Mindful or mindless eater?
It is important to be mindful when consuming your meals in order to properly digest, absorb and metabolise your food so our bodies can extract beneficial nutrients and convert this into energy for our cells various vital functions. It will also allow your body to tell you when you are full to avoid over eating. I believe these are some simple and compliant actions we can use at each meal to benefit our health and reduce symptoms such as bloating and digestive upset.
The top tips include:
Do not eat when stressed or on the run, you’ll be in a sympathetic state and will not digest or absorb food properly. Activating your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest mode) and reducing the effects of the sympathetic state (fight or flight mode) will reduce the stress on your digestive tract and hence help you to digest food correctly. Instead, tune in and observe your emotions and physical responses. If you feel stressed or on the move, opt for a wholesome, nutritionally dense soup or smoothie. This will be a ‘lower load’ on your body in order to extract nutrients for energy e.g. you’ve helped your stomach break down the food and your small intestine to absorb nutrients which will be passed into the bloodstream to be transported to cells for utilisation. When you can then be in a space where you are present, seated, calm and relaxed, you are more likely to benefit from the consumption of solid foods.
Chew your food properly (10-20 times per mouthful). The mouth is the beginning of our digestive system whereby we chew, stimulate taste buds and swallow. Mechanical digestion using our teeth and salivary glands which produce saliva to moisten foods begin the digestive process, breaking down the food into smaller particles which makes it easier on the small intestine to extract nutrients.
Do not drink too much liquid before consuming a meal (e.g. a large glass of water just before eating or while eating) to avoid dilution of your meal which will lessen the amount of enzymes to help break down the food. If you have symptoms of bloating or fullness during or after your meal, indigestion, belching or you feel like food is sitting in your stomach hours after eating, you may have hypoacidity (low stomach acid). You could boost this by adding some fermented vegetables (kim chi, sauerkraut, kefir), apple cider vinegar (ACV) dressing or lemon juice to your meals to boost the hydrochloric acid and enzymes to break down your food properly. You could also add some apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon) to your water bottle and sip throughout the day. *Diluting ACV is recommended as undiluted ACV can weaken the enamel on your teeth and cause esophageal burns.
Sit down on the table without a phone, laptop, TV or any other tech devices to avoid distraction and overeating. Giving your full attention to your meal rather than television will increase your awareness and focus on your senses (sight, smell, taste), which will increase enjoyment and satiety. Further, it may allow you to be more in touch about how you feel after eating. You may observe that some foods make you feel satiated or energised while others make you feel sluggish or bloated. Lastly, enjoying a meal with friends or family will allow you to converse and hence, eat your meal slower. This will allow time for the satiety hormone, Leptin, to kick in and send a signal to the hypothalamus in the brain that you are full.
Take at least 3 deep belly breaths before beginning your meal as it will activate the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing for adequate digestion.