1. Eat in a Quiet, Settled Atmosphere.
A quiet, settled atmosphere promotes ideal digestion. Dividing your eating time by watching TV, reading, or engaging in heated discussions, on the other hand, compromises the entire digestive process. If eating is just another obligation on your daily to-do list, try approaching it as a time both to relax and to recharge. Also try focusing on the food itself while savoring its flavors and textures.
2. Offering a Blessing or a Simple Thought of Gratitude Before Eating.
Giving thanks for food is one of humanity’s most ancient forms of expression and prayer. While typically an acknowledge of some higher power or divine order in life, this act is not bound to any one faith or correct method. It is an integral part of all religious and spiritual traditions and may be expressed in an infinite number of ways.
Offering a blessing, prayer, or simple though of gratitude before a meal, either out loud or in silence, is a way to honor the gift of food and the greater blessings of life. During this time, the mind becomes quiet as attention is turned towards the food and the blessing. By welcoming food into the body in this way, you also bring greater awareness to the act of eating itself. With this heightened awareness, you’ll find that poor eating habits will actually transform into healthier ones.
3. Only Eat When You Are Hungry.
As simple as it sounds, eating when you are hungry is one of the most important components of healthy eating. When you are hungry, agni is burning hotter. That is why your stomach may growl when you haven’t eaten for a while. These messages are an indication that your body craves nourishment. When agni is burning strong, the entire digestive process is primed to carry out its job effectively. Eating when you are not hungry, however, is like putting too much wood on a fire- the digestive fire will eventually be snuffed out. This in turn leads to sub-optimal digestion and assimilation, thus creating ama, the toxic by-product of poor digestion. So, eat when you are hungry and not when you are not!
4. Wait Until the Previous Meal is Digested Before Eating Again.
It usually takes three to six hours to digest a meal, depending on an individual’s constitution. You’ll know when its time to eat again when you feel hungry and have a sense of lightness in your belly.
5. Chew Your Food Thoroughly and Eat at a Moderate Pace.
If hunger seems to trigger an unconscious “inhale” mechanism when you eat, remember to chew, chew, chew. Proper digestion and assimilation require that food be sufficiently broken down and pre-digested before reaching the stomach. That is why we are equipped with sharp teeth and enzyme-loaded saliva (which only works is our pH is balanced) . Its estimated that we digest 40 percent of complex carbohydrates during the process of chewing alone. Chewing your food thoroughly will also automatically regulate your eating pace, while unlocking the true flavor and essence of the food itself.
