What happens when you eat ?

WIRED FOR BETTER: What Happens When You Eat

Hey,

im glad you’re here today because boy do i have a treat for you.

Today, as an expansion of last weeks episode about the Gut-Brain-Connection , we are digging deeper into the topic of eating.

So, every time you go to eat something, an unbelievably complex chain reaction begins — one that influences your energy, mood, focus, hormones, and immune system for hours afterward.

To make this information accessible for everyone we are gonna break down some of the big words used in the following reading:

1. Dopamine – A chemical in your brain that makes you feel good or motivated. Think of it as a “reward signal.”

2. Enzyme – A protein that speeds up chemical reactions in your body, like breaking down food into smaller pieces your body can use.

3. Insulin – A hormone that helps move sugar from your blood into your cells for energy.

4. Microbiome – The collection of bacteria and other tiny organisms living in your gut. They help digest food, support your immune system, and even influence your mood.

5. Hormone – A chemical messenger that tells your body what to do. For example, telling you when you’re hungry or full, or controlling your stress.

6. Epigenetics – A way your lifestyle (like food) can influence how your genes work without changing the DNA itself. Think of it as giving instructions to your body about how to behave.

WIRED FOR BETTER: What Happens When You Eat

Hey,

im glad you’re here today because boy do i have a treat for you.

Today, as an expansion of last weeks episode about the Gut-Brain-Connection , we are digging deeper into the topic of eating.

So, every time you go to eat something, an unbelievably complex chain reaction begins — one that influences your energy, mood, focus, hormones, and immune system for hours afterward.

To make this information accessible for everyone we are gonna break down some of the big words used in the following reading:

1. Dopamine – A chemical in your brain that makes you feel good or motivated. Think of it as a “reward signal.”

2. Enzyme – A protein that speeds up chemical reactions in your body, like breaking down food into smaller pieces your body can use.

3. Insulin – A hormone that helps move sugar from your blood into your cells for energy.

4. Microbiome – The collection of bacteria and other tiny organisms living in your gut. They help digest food, support your immune system, and even influence your mood.

5. Hormone – A chemical messenger that tells your body what to do. For example, telling you when you’re hungry or full, or controlling your stress.

6. Epigenetics – A way your lifestyle (like food) can influence how your genes work without changing the DNA itself. Think of it as giving instructions to your body about how to behave.

⸻

Let’s walk through what actually happens every single time you eat.

1. The Anticipation Phase: The Mind-Body Spark

The process starts before food even hits your tongue.

When you smell or see food, your brain releases dopamine and sends a signal down your vagus nerve to your stomach: “Get ready.”

Saliva forms.

Digestive enzymes start to flow.

Your body begins producing stomach acid and insulin in anticipation.

This is the cephalic phase of digestion — your body’s way of warming up the engine before the fuel arrives.

If you eat distracted, scrolling your phone, or rushing, you blunt this phase — and digestion is less efficient from the very first bite.

⸻

2. The Mouth: Where Digestion Begins

Chewing isn’t just about breaking food down — it’s a chemical process.

Enzymes in saliva (amylase for starches, lipase for fats) begin dismantling your food into molecules your body can use.

The longer you chew, the more surface area those enzymes can reach.

That means easier work for your stomach and better nutrient absorption later on.

Chewing well literally tells your digestive tract, “This is real food, prepare the rest of the system.”

⸻

3. The Stomach: Acids, Enzymes, and Timing

Once you swallow, food travels down the esophagus and lands in the stomach.

There, hydrochloric acid and enzymes like pepsin take over.

Proteins unravel into smaller chains.

Fats start to separate.

Carbohydrates keep breaking down.

The stomach doesn’t just dissolve food; it times its release into the small intestine so your body isn’t overwhelmed.

That timing determines whether your blood sugar spikes fast or rises steadily — a key reason whole foods keep energy stable while ultra-processed foods cause crashes.

⸻

4. The Small Intestine: The Information Download

This is where the magic happens.

The pancreas releases enzymes to finish breaking down carbs, fats, and proteins.

The gallbladder releases bile to emulsify fats so you can absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).

Microscopic villi line the small intestine like antennae, absorbing nutrients into your bloodstream.

Now your food becomes information.

Those amino acids, fatty acids, glucose molecules, vitamins, and minerals are chemical messages that travel through your blood to every cell in your body.

