Digestion Styles: How Your Clients Can Best Nourish Themselves

Did you know that each of your coaching clients has one of six “digestion styles” according to Human Design?

It comes from an element of their chart called the Determination Variable. This is the top-left arrow on the BodyGraph (circled in the image below). It’s all about how we’re designed to nourish ourselves/our bodies and digest the things we take in.

According to Human Design, we all have a special way of ingesting and digesting things. Food, yes, but also how we consume and “digest” other things—like content or information online.

Here’s where to find the Determination Variable on your client’s chart:

What we’re looking for is the first number inside (or below) this top-left arrow. That number will be between 1-6 and it corresponds to which of the six digestion styles your client has. In the example chart above, that number is “1”. This corresponds to Appetite Determination.

Depending on the chart software you use, you might also see this information listed in the written description of your client’s Design. It will most likely be called either, “Determination” or “Dietary Regimen”. In this post I refer to these as digestion styles because that’s exactly what they reveal: How your client is designed to digest things.

The 6 Digestion Styles

The six Human Design digestion styles are:

1. Appetite
2. Taste
3. Thirst
4. Touch
5. Sound
6. Light

The first three digestion styles (Appetite, Taste, Thirst) focus on the types of food we eat. The latter three digestion styles (Touch, Sound, Light) relate to the environment we’re in while eating. 

How to Apply This Information as a Coach

Important Disclaimer: Understanding your client’s digestion style doesn’t mean forcing them to follow a restrictive diet.

Learning about the different digestion styles will help you guide each client to an aligned and personalized style of nourishment. One where they get the right amount of what their body does need without over-consuming the things it doesn’t need.

It’s also important to note than in classic Human Design, the application of this information can feel quite rigid. I will share the classic definitions and recommendations for each of the six digestion styles below—but keep in mind that we can experiment and play around with these concepts to find what works best for each client.

(Hint: Your client’s Authority will be a big help with this process!)

Understanding The 6 Digestion Styles

Ready to dive into the basics of each digestion style? Let’s go.👇

1. Appetite Determination

In classic Human Design, these people should eat one food at a time (literally one raspberry, one carrot, one nut, etc.). They are also told to keep each type of food separate and avoid mixing different foods together. For example, eating a deconstructed salad vs. tossing all the ingredients together.

Because these clients have a more primitive and delicate digestive system, they thrive with natural or “paleo” diets as well as when they avoid processed foods. For these clients, nourishment goals should focus on simple meals, eating wholesome foods, and using high-quality ingredients.

Application Tips:

• Have this client play around with “deconstructed” meals.

• These people likely have “safe foods”—i.e., foods they know that they like and that their body can digest well. The same applies for “safe people”, safe/comfort items, etc.

• Suggest that these clients introduce new foods one at a time. Slow, gradual changes are key here—not just for food but other areas of life as well.

2. Taste Determination

These clients should be selective about what they eat. If something tastes good or “right” to them, they should eat it. But if something tastes bad or “wrong”, they should avoid it. For this reason, these clients might have go-to foods/meals that they eat repeatedly—and that can be aligned for them.

These clients’ digestive systems are especially sensitive to mold or anything that’s gone stale or stagnant. Therefore, their nourishment goals should focus on freshness, eating foods that are in-season, and having high-quality choices available to them.

Application Tips:

• These clients should make small, gradual changes in their nutrition (and life) rather than changing everything at the same time.

• Above all, they should aim to eat foods that taste good to them. It really can be as simple as that.

• If we interpret this more broadly, these clients are likely very sensitive to the people they follow on social media and consume content from. And also to whether each piece of content “tastes” good to them or not.

3. Thirst Determination

This client’s body is easily dysregulated and is always trying to find and stay balanced. They also likely need and prefer more liquid content than other people. Not just in terms of drinks but also dips, sauces, etc.—hence the name “Thirst” Determination.

