttingour main meal into our gut at
eight o'clock at night and thengoing to bed on top of that.
This is what causes a lot ofissues digestive issues, food
that is left unprocessed,sitting in our digestive track
all the way through, and youfemales have already have a
(09:29):
compromised digestive track.
So what we need to do is weneed to make sure that we are
supporting it the best possibleway that we can Now one of the
other golden rules after sleepand getting that regular sleep
pattern going.
And I understand as shiftworkers we can't get to bed and
(09:53):
get up at the same time everyday.
Well, we can more or lessalmost get up at pretty much the
same time, but we can't alwaysgo to bed at the same time, but
we still need to get up.
You can't catch up on thatsleep, so getting up at a
regular time is still going tobe far beneficial.
Up early, hydrate before youcaffeinate, get that light, get
that sky before screen, get thatearly movement and you will
find that it will alleviate alot of your gas and bloating and
(10:16):
digestive issues, because yourbody is anticipating that and
that is what it's going to getand that's the most important
thing.
The other thing that we need todo is we need to be focusing on
.
It's no good saying, oh, I'vegot gas and I've got bloating
and oh, it must be my cycle, orI'm allergic to this or I've got
an intolerance to lactose orwhatever.
(10:37):
Hang on a second.
Are we eating a lot of highlyprocessed foods?
Are we eating a lot of fats andcarbohydrates?
Now, I'm not demonizing carbs,I'm just talking about the
highly processed ones that aregoing to ferment and cause gut
issues in your gut.
One of the most importantthings that I think that a lot
of us need to do is we do needto be consuming predominantly
(10:59):
low GI foods from around aboutthree o'clock in the afternoon,
gi foods from around about threeo'clock in the afternoon,
because if we're having low GIfoods, this stabilizes our blood
sugar, keeps that fiber in oursystem and stops us from
reaching for these highlypalatable carbohydrates and fats
that cause all sorts ofproblems in our gut as the night
(11:21):
goes on or later in the day itgets.
Because, let's be honest, a lotof us don't end up with gas and
bloating at 9, 10 o'clock inthe morning.
It comes later in the day aswe've started to put in a few of
those treats let's just callthem and then that's what
actually happens.
It causes us more problems.
So I would say, and myrecommendation is eat normally
(11:45):
and eat majority of your foodbreakfast and lunchtime, and
then start to wane away with lowGI foods from three o'clock
onwards.
Now, if you're one of theclients of mine or you're
someone who is actually in theShift Workers Collective, you've
got access to my ebook, whichis the low GI foods, which gives
you recommendations around thatReally important, and this is
(12:08):
the sort of thing that I have inthere for people to actually
have access to.
So this is why the ShiftWorkers Collective is so
beneficial to help you withthings like this.
It's not just about the podcastand SOC man.
You've got access to me to help.
Anyway, there's a link in theshow notes for you to go and
have a look and learn all aboutthe Shift Workers Collective.
(12:30):
We're not here to talk aboutthat.
We're here to talk about theother thing and the third step.
We've got sleep first, theneating nutritious and regular
meals on the regular Breakfast,lunch and dinner, two snacks,
not eating outside of thosetimes.
Just try it that way and watchthe improvement that you
actually get in your gut just byeating at that breakfast, lunch
(12:53):
and dinner time.
It's when we eat outside ofthat that we have problems.
The next step is to avoid eatingduring the biological night.
What is the biological night?
Well, I actually talk about thebiological night being from the
onset of dim light, melatonin,which is around about eight
o'clock or nine o'clock at nightwhen it gets dark, and it's
(13:15):
about two hours after dark, andthat is when it becomes the
melatonin onset.
We know that our body does notdigest and metabolize sorry, it
doesn't metabolize and storenutrients as efficiently when
melatonin is elevated in thebody.
When this happens and you areeating at that time, you are
(13:36):
actually straining your systemand your system is not running
as well.
So what actually happens?
We end up eating a lot more.
Sorry, we end up eating a lotmore of these highly palatable
foods.
We also get to the stage wherewhat actually happens is we then
get to eating sorry, we lost mytrain of thought there.
