How to Eat ? Tips for Healthy Digestion

Healthy digestion is the key to good health. How to eat is as important as what we eat.  To build a resilient digestive system it is also important to improve how we eat. Absorption of energy from the food we eat strongly depends on the vibrations with which we eat and the power of our stomach to finely blend it.

To Promote Healthy Digestion

Don’t Rush through food

Relish your food. As our eyes see food, and our nose smells the aroma, the mouth starts to produce saliva. Saliva is full of important enzymes needed for the breakdown of food. Along with that, here is where the majority of chewing takes place to make the food small enough to swallow and assimilate with the enzymes.

Feel Grateful for your Food

When food is presented in front of you, first appreciate and be thankful for it. Food is comprised of elements that will be assimilated into our body as tissues, blood, organs, as well as our subtler energy, the mind. That is why we say that you are what you eat. Food is grace. A healthy state of mind while eating will bring postivity, which will promote healthy  digestion and absorption that is nourishing to the body.

Eat in a Conducive Environment

Find a nice, tranquil and peaceful environment to eat your meals. Dining table is usually a restful place to have your meal. Sitting in front of the television, or eating while standing and multi-tasking while eating sends distracting vibrations. This brings undue stress to what is meant to be a peaceful act. Mindfulness keeps us conscious.of how much we eat and helps checks body weight.

Eat at a Slow and Steady Pace

Relish your food, instead of gulping it down like a smoothie. Eat slowly, with a calm and serene mind. Take adequate time. The feeling that you keep at the time of eating is how the body will respond to the food. It takes twenty minutes for the signal to reach the brain. When you think you need the extra serving, wait for 15 to 20 minutes before going for it.

Chew your Food Nicely

Our digestion begins in the mouth. If we use it well, the breakdown is less taxing for the rest of the process. Good chewing ensures mixes the food well with the digestive enzymes in the saliva, and the churning makes it easier for next step in the stomach. Don’t drink too many liquids while eating. We all feel the urge to flush down our food with some water or other drinks, but this dilutes the stomach acid, which is vital for the dissemination of the food. You can take a few sips of water with your meal, but it is best to wait at least one to two hours after a meal to consume water (or consume water half an hour before your meal).

Eat Less feel more Energetic

Eating more weighs us down physically, leading to a mental slow down. Our body needs less calorie dense food and more nutrient dense food. We end up eating more to make up for dip in our energy. A lot of the body’s energy is used to digest the food so the more you eat, the more your body is heavily taxed with burning it. For healthy digestion eat till you’re eighty percent satiated.

Good food, along with good eating habits, will help you feel rejuvenated both physically and mentally. Be grateful to God for providing for us always. The Bhagavad Gita says that “He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.” Food should be thy medicine, and medicine thy food. Prepare food with love. Eat it with even more love. Serve it with the most love.

Contact Jagadguru Kripalu Yoga & Naturopathy Hospital for lifestyle consultation.

by Pragya Sinha