When we experience the stress of city life, family problems, social problems, or work stress, most of us seek comfort in food. However, after a while, weight problems start to appear. At this point, the method we call mindful eating comes into play. Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is happening in the present moment, recognizing the quality of that attention, and accepting all that is noticed without haste. Similarly, mindful eating involves focusing all our attention on food, and it’s one of the most effective ways to support digestion and manage appetite.
What is mindful eating
Mindful eating is our awareness of our relationship with food. Mindful eating is not a diet method. Mindful eating is not concerned with calorie restriction or nutrition tracking; mindful eating is simply about how we eat. Still, when we adapt it to our lives, it gives valuable results as successful diets. It allows us to distinguish whether we are eating out of actual hunger or eating to satisfy our emotional needs.
We may have cruel judgments about how we should look, what we should wear, how much we should weigh, what we should eat. These judgmental thoughts are often painful and may not be accurate. Recognizing and accepting all of our critical beliefs about ourselves is the first step to mindfulness. This awareness also applies to foods.
How does mindful eating affect digestion
The stress-digestion-awareness triad is fundamental in digestive function. Mindfulness practices are effective strategies for reducing the burden on people suffering from a digestive disease. One of the most critical components of digestion is in your mouth because that’s where digestion really begins. This is because amylase, a digestive enzyme, is produced in your mouth and initiates the digestion of carbohydrates. Another reason is that your teeth break food into small pieces so the enzymes in your digestive system can break it down better.
Therefore, poor chewing can cause digestive issues such as indigestion and stomach gas. It can also indirectly cause you to gain weight as you do not allow enough time for your brain to realize that you are full. Studies have also shown that poor chewing is linked to reduced nutrient absorption. Eating slowly, chewing carefully, and being mindful of your food provide a comfortable state for your body and mind. It potentially helps prevent common digestive issues such as indigestion, bloating, and gas.
Can we control our appetite with mindful eating
Eating awareness enables the person to recognize the types of hunger. It is aimed to teach nutrition according to cellular hunger rather than sensory (hedonic) and emotional hunger. Cellular hunger, signaled by the hypothalamus, plays a primary role in regulating energy intake and is a state of physical hunger.
Cellular hunger can be distinguished from emotional and hedonic signals. Recognition of cellular hunger and changes in food consumption effectively control body weight by reducing energy intake. Regulating food intake and body weight, and the pleasure of another kind of hunger affects the brain centers associated with winning and sensory hunger. In addition to the interaction between taste and hunger, perceived pleasure and the response to food can also indirectly regulate appetite control by affecting the choice of foods.
Emotional appetite is a state of hunger that occurs in response to emotional triggers, even when satiation is achieved. Emotional appetite affects our perceived need to eat. People who feed on their emotions may find it challenging to distinguish between emotional and physical hunger. Emotions such as stress, anxiety, depression, anger, and anger that cause emotional eating often increase food consumption and disrupt eating habits. Studies have shown that people with high emotional appetites are more likely to be overweight and obese. Their body weight is more challenging to manage than those with low emotional appetites. You can tackle emotional eating habits with simple mindful eating habits.
Basic mindful eating tips
When you feel the need to eat, do not start eating immediately. First, determine if you are actually hungry. If you are physically hungry, think about healthy food like broccoli and see if you’re really hungry. If you’re craving some specific food instead, you’re very likely to have an emotional appetite. However, if you realize that you are not physically hungry but still want to eat something, simply distract your mind from food.
We should avoid eating alone and at random times. Knowing the places to eat and the mealtime regulates the mood and sleep patterns. Also, eating with other people helps you slow down and enjoy food more.
Even if you are hungry, stay away from external factors that will distract you while eating (such as phone, television, computer). Let the focus be on the food on your plate.
Feeding our eyes is as important as filling our stomachs. Choose small plates and cut your plate into small bites. Chew your bites slowly and try to savor each bite you eat. We know that the saturation signal to the brain goes away after 20 minutes. When we eat slowly and deliberately, we will not eat more than we need. Thus, unnecessary calorie intake will be minimized.
In short, the event we call mindful eating is to experience the awareness of what we eat, how we eat, when we eat, and how much we eat by feeling the food with our 5 senses. Identifying the signals our body sends us correctly is learning not to perceive every signal as hunger.
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