In today’s fast-paced world we rarely sit down and take our time over a meal. We tend to eat quickly, always in a hurry to move on to the next part of our day or evening. Rushing our meals sadly means that we aren’t getting the full nutrition value out of the food we consume. So it’s not just a case of ‘we are what we eat’ but also ‘we are also how we eat.’
Chewing – Digestion Begins in the Mouth
As a general rule, each mouthful of food should be chewed at least 15 times and up to 40 times for harder foods. Your teeth naturally grind your food while your salivary glands secrete enzymes to assist absorption. Your tongue also plays an important role in this process as it rolls your food into a bolus, ready for it to be easily swallowed.
As your food is turned into liquid before it reaches the stomach, it’s digested quicker and nutrient absorption is faster. This means that you’ll know when you’re full considerably sooner than if you didn’t chew your food properly. This is where mindful eating comes into play.
Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is one way to ensure you not only enjoy your food, but you also chew it properly. Take note of the different foods you’re putting in your mouth; enjoy the colours, textures and flavours.
The more you practice mindful eating, the more you will enjoy your food and appreciate the different flavours and textures each food has to offer. You will find that you are eating less and, as you are chewing each mouthful properly; your digestive system will be working better than it has for years.
People who eat mindfully constantly comment on how they have naturally lost weight because they are now conscious of when they are full. Before mindful eating, these converts say they just blindly finished everything that was on their plate, without a thought for the effect it was having on their bodies.