For these clients, nourishment goals should focus on hydration, experimenting with different temperatures (i.e., hot vs cold meals), and finding the right arrangement or mixture of ingredients for them (for example, playing around with different foods in a smoothie until they land on the right combo).

Application Tips:

• Suggest that your client play around with different “combinations”. e.g., foods they put in a smoothie, type of physical activities they do each week, etc.

• This client may want to bring a water bottle with them when they leave the house so they can stay hydrated.

• Above all, they should pay attention to the temperature of what they consume. Some people need foods that are above their body temperature and some need foods below their body temperature. Experiment and play around with this.

4. Touch Determination

Clients with this type of digestion are sensitive to the energy of their environment while eating. Their bodies can become dysregulated by the energy and mood of the people around them. So they need to pay attention to how they are metaphorically “touched” (i.e., impacted) by their environment and the people in it while eating.

Their main nourishment goals should be curating the right environment and energy around them while eating. This can include things like whether their bodies are active or still as they eat, the people around them and how those people are making them feel, and the overall “vibe” of the space.

Application Tips:

• These clients may have go-to foods, meals, activities, etc. they enjoy. However, they should stay flexible and allow their preferences to change over time.

• They should pause to do a “vibe check” of their environment before they start eating and make adjustments as needed.

• Suggest that they experiment with eating alone vs. eating with others. The same thing applies for other activities as well (exercising, going to a movie, etc.)

5. Sound Determination

This client’s digestive system is sensitive to the sound in their environment while they’re eating. Specifically, they need to be aware of not only the level of sound in their environment but also the quality of that sound. e.g., what the people around them are saying or what type of music they’re listening to, but also how those things make your client feel.

Beyond volume of sound, the “volume” (i.e., amount) of food they eat is important. These clients might struggle to know their limits and therefore be prone to overeating or under-eating.

Application Tips:

• Help your client learn to identify when they feel full, empty, or in between—when it comes to food but also to their relationships and other areas of life.

• “Fine-tune” over time to find the right frequency and volume for certain things.

• Have this client experiment with different types of music, background noise, conversation, etc. while eating.

6. Light Determination

These clients’ digestive systems are sensitive to the light frequency in their environment while eating (food only, not drinks). Have this client experiment with different types and levels of lighting while they eat. They should also pay attention to how their body and digestive system feel when they eat at different times of day (e.g., noon vs. night).

These clients will likely digest foods with certain “densities” better than others. Suggest that they play around with light vs. heavy meals. The same thing goes for other types of consumption (e.g., watching a “heavy” TV show before bed might cause them to have trouble sleeping that night).

Application Tips:

• This client should take note of which foods or meals make them feel heavy or sluggish after eating. On the other hand, which leave them feeling light and energized? These are clues into the foods and meals that are most aligned for their body.

• These clients likely need and crave nourishment beyond just physical food. They might be drawn toward things like religion, spirituality, etc. They want to consume things that are illuminating or that light them up.

• Encourage this client to experiment with eating their biggest meal at different times of day (breakfast vs lunch vs dinner etc.) to find what feels best for their body and digestive system.

Ready to Go Deeper?

Beyond applying the Determination Variable to how your clients physically nourish themselves them food, we can also take a more symbolic approach. For example, we can consider how each client takes in and “digests” other things like information, content online, etc.

In fact, there’s so much to share when it comes to the Determination Variable that I’ve created an entire 50-minute lesson dedicated to it inside the Human Design for Coaches program. We also have a full masterclass on how to help your clients optimize their health and wellbeing with the tools of Human Design.

HDfC is my signature certification program for coaches. If you want to learn Human Design system, holistically interpret your clients’ charts, and confidently share your insights in a personalized and impactful way, this program is for you.

To learn more about Human Design for Coaches, click on the image below:

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Disclaimer: This post should not be taken as medical advice. If you or a client are experiencing a health or dietary issue, please consult a doctor or other medical professional.