(14:00):
We actually get to the stagewhere we are eating food and
we're overeating food at nightin a system that is basically
sleeping, and this is what wewant to try and stop it from
actually doing, because this isa massive problem for us All.
Right, so that's another onethat we need to.
The next thing that we need toreally focus on and I mean
(14:23):
really focus on overnight is tohydrate, and hydrate extremely
well.
Now, I'm not talking caffeineand energy drinks here.
I actually mean putting waterthrough your system to support
your body and get your bodyactually running and functioning
really, really well, becausewhen your body's functioning
(14:44):
well, hydrated, it's goteverything moving through it
really well, it's got no strainon it, and then it starts to run
really quite efficiently.
A lot of constipation andsluggish digestion comes back to
poor hydration or you aredehydrated.
So that's something else thatwe want to make sure that we're
on top of.
(15:05):
What we also want to do asnumber four is we want to make
sure that we are moving our body.
Let gravity do its thing.
All right, by being verticaland walking or moving, it's
allowing gravity to actuallyforce our digestion to occur.
Moving through our body, itlets gravity pull things through
(15:27):
.
So even just short walks willhelp with this, because sitting
for hours on end slowseverything right down, and when
you are tired and you are eatingoutside of your normal
synchronized diurnal circadianrhythm, have a think about what
it would possibly be doing toyour gut and everything that's
not moving through it at all.
(15:48):
This is something that is amassive problem for a lot of
people who work in call centers,as radio dispatchers, as people
who sit and work in controlrooms and things like that, that
are just sitting and they'renot moving anywhere near as much
as what they should be Justgetting up and going for short
walks can make an enormousdifference to you.
(16:08):
Now, number five and I wouldconsider one of the most
important, ryan is to manageyour stress.
Very, very important, becausestress and that vagus nerve
running down, there is agut-brain axis and when your
brain is stressed and you areanxious and you are thinking
(16:29):
about things, it will impact onyour gut as well.
So if you are having troublemanaging home and work and
things like that and you'rehighly stressed, you are
coupling that with the stress ofyour body that is just
naturally stressed because it'soutside of its circadian rhythm
and you are going to find thatthis comes out in gas and
(16:51):
bloating and digestive issues inyour gut.
So this is something that'sreally important, and I mean
really, really important issomething that's really
important, and I mean really,really important.
All right, that you managestress.
One of the first things that weare taught as a nutritionist is,
if someone comes to us with Imean I'm a little bit different
because I understand shift workextremely well and the impacts
(17:14):
that shift work has, but for anormal nutritionist that you go
and see, one of the first placesthat they will start when you
start talking about oh, I can'thave gluten or I can't have
lactose or I can't have this is.
They'll look at stress first up, and once you get your stress
under control, it's incrediblethe difference that it actually
(17:35):
makes in your gut health as well, and you might not feel
stressed, but remember, shiftwork has your body very, very
stressed anyway.
So if you're eating outside ofthose hours, you're stressing
your body.
If you're awake outside thosehours, you're stressing your
body.
If you're not getting thatmovement, you're not getting
(17:55):
that hydration in.
All those things that I'vespoken about are all things that
we need to do to keep ourdigestion happy, to help us to
keep things moving, so we don'tend up with this gas and
bloating.
Now I've had many times where Ijust wish I knew what I know
now the difference it would make, because I felt so bloated and
(18:16):
so comfortable that I justdidn't want to get to the stage
where I'd eat at all.
And this cycle just gets worseand worse.
You eat less, your gut slowsdown even more and then the
discomfort builds.
Ladies, have a think about it.
When you feel bloated up andgassed up, what's the last thing
you feel like doing?
Eating?
It's probably one of the worstthings.
What we need to do is eat anddrink a lot more water to get
(18:38):
things moving through our system, which is another thing.
Now, this took me many, manyyears and study to learn and
understand and a lot of trialand error to figure out what it
was that actually worked for me.
But the first step was learningthat this wasn't something
wrong with me.
It was actually shift work andonce I understood that, I could
(19:00):
then take action.
Once I understood how it wasimpacting and why it was
impacting, then I could take theaction.
And then, lo and behold, it allchanged and it made a massive
difference for me.
