Healthy Eating Habits

Experiencing the Joy of Food

We are all familiar with the saying "you are what you eat." Well as true as it is, we not only are what we eat, but how we eat. When and how we eat affects our enjoyment of the food we eat. Healthy digestion and assimilation of our food is effected by our food choices, our attitude and environment of consumption, both external and internal. Have you ever wanted a good meal and eaten a bad one, then walked away still feeling hungry? Somehow unfulfilled, even with a stomach full of food? Can you remember what you ate for dinner last night? You may have forgotten, but perhaps you didn’t notice to begin with. Bringing more attention and thought to our meals may help us to make healthier food choices, and experience the joy of our food.

The process of digestion is an involuntary function (one which we do not consciously direct) and is governed by our autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. The autonomic nervous system governs all of the involuntary functions in our body. In order to accommodate our wide variety of needs, it has two distinctly different yet interdependent sub-systems within in called the sympathetic and the parasympathetic division.

The sympathetic division is "on alert"; it is the yang or action nervous system. This division is responsible for our ‘flight or fight’ mechanisms. It becomes our dominant system when our mind sends signals to our body to mobilize it to action, in response to a perceived threat or danger, real or imagined. In our modern society it is often called into play in response to fear, excitement or anticipation. You can tell when you are sympathetic dominant when you are breathing more shallow and from higher in your chest, your pulse quickens, you have a sensation of excitement (butterflies) or ‘tension’ deep in your stomach and throughout your muscle structure. You may also be perspiring (especially your hands) even though your surroundings are not too warm, or you may feel fidgety, generally ‘hyper’ and perhaps, at times, less comfortable inside. When you are stressed, your body says run, and your digestive system shuts down.

The parasympathetic division is a more yin or nurturing nervous system. It is responsible for quite a different set of physiological responses and is called into play when we make time for rest, and relaxation. It favors assimilation, repair and regeneration and is dominant when our breathing is slower, more rhythmic and from lower in our chest and abdomen. There is a decrease in muscle tone, the abdomen is relaxed and comfortable, with no sense of tension in it.

If we are to digest our food properly and to derive full nutritional value from it we need the nurturing, parasympathetic division. How conscious are you of your state of mind and body before, during and after your meals? This awareness is important to proper digestion and health as any other aspect of your lifestyle. The following mindfulness practices help us to use our nurturing nervous system so we can better enjoy and utilize our food.

Food For Thought. Food can be a call to awareness. Are we really hungry, or are we eating for other reasons? Ask yourself "Does this food support my greater health and happiness?" More on this later.

When you sit down to eat, just eat. Sit down at the dinner table and resist your usual routine of reading the newspaper, watching television, doing homework or ‘getting into’ negative emotional discussions. If you do watch television, avoid the news or violent programming. Take time for yourself. Take time to digest your food. Remember the old adage not to go in swimming right after a meal? There are also cultural differences in the ways we eat. Picture a good meal on warm afternoon with a gentle breeze, enjoying a good conversation with friends or loved ones, and the time to digest a meal. Perhaps even taking a nap. We may need to create a culture that allows more than 30 minutes for lunch. Time to take a mini siesta. And of course we would never drive in stop and go traffic with horns blaring while stuffing a burger and fries from the local fast food restaurant. It’s difficult to be mindful of our meal while going 70 miles per hour.

An Attitude of Gratitude. Establish the habit of experiencing genuine gratitude for whatever food or beverage is before you. Have you ever been hungry? Many people in the world are. To the best of your ability, feel gratitude for the meal you are about to eat. Think of the hard work of the farmers, the rain, the sun and the life energy that went into the food. Did someone who cares enough to nurture you, (including yourself) prepare your meal? Can the way a meal is prepared affect its taste and your enjoyment of it? A meal prepared with love and care can be a sensuous experience to be savored. Allow preparation can be a joy instead of a task to be performed.  Give thanks for this wonderful gift.  If it fits, a prayer may be appropriate.

Center. Note your breathing as you reflect on your good fortune and begin focus on the breath in your abdomen, feeling your stomach relax as it rises and falls with each breath. Notice how this type of relaxed breathing feels inside.

Notice the food on your plate. Is it hot or cold? Do you see steam arising with the scent of the wonderful food you are about to eat? Notice the color, and arrangement of the food.

An easy practice for noticing is just to name the food on your plate before beginning. Expand your awareness to the table setting, the room, and the company with whom you may be sharing this meal.

Place a reasonable amount of food on your plate. Chew each bite to liquid and swallow it before you place more food in your mouth, put the silverware down between bites. Take the time to truly enjoy the taste of your meal. Notice the texture, tastes and temperature of each bite. Digestion of all food actually begins in the mouth where it is reduced to small enough particles for your digestive enzymes to get at and thereby continue the process.

Listen to your body. Allow time to digest your meal. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to say you’ve eaten enough. Notice when you are satisfied and/or when foods do not agree with you.

Drink pure water with your meals and only as necessary, between swallows of food, not with them. Excessive fluids may dilute valuable digestive enzymes, minimize chewing and therefore serve to negate salivary digestion. The most disruptive beverages are those which are alkalizing (acid neutralizing) such as milk and soda pop, as they can interfere more with digestion in the stomach. You are best to learn to satisfy your thirst between or before meals so as to minimize any possibility of interference with proper digestion.

Body Image, and our attitude to food. No discussion of enjoyment of food would be complete without examining our body image, and the way that it affects our choice of foods and nutritional status.

Mixed in with our attitude about the food we eat are the labels others or we put on ourselves. I’m too fat. I’m too thin. Too fat or too thin for whom? To the best of our abilities at the moment lets just ask, "Is my weight current weight supporting my greater health and happiness?" How does my body feel? Can I do the things that I enjoy at my current level of health and fitness?

It is well known that our beliefs about things effect their ability to influence us. For example, how well medications work or don’t work is partially influenced by the doctors and the patient’s expectations, this is called the placebo effect. In a classic study of the placebo effect, a woman suffering from severe morning sickness was given a drug with the instruction that it was very effective for her condition. The medication she was given soon relieved her nausea. It was ipecac, which is used to induce vomiting. The power of our beliefs is important not only with drugs and food but in all aspects of our lives. A person with multiple personalities demonstrates another example of how the power of our personality affects our food choices. The person in question was highly allergic to a food in one personality, even demonstrating hives, but when this same person switched to another personality the hives disappeared almost instantly. If we are dieting and eating foods we dislike or believe are not good for us how do you think they will benefit our health? Our food will nourish us if we make choices we can live with and enjoy. This may take some practice. We can learn to increase our enjoyment of some foods by acknowledging their health benefits, and developing a taste for them by preparing them with creative attention and spices. We can choose to be grateful, and acknowledge the miracle of food and enjoy it fully.

Does this meal support my greater health and happiness? Lets endeavor to put aside labels and shoulds for this meal. One meal at a time.

Are the choices I have made, consistent with my goals? Remember to give yourself a break, mindful eating habits are not formed overnight and the occasional splurge (you fill in the blank), is OK, probably even good for you. Releasing yourself from the idea that you need to be perfect. Treat yourself occasionally. This is no time to seek perfection. This is practice for a new way of eating, establishing a new habit takes time. Be mindful of the meal and enjoy yourself. It is what you are doing with this meal, at this moment that is important. A good friend of mine who works with people who have eating problems is fond of saying "I like it when you like your food." So do I and I like it when I enjoy mine too.

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