Six Tips for Sensual Eating to Improve Digestion
While what you eat can make a difference to your health, it's not just all about what you it, it's also about HOW you eat.
Research shows that between 30-40% of our digestive response to each meal is due to the Cephalic Phase Digestive Response or CPDR. CDPR means that the thought, sight and smell of food stimulates gastric secretion to prepare for digestion of food even before you have taken your first bite. This means that much of the please of eating is actually derived from the anticipation.
The brain works in such a way that it must experience this pleasure and satisfaction from the thought of of food even before eating in order to signal to your body to stimulate digestive juices
The more awareness and presence you bring to each meal, the less you'll actually eat. In contrast, the less awareness and presence you bring to each meal, the more you'll eat. When you eat too fast or absentmindedly, your brain will interpret this unsatisfying experience with hunger. So even if you've just scarfed down a huge meal, you may still feel hungry!
So here's a little secret on how to eat your food so that your body can properly digest and absorb the nutrients that you are fueling it with.
6 Tips for Sensual Eating:
1.Sight: Savor the colors of your food, the beauty of what’s come from the earth, the rain and the sun.
2. Smell: Bring the food up to your nose as if you’ve never smelled it before and inhale.
3. Touch: What’s the texture of your food? Of your utensils? Of the napkin on your lap?
4. Environment: What environment are you creating for yourself when you eat? Candles or fluorescent light? Special china or paper plates? A crystal goblet or plastic cup?
5. Texture: Chew your food about 30 times per bite and notice the texture of the food...let yourself breathe while chewing.
6. Pamper Yourself: You may be wondering who are you to pamper yourself? And I ask you: who are you NOT to pamper yourself? So buy that special ingredient to make your meal extra tasty like truffle oil to spruce up your salad or high quality dark chocolate for dessert!