Mindful eating is the act of being present while eating or drinking. It allows you to stop, slow down, and really pay attention to the way food tastes, feels, and impacts your body and brain. It also helps you savor the food and drink you’re consuming.
The Connection Between Food and the Brain
Uma Naidoo, MD, Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef, nutrition specialist, and author of This is Your Brain on Food, refers to the connection between diet and mental and neurological health as the “gut-brain romance.”
- The same embryonic cells which founded our brain and nervous system also founded the gastrointestinal system, and these systems remain inextricably linked through the vagus nerve.
- Studies have found that diet, along with exercise, can actually counteract neurological and cognitive disorders, such as epilepsy and dementia.
A Word From Verywell
Mindful eating is an ongoing practice. You don’t have to necessarily sit at a kitchen table and eat over an extended period of time. You just have to be willing to focus on the experience as it unfolds
- When you cook your next meal or pick up takeout, pay attention to the food and how it tastes and feels.
Identify Your Relationship With Food
Mindful eating encourages you to look beyond the foods you eat and focus on how you eat.
- As you begin to practice mindful eating, it’s important to recognize your relationship with food. How do you feel about food? Do you eat when you’re stressed?
- Does sugar make you anxious? Do foods help you focus?
How to Practice Mindful Eating
Be conscious of the activity
- Recognize your body’s signals
- Slow down your eating so your body and brain can communicate
- Socialize over food
- Focus on the sensory details
- Practice mindfulness throughout your day
- Mindful eating is not a diet
