The How and When of Eating (Pillar #2)

Second in the “elevate your vibrations” series is eating. As mentioned in the breathing lesson, we need an almost constant flow of food and water to keep the body functioning.  We all eat 2 to 6  times a day, therefore it is important that we are mindfully aware when performing this life-giving action.  Instead of focusing on the WHAT to eat to raise your vibrations, I will concentrate on how and when to eat as well as the mindset you should take to the table.  

There are certain foods that clearly raise your vibrations and others that lower your vibrations.  However, everyone is different and finding the right foods for you is a personal journey that I encourage everyone to take.  Diversity is key to maintaining a healthy diet.  So keep your diet vast and diverse.  Listen to your body as it will inform you which foods your body needs.  Experiment with all types of diets until you can clearly hear your body telling you what to eat.  The What To Eat question can be guided by your own experience, rather than the dogma of others.  

Human Digestion 

The human digestive system is one of nature’s incredible marvels.  Here is a quick abbreviated version of how it works.  Digestion begins in the mouth with saliva and digestive enzymes. Digestion truly begins with the creation of saliva in anticipation of food.  The salivary glands play the crucial role of making saliva.  Saliva moistens the food allowing it to be swallowed.  It also secretes the enzymes lipase and amylase, which begins the digestive process of fats and starches. Also important to digestion and located in the mouth are the teeth and tongue.  The teeth are designed to tear and grind food up.  The tongue starts the act of swallowing, helps the teeth with the tearing, grinding and mashing of the food, and differentiates tastes.  Through muscular contractions of the esophagus, the masticated food is passed down into the stomach.  The stomach releases gastric juices as it churns and grinds the food, now called chyme, further breaking it down mechanically and chemically. The chyme is then passed into the small intestine where it is showered with more digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver. As the chyme slides through the 7 meter long small intestine, the millions of tiny finger-like projections called villi absorb the nutrients and pass them through a mesh of capillaries into the bloodstream.  Whatever cannot be absorbed in the small intestine is passed as waste to the large intestine where the water is removed and the waste is stored in the rectum until it can be passed out of the anus.  We literally are what we eat.   

Proper Chewing

Nutrients in our food provide the energy we need to be active throughout the day and provide cellular growth and repair, helping the body stay strong and healthy. One of the simplest and most essential ways to extract the optimal amount of nutrients from food is proper chewing.   The ideal method is to chew your food and coat it in the digestive enzymes in saliva. You don’t want to swallow until it’s a paste called bolus.  Proper mastication eases work of the stomach and the small intestine in their arduous job of breaking down the food well enough for the nutrients to be absorbed by the blood.  If the food isn’t properly broken down, the absorption of nutrients is impeded.  So to make sure your stomach and small intestine aren’t overworked, properly chew your food.  

In this technologically paced whirlwind of a life we currently call civilization, we have become victims of bolting our food.  We have moved away from the ways of nature.  We eat very fast and don’t pay attention to what we are doing.  This leads to a terrible uptake of nutrients by the blood to feed your cells.  So you are starving your cells.  It is very similar to the swallow breathing endemic that we have become accustomed to. So perform complete breaths when breathing and completely chew your food when eating. 

What to Eat First

It is advised that when eating that you start with the easiest foods to digest and work toward the more difficult things.  For instance, if your lunch consists of a salad, mashed potatoes and beef, it is preferential to your digestion system to eat the plant foods first followed by the steak.  Also, don’t drink water while eating unless you have too.  Water tends to cool some of the digestive enzymes coming from the stomach, pancreas, and gallbladder, rendering them less potent.   

When to Eat

It is beneficial to eat bigger meals earlier in the day.  This will provide the body with  all the energy it needs to navigate the busy parts of the day when you are active.  Smaller meals for supper are recommended because the body will be less active after you eat and will therefore need less energy in the winding down stage of the day.  The body needs less energy once the sun goes down and therefore it is prudent to eat less at night.  This will also mean that your body can focus it’s energies on cell rejuvenation and recuperation while sleeping instead of digesting. 

With Whom to Eat-Communal Eating 

My first week attending Thammasat University in Bangkok found me eating alone in the cafeteria.  Growing up in the 80s and 90s in the United States, eating alone was not a new thing for me.  I’d eaten plenty of meals up to that point alone due to scheduling and time constraints.  So I was shocked when a group of students came up to me and asked, 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I replied.  “Why do you ask?”

“Because you are eating alone.  Are you sick, or sad, or something?” The students asked. They seemed truly confused about why I was eating alone. 

They invited me to eat with them.  So I gratefully did and subsequently learned a vital lesson of the power of communal eating. Thai people taught me a culture of eating based on a shared experience, which created a sense of closeness, inclusion, and joy.  The food seems to taste better and be more nutritious when eating with others.  Science argues that communal eating activates beneficial neurochemicals and improves digestion. There are obviously some major social benefits from eating with others as well.  Communal eating definitely elevates your vibrations.  

Mindset to Take to the Table

Lastly, it is imperative to have a mindset of gratitude before, during, and after eating.  Before sharing a meal together, my family and I, each describe something or someone in the process of getting the food to our plates that we are grateful for.  For instance, “I am grateful for the farmer who planted the seeds of these tomatoes we are eating.” Or, “I am grateful for the person who milked the cow that provided the milk needed to make the butter we are eating.” Or, “I am grateful for the rubber plantation farming for harvesting the rubber used to make the tires for the truck to deliver these eggplants to the market where we bought them.” Practicing gratitude for your food and everyone who helped in the process to get it to your plate raises the vibration of your food and naturally elevates your own vibrations.  It is crucial to have a positive attitude toward your food in order to absorb the maximum amount of nutrition.  

In conclusion, proper chewing, food gratitude, and communal eating leads to smoother digestion and ultimately better health and elevated vibrations.