Mindful eating
As we progress in mindful living, we gain more sensitivity, awareness, and understanding of our bodies. We want to take care of it daily, finding and incorporating what keeps us in good balance. How could the aspect of nutrition be missing?
Nutrition, in the balance of health, as we know very well, plays a significant role. The aspect of mindfulness with food extends beyond our behavior and dietary habits. Our relationship with food starts from the moment we think about and plan our next meal. How, what, from where, and how much of it we choose, creates a set of mindful choices.
Gaining more connection with our food
In our increasingly deeper understanding of the complexity of our nature, we know that the approaches of the previous generation, with punishment, restriction, and oppression, do not have a positive impact on a sustainable and balanced relationship with food. Instead, they create a harmful relationship with self-image, as a patriarchal construct with specific consumer standards, rather than humans who have lost touch with their bodies.
Powders and supplements, claiming that the earth has lost its nutritional power, while the chain starts from the alteration of seeds and the use of chemicals and hormones to improve the appearance of foods, while simultaneously losing their aroma and taste. With research primarily conducted on a healthy young male population, and with statistics of daily intake of certain trace elements that do not correspond to nature, but to the laboratory.
Mass media always want to create and cultivate trends. In the current period, there is more talk about mindful eating and a healthier relationship with food, the perception of self-image, reducing comparison, and dedication to self-improvement. We can take the positives and reflect individually, to see what and how we want to experience our bodies.
The Importance of Whole Foods
It’s not just about categorizing food as good or bad, but applying and understanding the uniqueness of each individual’s daily needs.
Of course, we know that less processed foods are more nutritious. In Europe and the Mediterranean, fortunately, we have a great tradition of fresh fruits and vegetables. We have the memory of live food. We know that something that comes in a box, processed, with preservatives, flavor enhancers, and other chemicals, does not meet the body’s needs.
With mindful and whole food nutrition, there is variety in flavors, which follow the seasons, and this cultivates a more adaptable microbiome. The importance of the microbiome has now begun to be discussed more openly in the general public, and how the balance in gut flora affects our mental health.
No flavor is inherently bad or good. It’s the conscious use, the thought behind it, the quantity, the quality, and the frequency.
Connection with the Body
Mindful eating begins with a connection to the body. A mindful connection to the stomach, to the signs of hunger and fullness. Then, this connection evolves into what is nourishing for my body today, what it needs, and with which flavors it will feel nourished.
All senses play a role in a meal, so we need to incorporate activities into our daily lives that cleanse and harmonize our senses, which constantly receive stimuli.
We integrate all flavors into our lives, in balance. To achieve completeness, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), in a meal we want the 5 colors (red, yellow, white, black, green) and the 5 tastes (bitter, sweet, spicy, salty, sour). Thus, we have a balance of the five elements and the taste becomes umami.
In any case, when we see that we tend towards only one taste and exclude the others, some pathology may be implied. For example, a very common phenomenon is people who love spicy foods very much, to also manifest a pathology of the element of fire.
Everything plays a role
In the journey of mindfulness, we are interested in the season and the place of origin. We are interested in combining natural and new flavors and things that suit us. We are interested in harmonizing all the beings produced (plants,seeds,animals,animal products), the people who cultivate them, the supply chain, in short… everything.
There is increasingly more talk about fair trade, about the direct supply of goods from producers, bypassing intermediaries…
Of course, everyone does what they can and what is appropriate for them. The important part is to be aware. Aware of the whole chain, of our choices, and how our choices affect the chain back.
Daily Habits
Let’s take a look at some other things that concern our behavior regarding our nourishment. If we find ourselves seeking a specific taste to satisfy an emotion, if we find ourselves eating hurriedly or on the go, if we have changes in behavior with food during weekdays and weekends…
These are some of the indications that we need to explore our behavior and our relationship with our food more.
Apart from “what,” “how I eat” is also very important. If I dedicate the time required with the necessary chewing, or if it becomes a hurried habit, if I have a connection with my stomach and the feeling of fullness.
All these are examples that indicate our personal relationship with food. Each of us is unique and needs to cleanse and redefine anything that does not suit them