Now, one thing that you areprobably going to ask me about,
because one of the first thingsthat we reach for when we've got
gas and bloating is what oh gotto get a probiotic.
(19:21):
It makes such a big differenceto me.
So what about probiotics andsupplements for it?
Well, the truth is and this iswhere it's really important most
people, you don't need to throwany money at any fancy products
at all.
Just start with the basics.
Get the basics right first,because when you get the basics
right, you would be amazed athow well your body actually
(19:43):
looks after you Eating at aregular time.
Remember breakfast, lunch anddinner.
More whole foods.
Less processed rubbish foodright, less processed and
particularly less processed food.
During that biological nightbetween 9 pm and 6 am, solid
hydration all the time right.
(20:03):
So we need a lot of hydration,we need some form of movement
and we need to manage our stress.
When you can confidently sayI've got all of that right under
control, I do all of that and Istill suffer, then that's a
time when you can go and have achat with your GP or a dietician
who maybe understands shiftwork Good luck finding one of
(20:25):
those, but a dietician andsomeone who understands shift
work, because sometimes therecan be underlying issues like
IBS or a food intolerance orsomething else that needs
looking at.
But at least you will know thatyou have got the essentials
right, the most important thingsright, okay.
So let me just leave you withthis as a result of this one and
(20:47):
wrap it all up now.
Your body is doing its best tokeep up with you and that
goddamn tough schedule that youare working, but if you give it
a little bit of care, some smalldoable steps can make a massive
difference in how you feel.
Honestly it really can.
And the better you feel then,the better that you can show up
(21:07):
not just for the job but foryourself and your family and
colleagues and people outside ofyour shift working life.
And you know this is my mantragiving you more time and energy
to do the things that you loveoutside of your shift working
life.
You don't want to be doingthree or four nights of night
shifts, really leaving yourselfcrippled because of gas,
(21:30):
bloating, eating outside ofthose times, to then suddenly
find yourself on your days offthat you're trying to recover
from it all.
Keep that in mind, all right,and if this episode's been
helpful for you, please share itwith a colleague or a workmate,
because you never know who'squietly struggling with these
exact same issues.
And if I can help youpersonally, I would love to do
(21:53):
that, because I've helped manypeople in this very situation,
and you can find me over atahealthyshiftcom.
Thanks for listening.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to subscribe so you get
notified whenever a new episodeis released.
It would also be ever sohelpful if you could leave a
(22:16):
rating and review on the appyou're currently listening on so
helpful if you could leave arating and review on the app
you're currently listening on.
If you want to know more aboutme or work with me, you can go
to ahealthyshiftcom.
I'll catch you on the next one.
Shift work can be brutal, but it doesn't have to
be.
Welcome to a healthy shift.
My name is Roger Sutherland,certified nutritionist, veteran
law enforcement officer and 24-7shift worker for almost four
decades.
Through this podcast, I aim toeducate shift workers using
evidence-based methods, to notonly survive the rigours of
(00:29):
shift work, but thrive.
My goal is to empower shiftworkers to improve their health
and wellbeing so they have moreenergy to do the things they
love.
Enjoy today's show and welcometo A Healthy Shift.
I'm Roger Sutherland, your hostand veteran shift worker of
(00:50):
just over four decades.
Now, today we're tackling acommon issue amongst shift
workers and that is thedigestive issues like gas,
bloating and discomfort.
Now, these are not just a minorannoyance.
They can significantly impactyour well-being, especially you
ladies.
But you ladies, you don't havethis all on your own, because
the guys do as well.
(01:11):
It's all about the circadianrhythm.
So let's talk about that andhow it impacts on it and give
you some strategies that willactually help you.
So, first of all, I got this asa question from someone who I
don't know whether you'venoticed, but in the show notes
you can actually message me andmessage the show and let us know
(01:33):
what you thought of it, and sowhat I've done is I can't reply
to that message.
That message just goes therefor other people to actually see
, to let us know what youthought of the show.
Now, this is enormously helpfulbecause what it does is it lets
other people know what youthought.
It's like writing a review onepisodes or on the podcast, so
(01:59):
that when other people find it,they can go oh no, I need to
learn about this, and this iswhat this person has said.
