Mindful Eating Goes Mainstream

I'm super stoked to see that mindful eating is finally making it into the conventional nutrition world. It's a simple concept--if you eat slowly and really enjoy what you're eating, you benefit more from your food. You digest better, your satiety cues function properly, and you behave less like Jabba the Hut at dinner parties. Mindful eating has been a mainstay of holistic circles for a long time now. Heck, even the Buddhists get behind it. A few years back, everyone's favorite eastern monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, wrote Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life. (Given the extensive scientific research in the book, I'm guessing his co-author Dr. Lilian Cheung did most of the writing, but still, the Buddha wants you to slow down and enjoy your oatmeal.)

That said, it seems a little odd looking to religious leaders for nutritional advice. Pointing this out greatly increases the odds that I'll be a cockroach in my next life, but I'm not alone in my assessment. On the other hand, people tend to listen to an R.D. That's why it's great that mindful eating has found its way into magazines like Today's Dietician:

The core principles of mindful eating include being aware of the nourishment available through the process of food preparation and consumption, choosing enjoyable and nutritious foods, acknowledging food preferences nonjudgmentally, recognizing and honoring physical hunger and satiety cues, and using wisdom to guide eating decisions.

If you read the article, you'll notice that they take this fairly simple notion and ply it with methods and  research and "facilitation of behavioral change." That's because this is a magazine expressly for nutrition professionals. Therefore its primary goal is to teach dietitians how to build a proper smokescreen o' complication around mindful eating in order to validate their vital role in helping clients eat slower.

(Now I've slagged buddhists and dietitians--two groups I have enormous respect for. Let's see if I can sandbag America too and make it a trifecta.)

If you want to try mindful eating without the aid of an expert, here's what to do. 1. Turn off the TV or close the laptop. 2. Eat. 3. Chew thoroughly. 4. Swallow. 5. Repeat.

Another option is to answer the "Mindful-Eating Exercises for Clients" questions you'll find in the Today's Dietician article. That way, you can follow the great American tradition of adding pointless bureaucracy to health-related activities, but without getting billed hourly.

There. I just sandbagged America too. My job is done here.