Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is a way of eating that is healthier for your digestion. This is not woo woo stuff it is a fact that if you are running around and stressed out, doing other things then you will slow your digestion down and can end up having a lot of bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and other digestive upsets.

Mindful eating encompasses how you eat, why you eat, how much you eat and the awareness you experience as you eat.

This practice involves being fully present at every meal. Ok, you should probably start with at least one meal in your day. I know how overwhelming it can be to change your whole routine.

You should be listening and paying close attention to your internal cues. We have them, we all do. It has been conditioned out of us NOT to listen to what is going on with our bodies and to listen to what others say we should be feeling.

Those internal cues are hunger and fullness and cues outside our bodies such as aromas and advertisements. They all influence our decisions. Mindful eating encourages gratitude for the food you are eating, which can really improve the whole experience of eating

You can try to be mindful by putting some of these practices to use.

• Turning off electronics while eating

• Expressing gratitude for your food

• Being in a caring and loving mood while preparing your meals

• Engaging all of your senses when eating, taking the time to note the smell, colors and taste of your food

• Slow down your eating. Chew your food fully and putting your utensils down between each bite to fully be present

• Make mindful food choices that really support the health goals you set out for yourself.

Mindful eating makes it so that you are more aware of what your body is telling you and puts emphasis on your gratefulness for the food you are eating. You will start to understand how you are feeling in a much better way. You will notice that you are feeling better and also notice what is really giving you problems by paying more attention.

This can help you overcome unsupportive behaviors such as:

• Emotional eating

• Eating too much

• Distracted eating

• Rushed eating

• Automatic eating

• Eating unhealthy foods

How you feel has a direct impact on your digestion. There is this system called the gut-brain axis (GBA). It carries messages between your gut and your brain. This means when you are stressed or are feeling heightened emotions your digestive system gets “shut down” messages from your brain. This is because you are in a fight or flight mode and when this happens your body wants the energy to go out to your arms and legs so you can run or defend yourself. Your digestion takes a back seat in this mode.

If you are stressed and distracted you can end up having,

• Bloating

• gas

• abdominal pain

• leaky gut

• constipations

• diarrhea

• gut dysbiosis

• increased inflammation

When you are calm and fully engaged your body is in the rest and digest mode and things will be much better. Which in turn you will find,

• More complete nutrient absorption

• decreased digestive issues

• increased digestive comfort

• improved gut health

• efficient weight management

• A more satisfying eating experience.

Give it a try. The more you do this, the more power you will have to overcome any digestive issues that may arise.