« Why The Law of Attraction Does NOT Work For You | Home | 10 Simple Ways to NEVER Get Sick Again »
How to Get the MOST Out of Your Food
By Todd | October 1, 2007
When it comes to determining the health value of our food, we focus much of our attention on things like nutritional components, chemical make-up, and origin. Although these matters are certainly important, there are other factors to consider for healthy eating and more basic ways to get the most out of the food we eat!
Here are 5 practices you can cultivate to vastly increase how much nutrition you get from your food (or as I like to call it, your “mileage per bite”):
1. Breathe
Consuming a meal while in a stressful situation is detrimental to proper digestion. When stressed, our bodies push blood away from our digestive tract and towards the extremities (it’s the “fight or flight” mechanism built into our DNA)! Taking 5-10 deep breaths before consuming a meal relaxes the body and restores adequate blood flow to the stomach and intestines. If you have digestive issues, the simple act of breathing before a meal can do wonders.
2. Chew
Digestion begins the moment food enters the mouth, and it is imperative to chew adequately if you want to get optimal dietary value from your meals. This can mean as much as 50 times per bite; a practice, if honed, will release significantly more nutrients from your food. Furthermore, chewing activates signaling messages to the rest of the gastrointestinal system and literally prepares the digestive system for work! Again, if you experience digestion problems, try chewing…
3. Pay Attention
Most people have pay little attention to the food they are consuming…which is SUCH a shame as they are missing out on the incredible enjoyment eating can bring! Creating awareness of the food in front of you will cause you to slow down and make more space for the pleasure of the meal. Concentrate on using all your senses! When you do this, food begins to taste even better…another added benefit of paying closer attention.
4. Give Gratitude
When you are finished with a meal, take a moment and give thanks for the food you have just consumed. It is not necessary to get all spiritual, or do anything formal (but if you want to that’s OK too) just take a moment to recognize how fortunate you are to have had the satisfaction of eating a good meal. When I am through eating, I spend about 5 seconds feeling grateful for the food inside my stomach. This is a wonderful habit to form…
5. Go for a Walk
So much has been made of the fact that people in Europe (especially France) have significantly less health issues than Americans, even though the food they eat is smothered in butter and generally considered “unhealthy”. We can learn a lot from the French, and one of the first things they do after a meal is go for a walk (usually back home to take a nap)! Walking is so important to start proper digestion because 1) movement stimulates digestion and 2) it keeps the body upright allowing gravity to do its work.
In sum, there is a LOT we can do to improve our health without even going through the exhaustive process of examining food content. Breathe, chew, be aware, be thankful and go for a walk every time you eat…I guarantee you will see a huge difference!
Subscribe Free
| |||
|
Do not drink Tea and Coffee imediately after your food as this prevents absorptions of minerals from food.
Posted by: Deepak K Tibrewal on October 10th, 2007 at 4:53 amAlthough I agree with you that you should not consume a lot of “drink” during and after eating, having a little bit of tea/coffee may also help digestion a bit. I think the point is to not dilute your food with TOO much liquid…which I agree with!
Posted by: Todd on October 10th, 2007 at 8:45 amAs I age (like a good wine?), I begin to understand the ritual of “blessing our food” at mealtime:
* It’s an affirmation–a message to our bodies that to glean the best possible from this food. We are setting the intention.
* It’s a lesson in gratitude–have you read/heard about the experiment with blessing the water and seeing the crystal configurations of the molecules?
* It’s an “ask and ye shall receive” exercise–asking that the most benefit be gotten from our food–and now–with pollution poisoning our food chain, we ask for protection.
I now begin to understand the significance of the blessing our meals.
Posted by: SootheSayer on October 12th, 2007 at 8:59 pmI have to agree about going for a walk after eating. When I lived in Europe, I had to walk to purchase most of my food, and due to the smaller food storage I had, I had to do this almost every day, so not only did I walk after meals (the choices of television were very slim so walks were good entertainment) but I had to walk to obtain my food that I prepared! I also had access to a lot more freshly baked, home grown foods than I have here. I guess we take for granted our “supercenters” and convienence stores.
Also as I age I do appreciate the “thanks giving” for my food, and try to instill this in my children. I also try to get them in touch with where their food comes from. We try to go berry picking during the season, go to the farms to buy vegetables or pick them ourselves. We try to bake as much as we can and grow our own herbs. It is not easy living in the city to do but we try! I think being in touch with your food source should be one more practice for healthy eating. Start it with your kids when they are young and it will be a practice that will stay with them forever!
Posted by: Susan on October 14th, 2007 at 12:13 amThank you for some very useful tips!
Susan (Mother of 3/Mom to 5)
Wow, thank you Susan for the very thoughtful response, and I could not agree with you more regarding “being in touch” with your food source. Really good point, especially for those of us that live in a big city!
Posted by: Todd on October 14th, 2007 at 9:18 am