Mindful Eating and Its Importance

The term mindfulness is often used commonly in our everyday lives; however, the meaning is much deeper than many are aware of. Mindfulness is when an individual pays full attention to the present moment. (1) The practice of mindfulness has also gained popularity over the past few years due to its awareness and how it allows individuals to pay more attention to themselves. A method that has emerged from this practice is known as Mindful eating. It is often recommended to encourage individuals to understand what goes in their bodies with every meal.

What is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating is a practice where an individual pays complete attention to what they are consuming in their diet and how every bite of that food makes them feel. Unlike other eating practices, Mindful eating is not as concerned with the calories or components of the food like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Instead, mindful eating aims to savor every bite of the food and promote a complete eating experience. However, even though losing weight and counting calories of every food item is not often the aim of Mindful eating, when individuals are entirely aware of the food they are eating, they tend to shift towards healthier options and lose weight. (2)

Studies have shown that those who undergo mindful eating may manage eating disorders and unhealthy eating habits, including binge eating, emotional eating, external eating, unhealthy cravings, constantly being aware of hunger, and increased food intake and fatty food choices.

What Makes Mindful Eating Unique?

As discussed previously, Mindful eating is not like any other eating practice. This is because it is more focused on the process of eating itself rather than the outcome it will have. It is more concerned with the moment-to-moment experience of the individual as they consume their diet. Hence an individual who undergoes mindful eating is more focused on how every bite of the food makes them feel rather than being concerned with the restriction of its intake. So when an individual focuses on their experiences, they often savor each bite, eat slowly and select the foods that may make the body feel good.

How to Practice Mindful Eating?

To start practicing mindful eating, the individual can follow the recommendations below that experts often suggest helping them get into the practice much more efficiently.

·     Turn off all your electronic devices or put them on silent mode before starting the meal.

·     Start by taking deep breaths. These breaths should be deep enough to be felt in the muscles at the bottom of your ribs.

·     Once you start your meal, spend at least 20 minutes eating. You may do this by setting the time on a stopwatch.

·     You may initially start by consuming a small portion of your plate, which will allow you to not feel obliged to finish it all.

·     Each bite should be small, and once it's in the mouth, it should be savored. You may do this by chewing slowly and allowing your body to appreciate the food going into it.

·     As you take a bite, make sure to take your time and analyses your senses. This can be dined by seeing the food, its texture, color, smells, temperature, and how it makes you feel. This may also include the sound every bite of food makes in your ears and the tongue and jaw sensations as they move to help chew the food.

·     An essential stage of mindful eating is constantly assessing your satiety levels. You can do this by evaluating whether you still feel hungry or not? This evaluation will better understand your body signals and prevent overeating.

Benefits of Mindful Eating

The commonly known benefits of Mindful Eating, which has made it so popular amongst diet-conscious individuals today, include Weight Loss, Mental Health Improvement, and promotion of digestion.

Weight Loss

Since Mindful eating involves a slow consumption of food, the individual is usually more aware of when they are no longer hungry. At these points, they can stop eating. This ability of the eating practice to prevent overeating initially leads to weight loss and regulation of body weight. (3)

Promotion of Mental Health

Experts believe that Mindful eating can positively affect an individual's mental health. It does this by preventing symptoms of stress and anxiety, which are often linked to a stress hormone known as cortisol. High levels of cortisol lead to a fight or flight state in the body, which may act as a triggering factor for individuals who suffer from anxiety. By reducing these cortisol levels, Mindful eating can positively affect one's mental health. (4) Other studies have also shown it to be effective in preventing depression. (5)

Promotion of Digestion

Another popular benefit of Mindful eating is that it promotes digestion. It does this by lowering the stress levels, preventing overeating, and slowing the consumption of meals – all of which allow the body to carry out the process of digestion much more efficiently. (6) The reduced stress levels may allow it to be effective for disorders of the GI tract with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

References:

1.    Nakamura T, Akamatsu R, Yoshiike N. Mindful Eating Proficiency and Healthy Eating Literacy among Japanese Mothers: Associations with Their Own and Their Children's Eating Behavior. Nutrients. 2021;13(12):4439. Published 2021 Dec 11. doi:10.3390/nu13124439

2.    Dunn C, Haubenreiser M, Johnson M, et al. Mindfulness Approaches and Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, and Weight Regain. Curr Obes Rep. 2018;7(1):37-49. doi:10.1007/s13679-018-0299-6

3.    Mantzios M, Wilson JC. Mindfulness, Eating Behaviours, and Obesity: A Review and Reflection on Current Findings. Curr Obes Rep. 2015;4(1):141-146. doi:10.1007/s13679-014-0131-x

4.    Sanada K, Montero-Marin J, Alda Díez M, et al. Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Salivary Cortisol in Healthy Adults: A Meta-Analytical Review. Front Physiol. 2016;7:471. Published 2016 Oct 19. doi:10.3389/fphys.2016.00471

5.    Winkens LHH, van Strien T, Brouwer IA, Penninx BWJH, Visser M. Mindful eating and change in depressive symptoms: Mediation by psychological eating styles. Appetite. 2019;133:204-211. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2018.11.009

6.    Cherpak CE. Mindful Eating: A Review Of How The Stress-Digestion-Mindfulness Triad May Modulate And Improve Gastrointestinal And Digestive Function. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2019;18(4):48-53.