The Most Important Part of a Healthy Diet

HOW do you Eat?

What if the most important part of a healthy diet is not WHAT you eat, but rather HOW you eat it? This concept can be life changing when we fully understand that our eating experience plays a far bigger role in our health than the actual food we are eating.

Sure, eating organic, whole food is the absolute best choice- but are you actually absorbing and utilizing all of the incredible nutrition it has to offer?

Digestion begins when we look, prepare and smell our food. This gets our saliva flowing with the digestive enzymes we need to properly digest and absorb nutrients.

Then, we chew our food. Chewing our food until it is liquid is the best way to ensure smooth, easy digestion and A full breakdown and assimilation of the food we are eating.

Activities that Interfere with Digestion and Absorption of Nutrients

• Not cooking and preparing our own meals
• Eating while driving
• Eating while in front of the TV or computer
• Eating fast without paying attention to what you are eating
• Not chewing enough
• Drinking liquids at meal times

Do any of these sound Familiar? 🙂

What State are You In?

Your body has to be in a relaxation response to absorb and use the nutrients you are eating- which it is not when you are eating in a rush, in front of a TV or computer, or in the car. Eating in a rushed state shuts down digestion leading to bloating, constipation, weight gain, low energy and no absorption of nutrients. You could be eating the healthiest food in the world, but if you eat while working, watching tv, or driving, you won’t absorb the amazing nutrients you are eating.

We can learn a lesson from the French. They set aside at least on hour for each meal, enjoying every taste and pleasure from it.

This may not be realistic at all times, but we can certainly be more intentional about slowing down to eat, knowing that the absorption of nutrients is dependent on it.

I have had clients that just focused on this one concept alone, and it completely changed their life. They did not even change their diet, they simply changed HOW they were eating and their metabolism, energy, and mood dramatically shifted!

Top tips to get the most nutrition from your healthy diet and feel your best:

1. Set aside time for each meal- and allow your attention to be just on that- your meal.
2. Take 5 deep breaths before each meal.
3. Really focus on the tastes and sensations of the food.
4.  Chew until liquid.
5.  Go for a short walk after each meal to help with digestion and metabolism. Especially if you have eaten a bit too much- if you do some gentle movement after the meal, your body will burn the food you ate instead of storing it as fat!
6. Do not drink liquids during a meal- this dilutes the digestives enzymes you need to digest and use the nutrients in your foods. Drink 15 minutes before a meal and wait 2 hours after a meal.
7. Try not to eat in an angry, worried, or rushed state.