Attention when you eat and metabolism

How much is importat to put attention when we eat? In Healt at every size there is and interesting chapter about this. If our absorbption is influenced by attention this mean that also our metabolism is influenced by the attention we give to food. Lack of minerals, or nutrients puts the metabolism in low motion…

In a very interesting study, researchers monitored the digestive processes of twenty-four healthy college students while they ate. They monitored them while eating before a film and then when they ate during a film. When they ate while watching the movie, activity in their digestive tract was reduced and their digestion was less effective overall. This result wasn’t too surprising. Research consistently finds that as much as 30 to 40 percent of your total physical response to a meal occurs during the ?cephalic phase of digestion,? which is just a fancy term for the time you spend seeing, smelling, and tasting your meal. This process initiates a wide range of digestive activities, including releasing saliva and digestive enzymes, sending blood to the digestive organs, and contracting the stomach and intestinal muscles. But as the above study shows, if you’re not paying attention to the food itself, this process doesn’t work as well. You don’t metabolize your food nearly as effectively and your body doesn’t get all the nutrients it needs, nor does it get the full range of chemical messages it needs to trigger stop-eating cues. You’re still getting the calories, however. Here’s another study to ponder if you’re not convinced of the value of attentiveness. Study participants first consumed a mineral drink under relaxing conditions.387 They completely absorbed two of those minerals, sodium and chloride. The same individuals were then exposed to stressful conditions’two people simultaneously talking to them, one in each ear?while consuming the drink. Their bodies completely shut down to assimilating the minerals. From 100 percent absorption to 0 percent! The simple act of inattention dramatically altered their ability to assimilate those nutrients.
How often do you eat while watching television, driving, reading, etc. How are you ever going to feel satiety sensations or get the full range of nutrients contained in your food, if you’re chomping on that hamburger while negotiating a left turn in your car? So from now on, aim to be fully present for your meals. Eat with awareness. Turn off the TV, put away the newspaper, put on some soft music, set a nice table, and sit down to enjoy the food?even if it’s just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Taken from “Health at every size” by Linda Bacon.

• This topic was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by patch87.