Several years ago, I was doing home visits for nutrition. I spent a lot of time in my car and over-scheduled myself. Sound familiar? Multitasking became my mission as I ate my lunch, checked phone messages, and tried to actually drive in traffic between visits. Over a span of a couple of years, my digestion gradually got worse. Then, I discovered the practice of mindful eating.
What is mindful eating?
It’s easy to neglect simple things like sitting down to eat a meal. Mindful eating involves sitting and eating a meal while avoiding all distractions. When we eat mindfully, the focus is on the process of eating and really paying attention to what we are doing. Most importantly, food is chewed long enough so digestion can actually begin in the mouth.
In order to be successful with mindful eating, we need to slow down. There is no shortcut here or easy solution. It takes time to learn and lots of practice to make it a regular part of our routine.
Why does this matter?
You might be thinking that changing your style of eating can’t possibly make a difference. Let’s take a look at how stress affects the physiology of digestion to see if this is true.
- Stress impacts peristalsis, or how fast or slow the food is moving through the digestive tract. For some people, stress can increase the rate that food moves through, resulting in loose stools or diarrhea. For others, the opposite happens and they are stuck with constipation. Does this sound familiar?
- Have you ever noticed symptoms of heartburn after eating a meal too fast or when you had a lot of stress? There is a physiological explanation for this, too. There is a sphincter that connects our esophagus and stomach. When our stress levels are too high, sometimes this sphincter may spasm and not stay closed when it should.
- Too much stress can also impact how blood flows throughout the body. Instead of flowing to the organs that are waiting to digest our food, it’s sent to the brain and limbs. You may have heard the term “fight or flight response” before, which is what is being described here. It’s also known as the acute stress response.
How to practice mindful eating
Mindful eating is a great way to improve your digestion without using special diets, supplements or medications.
Since this might be something completely new for you, I recommend starting with one or two of the following suggestions for one meal each day. As the mindful eating principles become more routine, consider adding them to another meal during the day. Eventually, it will just be something you do automatically.
- When you sit down to eat, make sure there are no distractions. Turn off the TV and put away those devices that interfere with eating.
- Make sure you have enough time to eat–at least 20-30 minutes.
- Plan to chew each bite of food at least 30-50 times before swallowing. This might take a little practice.
- Reflect on how you feel during the meal and then again later in the day. Did you notice any change in how you digested your meal? If you normally have digestive symptoms, was there any change?
If you want more ideas for using mindful eating, take a look at this brochure from the Center for Mindful Eating.
The information included in this article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider before altering your diet, starting any new treatment, or making changes to existing treatment.
References
Acid Reflux in Adults. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH) website. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/acid-reflux-ger-gerd-adults. Accessed April 29, 2017.
Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology December 2011; 62(6): 591-9.
The principles of mindful eating. The Center for Mindful Eating website. http://tcme.org/principles.htm. Accessed April 28, 2017.