How many times have you gobbled your breakfast to reach office or school or college at time? And we assure ourselves “At least, I had something in the morning” even though it was eaten hurriedly by you without noticing taste, smell and texture of the food. Eating a bowl of cereals or drinking a glass of milk becomes a formality.
In this article, we will discuss benefits of slow eating.
Oftentimes, we rush with our meal to reach office or college within time, attend an event, or receive a call or to just watch our favourite TV show. Yes, we completely understand that these activities are important and must be highly prioritized. But eating food hurriedly without noticing its importance does not justify the initial action. While eating, one must reflect on what he or she is eating.
Go back to your childhood days when you were taught to chew the food properly. Have we forgotten our eating manners and method? We need to rehash and relearn what we were taught in the school.
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But these days, we have more number of significant tasks in a short span of 24 hours a day. We have to run for the office, submit a report quickly or attend a meeting sharp at scheduled time. Thus gobbling, gulping and swallowing of food leads to problems such as pains, irritable bowel syndrome, etc. When we eat hurriedly or when we skip meals, our metabolism rate reduces drastically causing illness in the future. Additionally, it also adds weight on our body and we look bulky. We feel that we are eating the right foods. But we don’t know that we are eating them in the wrong way.
Rules While Eating Food
We need to incorporate certain rules while eating. Let us go through these.
- Always eat in silence. Do not talk loudly or chatter around.
- You also need to keep your mind in silence. Our mind itself is a battleground that deals with positive and negative thoughts all the day. Hence, calming down your mind before eating is equally essential.
- Do not talk on the phone while having lunch or dinner or breakfast. Keep your mobile phones on silent mode.
- Do not walk away from the food or carry food plate and walk all over the place. You need to find a silent place and eat food properly.
- Meal timings must be followed strictly.
- Do not skip meals despite the busy schedule.
- Do not surf or check messages on the phone while eating. Your mind will get diverted from food to your friends’ chats.
- Do not watch TV or a computer screen while eating. Many people have a habit of eating dinner while watching their favourite TV program or a daily soap. Keep aside your TV schedules and do not let it interfere with your meal timings. Nowadays, we can watch our TV programs again on various apps. Make advantage of the new technology wisely.
- Some families treat the meal timings as meetings for discussing important matters or for exchanging daily happenings. Do not save time by adopting this strategy. Try to keep aside your family chat time from the actual meal timings. It is advisable not to discuss important matters during lunch or dinner as it creates chaos. You should not have a tensed mind while eating. Of course, you can definitely appreciate food and thank for serving a delicious meal!
- Meal time is an important daily ritual. Your body is receiving nutrients from the various foodstuffs comprised on the plate. Apart from weight loss, eating slowly will help you in maintaining overall health of yourself and your family members.
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Eating Food – Chewing Food
In order to lose pounds, the first step you need to implement while eating food is to chew the food properly. Chewing will help in digestion process and also aid in weight loss.
When we chew food, en enzyme known as ptyalin is secreted by the mouth. This enzyme must get mixed with the food. During this process, sugars, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are broken down for absorbing into the system. Moreover, the saliva also gets mixed with the food for proper digestion. In case you are not chewing your food properly, then you feel bloated and puffed up. Chewing ensures proper digestion of food and lightness to the body. So, chewing the food is essential for losing your weight.
Benefits of Slow Eating
1. Aids in Weight Loss
The first advantage that we are studying is assistance in weight loss. When we chew food, we have to eat slowly. Our brain takes considerable time to understand that the stomach is full. Hence, when we eat fast, our brain does not receive any signal that the stomach is full and we keep on munching food. On the other hand, when we eat slowly, we stop immediately when the brain receives a signal.
2. Proper Digestion of Food
Chewing of food makes the digestion process simpler and effective. The digestion process doesn’t start when food reaches the stomach. It actually starts when the food enters the mouth. Mouth releases an enzyme known as ptyalin that mixes with the food. It facilitates breaking down of food into nutrients, minerals and sugar for getting absorbed into the system. Hence, you have to chew properly when the food is at the mouth stage.
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3. Relishing Your Food
You are not punished for eating your food. In fact, you need to thank Mother Nature for bestowing us with valuable nutrients in the form of different foodstuffs. Can you enjoy your food by watching TV, or checking messages or talking with your family members? You need to have a peaceful mind while eating food. You should observe and appreciate the taste, aroma and texture of the food. Enjoy every bite and chew it properly to gain benefits of slow eating.
4. De-Stressor
When you eat hurriedly, you are just thinking about the next task or project to be done and not about the food. Eating food just becomes your monotonous daily regime that you need to adhere to keep your body fit. But will your body be healthy when you gulp down the food without thinking about the nutrition in it? Absolutely not. You are completely stressed out with life and the next task in hand. But when you eat slowly, the stress is not present at all. All you think is about the meal time and the food on plate and can take benefits of slow eating.
5. Family Time
Having meals together with your family or office colleague is a good time. A dining table becomes a family get-together place on a daily basis. The relationships between the family members are enhanced. However, do not indulge in unnecessary gossips or talks that will divert your attention from food. Just have fun and take benefits of slow eating while eating with the people.
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6. A Basic Necessity
Remember, food is one of the primary necessities of life. Hence, you are not wasting your time when you are eating it. In fact, you are respecting food and your body.
Thus, eating food slowly is extremely beneficial for digestion process, weight loss and overall health of a person. It is time to re-implement the teachings received during our school days and benefits of slow eating out of the practice. The habit of eating food slowly must be practiced by kids and adults alike.
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