So if you go to the show notes,you'll see message the show and
you can message.
Now I got a message fromsomeone asking about, as a male,
what strategies are there orwhat podcasts would you listen
to in relation to gas bloatingand discomfort, and it made me
(02:23):
realize that I've probably donethis to death for the ladies,
but this is a problem thatactually impacts on the men as
well.
So what I want to do is I wantto cover both in today's episode
.
Won't be long.
It's an espresso episode, solet's get into it.
So why does shift work actuallymess with our digestion?
So, first of all, let'sunderstand that our body
(02:45):
operates on that 24-hourinternal clock that is known as
a circadian rhythm.
Now, this regulates variousfunctions and one of those is
our digestion.
Every single cell in our bodyhas its own clock and they all
need to be in sync.
Hello shift workers.
What happens when they all goout of sync?
(03:07):
Well, we've got differentbiological functions happening
at different times.
I've likened this before to ifyou imagine, the body's master
clock is like the conductor ofthe orchestra, and then every
different cell in our bodies hasall got completely different
instruments and they're allplaying their own piece of music
.
And that's what a shift workeris like.
(03:29):
One of our regular day walkers,our regular day walking friends
.
Their clocks are more in linewith the master clock all the
time, but as shift workers,because our master clock is
running at that normal time.
But then we eat food and weactually trigger that clock in
our digestive tract, or thoseclocks in our digestive tract,
(03:51):
which then throws out the liverclock, which then throws out all
the clocks right through thewhole body, and it causes all
sorts of disharmony in our body,which is where we end up with
all sorts of problems likecardiovascular disease, heart
disease and things like that,not to mention the cancers that
it causes as well, and this iswhy it's important that we stay
(04:14):
in line as much as possible, butlet's concentrate mainly on the
digestion in this one as well.
All right, now, when we work aregular hours, especially night
shifts, our rhythm getsdisrupted, as I just explained,
and our digestive system isn'tas active during the night.
So when we actually eat duringthese hours, it can lead to
(04:37):
issues like gas and bloating.
Now, second, irregular eatingpatterns are common in our shift
working world, isn't it?
Because we eat at odd hours, weskip meals, we rely on getting
highly palatable carbohydratesand fats as convenience foods
that can really upset ourdigestive tract.
And third, not only is our bodystressed just from this
(05:04):
dysregulated circadian rhythm,but because of our very roles,
we can also end up fairlystressed ourselves, which in
turn will affect our digestion,which leads to symptoms like
diarrhea or constipation orstomach cramps or gas or
bloating or stomach pain.
(05:24):
And this is where a lot ofpeople, and particularly a lot
of female clients, come to me tostart off with telling me that
they are at their wit's end andthey're going to go and have
gastro tests done becausethey've got IBS and gas and
bloating and things like that.
And what I do is I say to themhave some time with me, get 12
weeks with me, don't go down theline of a dietician doing all
(05:47):
the IBS tests and everythingelse.
Just spend some time with meand I will help you with this.
And if it doesn't, then you'velost nothing.
Because the amount of clientsthat have come to me with gas
and bloating and digestiveissues that I've worked with and
we've ended up just solvingthat problem quite simply with a
(06:11):
number of things that I do inmy coaching, in the way I go
about coaching, and I've got acouple of testimonies on my
website there from clients whocame to me with this issue and
they have had it solved, savingthem a fortune in actual testing
(06:32):
and all of those sort of thingsas well.
So it does make a massivedifference to getting things
like stress, regular eatingpatterns and understanding these
circadian rhythms and when toeat and what to eat makes a huge
difference.
So what is there that we canactually do to try and alleviate
(06:55):
the issues that we do get hereright, and one of the things
that we need to do more thananything else is to maintain
this consistent sleep, day andnight schedule right consistent
sleep, day and night scheduleright, because it's really
important that our bodyunderstands that this is daytime
and this is what we do duringthe day, and this is nighttime
and this is what we do.
So we need to try and keepthese consistent sleep schedule.
(07:18):
Trust me, I know this seemsstrange when it comes to your
gut health, but I've got to tellyou consistent sleep and a
routine.
