Let Food be Thy Medicine: The importance of mindful eating

What is needed to sustain life?  Oxygen, water and food, glorious food!  Yet, not enough importance is given to the act of nourishing our bodies.  We scarf down fast food in our cars, graze while standing in the kitchen, or text while sitting in a restaurant.

Some of us have a contentious relationship with food. It can evoke feelings of guilt and inadequacy.  It can reflect our attitude about our environment and ourselves.  I expect more books are written about food than almost any other subject, but you’ll have to Google that for yourselves.

Mindful eating is big business these days and there is so much information about it that it will make your head spin.  There is at least one entire website devoted to mindful eating (thecenterformindfuleating.org) and entire shelves full of books on the subject.  Mindful eating can change your relationship with food, improving your well-being and overall health.  Food is so central to our survival, it should be enjoyed, cherished and respected.

If we eat while we are distracted, we deprive ourselves of the joy of eating.  And how do you know if you are eating in a mindful matter?  Just recall your last meal.  Can you describe it in detail – the texture, the flavor, the smell?  When you eat mindfully, you use all your senses.  You are able to taste your food more and recognize when you’ve had enough. It creates compassion for our environment and helps you to become aware of the thoughts and feelings you have surrounding food.  When we are aware of the process of eating, we might notice that we are satisfied with much less food.  Eating is often times in response to a particular feeling we have – boredom, stress, sadness – and mindful eating may answer the question of what we are truly hungering for.

Before we talk about the specifics of mindful eating, it’s important to set the stage.  Always try to sit down at a table to eat, being sure to clear any clutter that may be on the table, and do this even if you are eating alone.  Use a place setting that appeals to you.  Be sure to avoid multitasking – turn off or at lease mute your devices and don’t even read.

Now let’s get on to the main event.  So let’s start with a wonderfully, naturally sweet food, say an apple. Why an apple?  Because it’s a party for your senses!  Nothing compares to the taste, feel, smell, sight or sound, of a fresh ripe apple. Plus it’s what’s in season right now!  Just like meditation, you really need to experience mindful eating for it to make much sense. Reading about how something tastes is so different from actually putting it in your mouth and having the experience.  The whole idea here is to eat it as if it’s the first apple you’ve ever tasted…and the last apple you’ll ever have the chance to taste…savor it!

Here a few simple steps for your first foray into mindful eating.

1. Before you pick up the apple take a couple of deep belly breaths, just to allow the body and mind to settle a little. Mentally leave behind whatever you’re doing for a moment or two.
2. Take a moment to appreciate the apple. Think of all the things that went into bringing it to you today.  Where has it come from? What’s gone into growing it? Try and imagine it in it’s natural growing environment and even the types of people who might have contributed to it’s growth. Think about how the sun has warmed the soil it grows in and how it nourishes the plant itself.  Picture the farmers and field workers tending to the plants.  Then picture the workers picking the fruit, the truck drivers who deliver it and the grocery store clerks putting it in the produce bins all making it available to you.  Thich Nhat Hanh says it best – “Each bite contains the life of the sun and the earth … eating in mindfulness can bring us much happiness.”
3. Before you begin to eat it, pause to notice if there’s a feeling of impatience, of just wanting to eat it as quickly as possible. Notice your feeling around the eating of the apple.
4. Pick up the apple.  
5. Now take some time to explore it with your eyes, nose and hands. Look at it closely, smell it carefully and then touch it to see how it feels.
6. By now you’ll be more than ready to taste it. Take a small bite, but try to resist chewing the apple. Just let roll around in your mouth, savoring the taste. Notice how it feels in the mouth, the temperature and the texture.
7. Now take another small bite, and this time chew it.  Notice the differences in taste, texture, sound, etc when you chew.
8. Finally take another bite and enjoy it in any way you want.

When walking, walk.  When eating, eat.
~Zen Proverb