Mindful Eating Explained

Mindfulness is a word that is often used but rarely understood. The term is actually an action used in meditation. It means to be fully present. In the case of mindful eating, mindfulness is used to be fully present or fully aware of what one is eating and how it affects their body. This term will still replace the word “healthy.”

Health and nutrition has always been a part of human life. Once life started becoming more fast-paced and busy, the popularity of quick, easy food solutions were on the rise. This is when we started seeing more prominence in nutrition-related conditions such as obesity and high cholesterol grow in our population. The food and the industry may have responsibility in all of this, but is it their fault? Was there a lack of education in proper nutrition for the general population? The answer is yes, there was. This is when we started seeing more government agencies taking charge of food production like the FDA and the USDA. The rise in obesity became an epidemic and there needed to be something done about it. But, there is ground to wonder if proper nutrition education about mindful eating could have solved this issue before it even began. 

Fast-forward to 2022. The food industry has food solutions available for all kinds of specific diets, conditions and the rate of Registered Dietitians is growing. Health has become a trend. Also trending are the prevalence of eating disorders and labeling foods as “good” or “bad.” The RDs have taken a stance and mostly practice the idea of “all food’s fit” meaning that any food can be part of a balanced diet. So, instead of educating someone to eat “healthy” they educate someone to eat “mindfully.”

Now that we have a good background on this, let’s go a big deeper into the meaning of mindful eating. In order to eat mindfully, education on how to properly nourish your body is needed. Knowledge is power. Everybody is different and has different needs and that is where an expert like a Registered Dietitian comes in to educate. Mindful eating is about decisions. Which food will nourish my body the most for this meal? Should I have whole grain bread or white bread? How about broccoli or asparagus? Maybe you need to increase your fiber intake so you choose the whole grain bread rather than the white bread. Maybe you need more vitamin K in your diet and choose the asparagus. 

Instead of eating based on taste and appearance, mindful eating opens the door for exploration and curiosity when it comes to food. An example of a mindful meal that incorporates taste and appearance along with nourishing options may be a salad with loads of veggies topped with breaded chicken tenders drizzled in a balsamic vinaigrette. The person eating this meal may love chicken tenders but also want to nourish their body in something that it really needs like the vitamins and minerals present in the vegetables. 

It goes without saying that mindful eating is a way to enjoy what you love but also what you need. Proper nutrition education will need to be done in order for someone to successfully master mindful eating. Reach out to a Registered Dietitian at NFOP to get your journey started!