Our body thrives on routine andwe need to make sure that our
routine is always there, becauseour circadian rhythm is an
anticipatory system as well, andit starts to anticipate the
(07:40):
time that we're going to havebreakfast.
We get hungry for it, and thenit anticipates the time we're
going to have lunch, and it getshungry for it and it
anticipates the time we havedinner, and in those processes,
it's also preparing your body todigest food at those times.
Now, as shift workers, one ofthe biggest problems that we
(08:01):
have is what we do is we wake upat 10.30.
So we decide that that's a goodtime to have breakfast, and
then we have lunch at 3 o'clockin the afternoon and then,
because we're still full, we'resnacking on rubbish and then we
decide we're going to havedinner at around about 8 or 9
o'clock.
This is no good.
This is literally what iscausing all of the problems for
(08:21):
you, and one of my biggest andgolden rules around meal timing
is whatever a day walker,whatever time a day walker would
eat breakfast, lunch and dinneris the time that you should be
doing the same thing.
And there will be bonus pointsas well for putting majority of
your main meals in earlier inthe day and lightening those
(08:44):
meals up later in the day.
And there's a very valid reasonfor that as well, because our
body starts to shut down laterin the day.
It's designed to actuallydigest and metabolize nutrients
most efficiently in the morningand then, as it goes through
later in the day, it starts towane off and starts to lighten
(09:07):
up.
In what?
Preparation for sleep, ofcourse.
So we don't want to be puttingour main meal into our gut at
eight o'clock at night and thengoing to bed on top of that.
This is what causes a lot ofissues digestive issues, food
that is left unprocessed,sitting in our digestive track
all the way through, and youfemales have already have a
(09:29):
compromised digestive track.
So what we need to do is weneed to make sure that we are
supporting it the best possibleway that we can Now one of the
other golden rules after sleepand getting that regular sleep
pattern going.
And I understand as shiftworkers we can't get to bed and
(09:53):
get up at the same time everyday.
Well, we can more or lessalmost get up at pretty much the
same time, but we can't alwaysgo to bed at the same time, but
we still need to get up.
You can't catch up on thatsleep, so getting up at a
regular time is still going tobe far beneficial.
Up early, hydrate before youcaffeinate, get that light, get
that sky before screen, get thatearly movement and you will
find that it will alleviate alot of your gas and bloating and
(10:16):
digestive issues, because yourbody is anticipating that and
that is what it's going to getand that's the most important
thing.
The other thing that we need todo is we need to be focusing on
.
It's no good saying, oh, I'vegot gas and I've got bloating
and oh, it must be my cycle, orI'm allergic to this or I've got
an intolerance to lactose orwhatever.
(10:37):
Hang on a second.
Are we eating a lot of highlyprocessed foods?
Are we eating a lot of fats andcarbohydrates?
Now, I'm not demonizing carbs,I'm just talking about the
highly processed ones that aregoing to ferment and cause gut
issues in your gut.
One of the most importantthings that I think that a lot
of us need to do is we do needto be consuming predominantly
(10:59):
low GI foods from around aboutthree o'clock in the afternoon,
gi foods from around about threeo'clock in the afternoon,
because if we're having low GIfoods, this stabilizes our blood
sugar, keeps that fiber in oursystem and stops us from
reaching for these highlypalatable carbohydrates and fats
that cause all sorts ofproblems in our gut as the night
(11:21):
goes on or later in the day itgets.
Because, let's be honest, a lotof us don't end up with gas and
bloating at 9, 10 o'clock inthe morning.
It comes later in the day aswe've started to put in a few of
those treats let's just callthem and then that's what
actually happens.
It causes us more problems.
So I would say, and myrecommendation is eat normally
(11:45):
and eat majority of your foodbreakfast and lunchtime, and
then start to wane away with lowGI foods from three o'clock
onwards.
Now, if you're one of theclients of mine or you're
someone who is actually in theShift Workers Collective, you've
got access to my ebook, whichis the low GI foods, which gives
you recommendations around thatReally important, and this is
(12:08):
the sort of thing that I have inthere for people to actually
have access to.