Your body reads those messages and decides what to do next:

build hormones, repair tissue, produce neurotransmitters, or store energy.

⸻

5. The Liver: The Sorting Center

Everything absorbed from the intestine goes straight to the liver first.

Think of it as customs control for nutrients.

The liver decides what to keep, what to store, and what to detoxify.

If you’ve eaten nutrient-dense food, your liver has the tools it needs to build energy molecules (ATP), clean out waste, and balance blood sugar.

If you’ve eaten mostly refined food, it’s overloaded with glucose and synthetic additives, forcing it to work overtime to maintain balance.

⸻

6. The Bloodstream: Delivery and Response

Now nutrients circulate everywhere.

Insulin rises to move glucose into your cells.

Amino acids from protein help repair muscles and make neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.

Healthy fats form new cell membranes and hormones.

Meanwhile, your gut microbiome reacts to whatever’s left behind.

Fiber from plants feeds beneficial bacteria, which in turn create short-chain fatty acids that calm inflammation and support your immune system.

When there’s little fiber, those microbes starve, and inflammatory compounds start to dominate instead.

The composition of your meal literally determines which bacteria flourish — and those bacteria influence your cravings, mood, and immune health hours and days later.

⸻

7. The Hormonal Ripple

About 20–30 minutes after you start eating, your hormones begin adjusting.

• Insulin moves glucose into cells for energy.

• Leptin and ghrelin balance hunger and satiety — if your meal contains protein, fat, and fiber, they signal “I’m full” effectively.

• Cortisol (your stress hormone) calms down if blood sugar is steady — but spikes if you ate mostly sugar or caffeine.

• Serotonin levels rise as amino acids like tryptophan cross into the brain — one reason balanced meals improve mood.

This cascade determines how alert, calm, or anxious you feel for the rest of the day.

⸻

8. The Gut–Brain Feedback Loop

A few hours later, your gut and brain keep chatting through the vagus nerve.

If your meal supported healthy microbes and stable blood sugar, your brain gets signals of safety and satisfaction.

If your meal was high in refined carbs or industrial oils, your microbiome shifts toward bacteria that create inflammation.

That inflammation travels through the bloodstream, crosses into the brain, and can affect memory, mood, and motivation.

That’s how food influences mental health — not abstractly, but chemically.

⸻

9. The Long Game: Adaptation and Repair

The effects of one meal fade, but the pattern accumulates.

Eat nutrient-dense foods consistently, and your cells become more efficient, your mitochondria multiply, and your body learns to burn energy cleanly.

Eat mostly processed foods, and your body stays in constant repair mode — inflamed, overworked, and under-resourced.

Your gene expression literally shifts to match the environment you create with food.

That’s the science of epigenetics: your daily choices instructing your DNA how to behave.

⸻

The Bottom Line

Food is not passive.

It’s an active stream of instructions that shapes how you think, feel, and function — moment to moment and year to year.

• Within minutes, it changes hormones and neurotransmitters.

• Within hours, it alters immune and inflammatory responses.

• Within days, it reshapes your microbiome and energy production.

• Within weeks, it can reprogram gene expression.

That’s how profoundly food influences everything about the human body.

When you understand that sequence — how, in what order, and why — you realize food isn’t just something you eat.

It’s the master switch that keeps your system in balance.

And learning to use it wisely is how you become wired for better.

Here are three practical things you can do right now to put this knowledge into action, i even created a Worksheet for you to use for the next week to track your meals, digestion, mood, and energy:

Before taking a bite, pause and notice your food. Smell it, look at it, and chew slowly. This activates the anticipation phase and helps your body prepare for better digestion and nutrient absorption.

Take extra time with each bite. Chewing breaks food into smaller pieces and allows enzymes in saliva to start digestion early. Your stomach and intestines will thank you, and your body absorbs nutrients more efficiently.

Include vegetables, fruits, or whole grains. Fiber feeds your microbiome, supporting good gut bacteria that influence mood, cravings, and immune health. Even a small handful of vegetables or a piece of fruit can make a difference.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end, i appreciate that, even though you already have a full day, you took the time to read something that can help you improve your life.

And in case no one else tells you today, let me tell you that i believe in your ability to create a better life for yourself.

Talk soon,

Nimoé
Founder, Wired for Better