Dr. Lillian Cheung discusses Mindful Eating Every Mother Counts Staff September 27, 2013 Dr. Lillian Cheung is Lecturer and Director of Health Promotion & Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition. She is the Editorial Director of The Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health’s nutrition website for health professionals, media and consumers. She’s the co-editorial director of the Obesity Prevention Source, a website providing science based information for policy changes at the community level. She’s also the author of the book Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life co-authored with Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, which has been acquired for translation in 17 countries. Since September is Obestiy Awareness Month and theres a strong link between obesity and poor maternal health, we thought Dr. Cheungs perspective on healthy eating was perfect for us. EMC: Where do you think we should start talking about the relationship between nutrition and maternal health? Dr. Cheung: I think it’s important that the mother-to-be is mindful about her health status before getting pregnant. There’s good data about how during pregnancy for example, weight gain will affect the outcome of the baby. So it’s very important to strive for a healthy weight before pregnancy, to aim for reasonable weight gain during pregnancy and to eat a very high quality diet. What’s the best way for women to achieve all that? Mindfulness is a good way to help women stay on track with healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. In my book, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, I discuss the reality that we live in a very toxic food environment right now. Processed foods, highly refined foods, carbohydrates, sodium and sugars are everywhere. What with all the advertising and the enticement from how these poor quality foods smell and look, how cheap they are and how easy they are to access, it’s easy for one to overeat and eat poorly. That’s why mindful eating is a good practice to learn. Right now in the digital age we’re always multitasking, eating on the run and eating while we’re driving. We’re often not really consciously aware of what we’re eating. Our senses aren’t really taking advantage of the full power of our meals’ taste, texture and aroma so our eating experience is less satisfying. When we are distracted, we eat more. Lets describe what mindful eating means. Mindful eating is about what to eat, how to eat and understanding why we eat what we eat. It is being fully aware of what you are eating. For example, you set a time to eat without any distractions like smart phones or the computer. All your senses are focused on your food. You honor your food and the labor it took to arrive on your plate and you know where it came from. You’re mindful of portion sizes and you don’t take too much. For that, I would refer you to our Healthy Eating Plate, which is part of our nutrition resource. Another aspect of mindful eating is chewing your food well so you can savor it more. Chewing allows one to digest the food and absorb it. Mindfulness means eating slowly, which allows us time to register how full we are. It takes about twenty minutes for the stomach to send the signal to the brain that we are full. It’s important not to skip meals because one will eat much more later if the blood sugar is so low that it causes one to crave food. Mindful eating means consuming a plant-based diet, which is not only healthful for you but also healthful for the planet. Research shows that red meat increases incidences of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer and it also produces the highest amount of greenhouse gas compared to other types of protein. The lowest levels of greenhouse gas come from plant proteins. It all comes down to being conscious of how hungry you are, mindful of how full you are and knowing when to stop eating. While you’re eating, pause, use your breath, come back to the moment and ask yourselves, “Is this really what I want to eat, is this too much for me or is this the right amount?” These are great tips that can apply to everyone, not just mothers. I think this is a practice that you want families to start early. Don’t allow children to eat in front of the television. Don’t allow any cell phones or electronic devices around the dinner table. Get kids involved in preparing the meal or setting the table in a really attractive way. Make sure the dining table is not cluttered. Have kids help with the vegetables or water the garden - just something that connects them with putting food. That puts the entire family back in touch with real food. Exactly. Another important element is that mealtime should be a time when we nurture our body and soul. Families should establish a no-argument-at-the-table policy, so that meals become the time to enjoy each other’s company and focus on the fact that we have all this wonderful food to eat. It’s almost like having a Thanksgiving-like atmosphere more frequently. Any final thoughts on mindful eating? Just one more thing about food craving. When for whatever reason you want to go into the cookie jar, pause, breathe in and out and acknowledge that you are going for a cookie. Ask yourself if you really need it. Sometimes, just acknowledging the fact that you are going to eat can stop the autopilot habit. Try this: Breathing in I say, “I am fully aware of my craving.” Breathing out, “I am in control of my craving.” Just simple breathing like that is a practice of mindfulness, the ability to be in the here and now helps one to focus on what’s going on, our thoughts and actions. Forward
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:17:31 +0000
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