So this is why the ShiftWorkers Collective is so
beneficial to help you withthings like this.
It's not just about the podcastand SOC man.
You've got access to me to help.
Anyway, there's a link in theshow notes for you to go and
have a look and learn all aboutthe Shift Workers Collective.
(12:30):
We're not here to talk aboutthat.
We're here to talk about theother thing and the third step.
We've got sleep first, theneating nutritious and regular
meals on the regular Breakfast,lunch and dinner, two snacks,
not eating outside of thosetimes.
Just try it that way and watchthe improvement that you
actually get in your gut just byeating at that breakfast, lunch
(12:53):
and dinner time.
It's when we eat outside ofthat that we have problems.
The next step is to avoid eatingduring the biological night.
What is the biological night?
Well, I actually talk about thebiological night being from the
onset of dim light, melatonin,which is around about eight
o'clock or nine o'clock at nightwhen it gets dark, and it's
(13:15):
about two hours after dark, andthat is when it becomes the
melatonin onset.
We know that our body does notdigest and metabolize sorry, it
doesn't metabolize and storenutrients as efficiently when
melatonin is elevated in thebody.
When this happens and you areeating at that time, you are
(13:36):
actually straining your systemand your system is not running
as well.
So what actually happens?
We end up eating a lot more.
Sorry, we end up eating a lotmore of these highly palatable
foods.
We also get to the stage wherewhat actually happens is we then
get to eating sorry, we lost mytrain of thought there.
(14:00):
We actually get to the stagewhere we are eating food and
we're overeating food at nightin a system that is basically
sleeping, and this is what wewant to try and stop it from
actually doing, because this isa massive problem for us All.
Right, so that's another onethat we need to.
The next thing that we need toreally focus on and I mean
(14:23):
really focus on overnight is tohydrate, and hydrate extremely
well.
Now, I'm not talking caffeineand energy drinks here.
I actually mean putting waterthrough your system to support
your body and get your bodyactually running and functioning
really, really well, becausewhen your body's functioning
(14:44):
well, hydrated, it's goteverything moving through it
really well, it's got no strainon it, and then it starts to run
really quite efficiently.
A lot of constipation andsluggish digestion comes back to
poor hydration or you aredehydrated.
So that's something else thatwe want to make sure that we're
on top of.
(15:05):
What we also want to do asnumber four is we want to make
sure that we are moving our body.
Let gravity do its thing.
All right, by being verticaland walking or moving, it's
allowing gravity to actuallyforce our digestion to occur.
Moving through our body, itlets gravity pull things through
(15:27):
.
So even just short walks willhelp with this, because sitting
for hours on end slowseverything right down, and when
you are tired and you are eatingoutside of your normal
synchronized diurnal circadianrhythm, have a think about what
it would possibly be doing toyour gut and everything that's
not moving through it at all.
(15:48):
This is something that is amassive problem for a lot of
people who work in call centers,as radio dispatchers, as people
who sit and work in controlrooms and things like that, that
are just sitting and they'renot moving anywhere near as much
as what they should be Justgetting up and going for short
walks can make an enormousdifference to you.
(16:08):
Now, number five and I wouldconsider one of the most
important, ryan is to manageyour stress.
Very, very important, becausestress and that vagus nerve
running down, there is agut-brain axis and when your
brain is stressed and you areanxious and you are thinking
(16:29):
about things, it will impact onyour gut as well.
So if you are having troublemanaging home and work and
things like that and you'rehighly stressed, you are
coupling that with the stress ofyour body that is just
naturally stressed because it'soutside of its circadian rhythm
and you are going to find thatthis comes out in gas and
(16:51):
bloating and digestive issues inyour gut.
So this is something that'sreally important, and I mean
really, really important issomething that's really
important, and I mean really,really important.
All right, that you managestress.
One of the first things that weare taught as a nutritionist is,
if someone comes to us with Imean I'm a little bit different
because I understand shift workextremely well and the impacts
(17:14):
that shift work has, but for anormal nutritionist that you go
and see, one of the first placesthat they will start when you
start talking about oh, I can'thave gluten or I can't have
lactose or I can't have this is.
