Food, Your Wallet, and Your Waistline, Part I
Dr. Jorge Kaufmann, ND, L.Ac.
A health tip to help your pocketbook... and your waistline... and your heart, your stress levels, your immune function, your sleep, and your energy...
The bottom line with food is this: we eat so that our cells can do what they are meant to do to keep us healthy. There are two things that affect this bottom line: how we eat and what we eat. Part I of this article focuses on the how.
The process of getting food energy to our cells is a bit more complicated than the mechanics of swallowing; it is a specialized process that requires the coordination of not just all of our digestive organs, but also cardiovascular, hormonal, and immune systems. It is an orchestra that necessitates a maestro. The maestro in this case is our nervous system and just as with any orchestra the music produced depends upon the quality of the sheet music (food) and the focus and intention of the conductor (you!).
In order to prepare your inner maestro you need to shift gears from activity mode to rest and digest mode. This involves a shift coordinated by your nervous system in response to the environment it is interpreting. Practically speaking, it means that if your mental focus is on things other than the food you are about to take in your nervous system can't make the necessary shift.
To train a world-class digestive maestro and get the most out of your food consider this:
- Preparation:
- The digestive process begins before you put food in your mouth with the smell and sight of food; this pre-meal time is equivalent to tuning an instrument before playing it. Drive-thrus, microwaveable dinners, take out, even cafeterias can prevent creating the most welcoming environment for your food. Prepare your own meals and make sure you use fresh aromatic herbs to simulate your senses.
- Transition:
- No matter what was on your mind before eating, smile and take 5 deep abdominal breaths before the first bite goes in— this will help tremendously to switch you out of work mode into a rest and digest symphony.
- Ingestion:
- The second phase of digestion begins in the mouth chewing. Not chewing thoroughly is like skipping random notes on the sheet music. Chew each bite until it is almost liquid; start with 31 chews per bite to best prepare the food for step 3 in the process... the stomach. Also, take a look at your pets; do they ever eat and drink at the same time? If you save your beverage intake for before or after meals you will chew more and create more saliva to facilitate swallowing and digestion— this is huge!
- Digestion:
- Focusing on things other than the food in front of you keep your nervous system on a state of alert, inhibiting your ability to rest and digest. TV, computer, cell phone, texting, working at your desk, studying, driving!... all of these should be avoided while you eat.
If you incorporate these simple, yet profound changes, you will get more nutrition out of each bite, decreasing the amount of food that you need to eat in order to feel your best. Less food equals less calories and a great decrease on the overall stress put on your body. Less food also means the potential for a smaller grocery bill. If you look at this list and need to change a lot of habits, start with just one until it becomes second nature... then go on to another.
