5 TIPS FOR MINDFUL EATING AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT - Toronto Functional Medicine

One area of mindfulness that we take a deep dive into during the Clean Gut Detox is cultivating a mindful and intuitive practice of eating.

MINDFULNESS IS NOT OVERRATED

Mindful and intuitive practices are mindsets that can help enhance our digestion and gut health, teach us to trust our instinctive hunger/fullness cues, not give into social pressures, and develop a healthier relationship with our body and food. Here are some things you can try:

MINDFUL EATING TIP #1:
SLOW DOWN

When you slow down when you eat, not only do you get to enjoy your food more, but it can actually prevent gas, bloating, inflammation and keep you in your parasympathetic (calm) state. Chewing your food more thoroughly gives your body the optimal time to secrete the right digestive enzymes, for our “full” signals to appear, and ultimately prevent overeating.

MINDFUL EATING TIP #2:
PRACTICE GRATITUDE

Before a meal, have you ever paused to think about what it takes to get the food on your plate? Doing this is a great way to connect with where your food comes from and become fully present while you are eating. You can think about the farmers who have grown it, the grocery store clerk who checked you out, the weather that provided growing conditions or even the soil that your food grew in.

MINDFULNESS TIP #3:
TAKE YOUR FOOD IN WITH ALL OF YOUR SENSES

Use all of your senses to experience your food. The next time you sit down for a meal, ask yourself the following questions: What is the colour of your food? What are the sounds you hear? What does the texture feel like when you chew? Are there any ingredients or flavours you can identify? Doing this can not only give you a deeper appreciation for your food but also prepare your body for digestion.

MINDFUL EATING TIP #4:
PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN

It’s hard to be present in the moment when we’re attached to this little device beeping for our attention. Having any technology in front of us with food in the mix can lead to eating too quickly, but also make us stressed (i.e. reading about current events!) which can lead us to overeat, not chew our food properly etc.
Take at least 20 minutes out of your day while eating a meal without distractions.

MINDFUL EATING TIP #5:
TAKE DEEP BREATHS

Pause before you eat and take three deep breaths. Look at your food, smell your food, be grateful that you have that food and carry that awareness as you eat. Taking deep breaths can also activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which can enhance digestion and make it easier to live in the moment!

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This article is excerpted from our weekly TMB Magazine — an exclusive subscriber only publication that is packed with all sorts of in-depth latest study breakdowns, functional medicine insights and wisdom from Dr. Bhat and her team.