EATING TECHNIQUES

This is one of the most important aspects to consider with regards to diet and nutrition. All of us need to get the best output of our food intake. And as discussed in the previous chapters we need to understand what is best suited for our health and nutrition and accordingly plan what we consume. Some foods could have negative impacts on our body. And just like what we eat, how we eat matters a lot.

Someone once said that eating our food is an art or a framework with multiple elements that influence how our body process and absorb what we eat. Most people fail to make changes to their diet and even if they make the changes, they are unable to make it a consistent practise. Some people like junk food like pizzas, burgars, shawarma, etc. while some maintain certain eating disciplines due to several personal reasons which vary from person to person.

But scientists believe that there is no food which can be categorized as good or bad. One food which is good for one might be bad for the other & vice versa. But still, as discussed, we need to understand clearly what best suits us. This will help us feel energetic, active & healthy.

Now, I would like to draw your attention to one very important technique namely chewing. All of us set ourselves for breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. And we put the food in our mouth and start chewing instead of swallowing. But there are 3 different types of chewers namely the fast eaters, moderate eaters & the slow eaters. Fast eaters who swallow food quickly with very little or no chewing. Moderate eaters chew food properly and then swallow the food while slow eaters, chew too slowly and then swallow the food.

What most of us fail to understand is that if a person eats very fast, their stomach is more often strained. The food that should have been chewed into smaller particles moves directly into the intestine, and now its left to the soft intestine to grind this. When our stomach has to digest larger chunks of food, the undigested bits remains it for much longer. The human body would has to secrete more enzymes to digest this. This leads to a highly acidic stomach. This creates fatigue & lethargy in a person. Doctors have cautioned that undigested food creates toxins in our system and is the primary cause of indigestion, migraine & heaviness. The other important thing to note is that sleep or rest is very important for the human body. And it’s to be noted that those who eat very fast tend to poor sleeping habits.

Similarly, it’s not advisable to eat slowly either as the digestive systems of those who eat slowly has to work extra hard just like the cows, as the food becomes cold by the time it reaches the stomach. Slow eating is not healthy eating. And most people eat slowly while they are doing something else in the background like watching television, or working on the computer, or playing, etc. Thus chewing is a very important step towards healthy eating. Chewing helps in faster digestion & assimilation of more nutrients.  

When we chew the food, our salivary enzymes get mixed with the food & the more we chew, the more salivary enzymes get mixed. When this enzymes rich food goes into our stomach, this in turn helps our system to process this food effortlessly. This further helps in balancing the acid levels in our body and our body is toxin free.

Now, the 1 thing I had ignored previously is the fact that a healthy & nutritious diet is also costly. And such atleast 80% of the world’s population cannot afford a consistent - nutritious & healthy diet. That being the case, the best thing all of us can do irrespective of the diet pattern we follow is to properly chew the food we eat until it is easily digestible. We have to chew each mouthful of food atleast 25-30 times & thereafter only we should swallow the food entirely. So, we shouldn’t chew any lesser or more or else that is again an unhealthy way of eating as mentioned previously. This would start having a very positive impact on your health.

Now, Cautious eating or conscious eating is another very important aspect of eating. We should be conscious of what we are eating and how we are eating. And that we are not eating any junk food just for the sake of eating. Also, we should ensure that we are not occupied with something else like watching television, or working, etc. We should also refrain from talking while eating our food. If we are focused, tension free, peaceful & happy while eating our food, that enhances the benefits of the food we eat. This is because people who are in such a state of mind mostly do not have any digestion issues. Such people are fit and healthy as is their positive nature. So, we should ensure that we follow these techniques of eating so that we lead a healthy lifestyle.

- by James J.