Mindful Eating

WRITTEN BY AMANDA HARRIS

A healthy body goes hand in hand with a healthy mind. Having one without the other is nearly impossible. When our bodies are functioning fully, we cannot deny how great we feel emotionally and even mentally. We are energetic, we think clearly, and our mood improves tremendously. Hence, we can interact with our environments and the people within them more positively. These are all benefits of a healthy mind but eating properly is key to more than just a healthy body. Oftentimes when we think about health, we think about our body and mind, but forget our spirituality and what lies deep within the depths of our beings.

With that said, one of the first steps we can all take toward the direction of spiritual balance is changing how we eat. We live in a world of convenience where most of the food we consume comes in a box or a bag. But unfortunately, we are paying for quantity not quality and because we’re always looking for an easy fix, quantity usually wins.

It is common knowledge that chemicals and preservatives in our food supply have an extremely negative impact on our health. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and heart disease rates have all been skyrocketing over the past decade and there is a direct correlation between the risk of developing diseases and eating habits.

You might be asking yourself, “What exactly is a clean diet anyway?” The answer is simple. A clean diet consists of unprocessed foods such as fresh or frozen vegetables, nuts, unprocessed meats, eggs, hormone free diary and unrefined grains, and the list goes on. The more natural your food is, the better it is for you. Of course, the thought of completely altering your diet might be alarming, to say the least. The key is patience and persistence. If we start by making small adjustments like choosing to pack a healthy lunch instead of grabbing fast food or eating carrots instead of a bag of chips, the change feels like less of a chore. A very simple but effective adjustment is drinking more water and cutting down on sodas. Cutting down on unhealthy foods compared to abruptly cutting out the consumption makes the transition to a clean diet much easier.

Simple ways to transition to a healthier mindset for your diet include:

• Make a weekly grocery list. Plan for the week ahead and what you might want to eat. It is better than running to the store multiple times per week.

• Include your children or partners with food prep.

• Make your cooking environment enjoyable. Play music, a podcast or even put on a movie for background noise, your space is sacred!

• Clear out your kitchen! Donate items you no longer need or items that would not help you in the transition to a clean diet.

Although the transition is challenging, it is very beneficial in the long run. A few important spiritual benefits of switching to a clean diet include:

• Nourishment of the spirit, helping you attain your unique inner zen.

• Having inner peace and being able to cope with life’s obstacles.

• Living life with purpose enables us to explore more and feel less restricted by doubt and fear.

• Successfully shifting from an ‘unclean’ to a ‘clean’ diet correlates with our shift in our perspective on life which usually opens us up to new experiences and relationships.

• Being in tune with your body and mind can intuitively alert you to negative things and people.

Many people experience positive shifts in their lifestyle when adjusting their diets and sometimes that’s all we need.