Eat: How, When, and Where
As the MOUTH IS THE gateway to your entire body, eating allows you to nourish your body, create healthy habits, and maybe even spark a passion for cooking!
But before biting off more than we can chew when it comes to the broad topic of EAT, let’s start with a fresh palette for the mind. So, what’s on the menu for this blog post? I’d like to think of it as a 3 course meal: HOW, WHEN, and WHERE we should eat.
How to EAT
While we absolutely need food to fuel our bodies, it’s equally important to enjoy the food we choose to nourish ourselves with. Rather than thinking of food as something we HAVE to eat or wolf down when we’re in a rush to keep going day-to-day, I offer you to think of it as something we GET to eat, experience, and appreciate.
I understand that each person may have a different relationship with food than the next. And so, I would like to share a few tips anyone (foodie or not) can follow to practice how to eat food for a more satisfactory and healthy experience.
Shop local and organic: Not only does buying local, organic, and whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, and beans leave common chemicals off your plate, but it also benefits your health, the planet, and your local grocer’s business.
Cook at home: If time allows, cooking at home puts you in control of what you eat, and an opportunity to open up a cookbook that’s maybe been collecting dust over the past few months. You can keep meals and recipes simple, too, in case you’re limited on time.
Chew and eat slowly: For both your oral and gut health, chew slowly to break down the food particles. By eating slowly, you might pick up on some extra flavors and aromas from each bite. Eating slowly also allows you to be more conscious of when your body is full.
Get creative: Maybe salt and pepper are your base. Consider adding other spices or ingredients to a recipe or meal you make regularly. For example, adding cinnamon to your favorite smoothie recipe can add a sweet & subtle flavor you didn’t know you were missing.
When to EAT
Now that you have some tips for how to eat, let’s dive into when to eat––an additional factor that can impact your body’s overall balance. Your day-to-day schedule and activities can vary quite a bit, making it difficult to find the right time to eat the right food. Therefore, I’ve listed out a few key points to keep in mind, whether you’re busy from morning to night or enjoying a slow and relaxing weekend.
Give yourself enough time between meals – this allows your saliva, a self-cleaning system, to manage and reset your mouth’s microbiome and pH levels to help prevent cavities and gum disease.
Limit your snacking – Every time we snack or eat something, our mouth’s pH levels drop and raise the acidity level. If this happens too frequently, we’re not allowing our mouths to self clean and rebalance, making us more vulnerable to disease.
Avoid eating late at night – A good rule of thumb is to not eat 2-3 hours before your bedtime to prepare your body for a non-disruptive sleep. This also allows your body’s digestion to process better. Learn more about the relationship between food and sleep in my blog.
Overall, I believe in having routines for when you eat so your body knows and signals you when to eat. In turn, this can help improve your health and establish a base and rhythm for other parts of your day, like sleep.
Where to EAT
Another way to make your meals more enjoyable is choosing where you eat. Whether with friendly coworkers at the office, at your local cafe for a Swedish Fika, or at home with close family and friends, eating food with people you care about can make all the difference for your body and mind.
Even if time is a stressor, try your best not to eat standing up, on-the-go, or in the car. You’ll likely feel rushed in these places and will miss the chance to be conscious about what you’re putting in your body and how fast you’re doing so.
That’s a Wrap
Not every food you eat has to be love at first bite. But if you consider the three pillars above, you can work towards healthier and more pleasurable eating experiences.
If you’ve been dealing with gut problems like IBS or frequently experience low energy and are looking for alternative solutions for your overall health, focusing on what you eat is a great place to start. The key to remember is that the solutions to these health problems aren’t short-term trending diets, calorie counting, or food deprivation. It’s about fueling the body with real food. It’s about discovering new habits that can revolutionize our health and lifestyles. It’s about breathwork. It’s about movement. It’s about tiny habits that create real change.
And…that’s why I’m here to help! Let’s start small together. Feel free to connect with me directly or join one of my circles to learn more about what you can do to improve your overall health.
Lifestyle modifications and eating can reverse, reduce, or eliminate chronic diseases, making it important to improve our relationship with food.