Mindful Eating

Eating mindfully is a way of improving digestion, and getting the most out of your meals. This is especially important if you suffer from bloating, poor digestion, stomach cramps.

✨In TCM the Stomach is the point of reception for both food and drink, AND information. Have you ever received information, heard or watched something, and felt nauseous instantly? How about saying “I need time to digest this” after hearing some bad news? Makes sense! For many people the Stomach can be easily overwhelmed.

✨The Spleen in TCM is vital in digestion as it transforms and transports the food Qi. It can be exhausted by work, learning, exercise, and is stressed out by irregular eating patterns - aka skipping breakfast, eating late, eating at different times of day or while on the go. This can cause what Western Med would call IBS.

✨The Liver, an organ important for both digesting and detoxifying, opens to the eyes. This organ is vital for the smooth flow of Qi around the body, when it’s irritated the flow can be stagnant or rebellious leading to bloating, burping and nausea. What are you looking at while you eat? Food/friends/nature? Or news updates/work/social media? Think about the different effects these may have.

🍽 It’s so important to have sit-down meals where you can eat mindfully and focus on the food you are eating - not thinking about work, not studying, no netflix, no phone, definitely don’t read the news rn. Instead, look at what you’re eating, pick out different textures and flavours, if you’re eating with other people talk about the food! Take your time, and notice when you’re satisfied, not full to burst.

In terms of what to eat - everything in moderation. It’s easy to obsess over food, this stress will only harm digestion further. Try to keep it simple and just think is it COOKED, is it WARM, is it COLOURFUL? If it’s local and seasonal, even better.