They'll look at stress first up, and once you get your stress
under control, it's incrediblethe difference that it actually
(17:35):
makes in your gut health as well, and you might not feel
stressed, but remember, shiftwork has your body very, very
stressed anyway.
So if you're eating outside ofthose hours, you're stressing
your body.
If you're awake outside thosehours, you're stressing your
body.
If you're not getting thatmovement, you're not getting
(17:55):
that hydration in.
All those things that I'vespoken about are all things that
we need to do to keep ourdigestion happy, to help us to
keep things moving, so we don'tend up with this gas and
bloating.
Now I've had many times where Ijust wish I knew what I know
now the difference it would make, because I felt so bloated and
(18:16):
so comfortable that I justdidn't want to get to the stage
where I'd eat at all.
And this cycle just gets worseand worse.
You eat less, your gut slowsdown even more and then the
discomfort builds.
Ladies, have a think about it.
When you feel bloated up andgassed up, what's the last thing
you feel like doing?
Eating?
It's probably one of the worstthings.
What we need to do is eat anddrink a lot more water to get
(18:38):
things moving through our system, which is another thing.
Now, this took me many, manyyears and study to learn and
understand and a lot of trialand error to figure out what it
was that actually worked for me.
But the first step was learningthat this wasn't something
wrong with me.
It was actually shift work andonce I understood that, I could
(19:00):
then take action.
Once I understood how it wasimpacting and why it was
impacting, then I could take theaction.
And then, lo and behold, it allchanged and it made a massive
difference for me.
Now, one thing that you areprobably going to ask me about,
because one of the first thingsthat we reach for when we've got
gas and bloating is what oh gotto get a probiotic.
(19:21):
It makes such a big differenceto me.
So what about probiotics andsupplements for it?
Well, the truth is and this iswhere it's really important most
people, you don't need to throwany money at any fancy products
at all.
Just start with the basics.
Get the basics right first,because when you get the basics
right, you would be amazed athow well your body actually
(19:43):
looks after you Eating at aregular time.
Remember breakfast, lunch anddinner.
More whole foods.
Less processed rubbish foodright, less processed and
particularly less processed food.
During that biological nightbetween 9 pm and 6 am, solid
hydration all the time right.
(20:03):
So we need a lot of hydration,we need some form of movement
and we need to manage our stress.
When you can confidently sayI've got all of that right under
control, I do all of that and Istill suffer, then that's a
time when you can go and have achat with your GP or a dietician
who maybe understands shiftwork Good luck finding one of
(20:25):
those, but a dietician andsomeone who understands shift
work, because sometimes therecan be underlying issues like
IBS or a food intolerance orsomething else that needs
looking at.
But at least you will know thatyou have got the essentials
right, the most important thingsright, okay.
So let me just leave you withthis as a result of this one and
(20:47):
wrap it all up now.
Your body is doing its best tokeep up with you and that
goddamn tough schedule that youare working, but if you give it
a little bit of care, some smalldoable steps can make a massive
difference in how you feel.
Honestly it really can.
And the better you feel then,the better that you can show up
(21:07):
not just for the job but foryourself and your family and
colleagues and people outside ofyour shift working life.
And you know this is my mantragiving you more time and energy
to do the things that you loveoutside of your shift working
life.
You don't want to be doingthree or four nights of night
shifts, really leaving yourselfcrippled because of gas,
(21:30):
bloating, eating outside ofthose times, to then suddenly
find yourself on your days offthat you're trying to recover
from it all.
Keep that in mind, all right,and if this episode's been
helpful for you, please share itwith a colleague or a workmate,
because you never know who'squietly struggling with these
exact same issues.
And if I can help youpersonally, I would love to do
(21:53):
that, because I've helped manypeople in this very situation,
and you can find me over atahealthyshiftcom.
Thanks for listening.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Thank you for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode, besure to subscribe so you get
notified whenever a new episodeis released.
It would also be ever sohelpful if you could leave a
(22:16):
rating and review on the appyou're currently listening on so
helpful if you could leave arating and review on the app
you're currently listening on.
If you want to know more aboutme or work with me, you can go
to ahealthyshiftcom.
I'll catch you on the next one.
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