The sense of taste is responsible for our enjoyment of food. Weight problems and other physical imbalances are due to loss of enjoyment from food. If we could truly enjoy food, we would never have a weight problem. The following awareness techniques maximize the enjoyment of food, improve digestion and metabolism, and increase energy and vitality:

Whenever you eat or drink anything, however little it may be, make it a rule to sit down. Food can only be digested properly when we eat in the sitting position. To eat while in the lying position impairs blood and lymph flow throughout the gastrointestinal tract, and eating while walking or standing causes indigestion.

When you eat, don’t do anything else such as listening to the radio, watching television, reading or driving a car. A major reason for having taste buds on the tongue is that the brain can receive signals as to what type and quantity of food is entering the digestive system. This enables the body to produce and release sufficient amounts of various enzymes required for the digestion of the food. If we didn’t have such a facility, our digestive system would secrete enzymes indiscriminately which would be a wasteful action the body cannot afford. When we turn our attention to anything else but the food we are eating, our taste buds cannot make sufficient ‘conscious’ contact with the various foods and their tastes. This restricts the release of the appropriate digestive enzymes for each particular taste and reduces AGNI, the digestive fire. It also confuses the body for it will no longer know when the saturation point for a particular type of taste, such as salty or sweet, has been reached. Hence, foods cravings begin to emerge which are linked with insufficiently digested and absorbed foods, as well as with the lack of pleasure hormones, normally secreted when food is eaten with full attention. Since eating is an act of enjoyment, we might as well do it with an undivided mind. As a golden rule, everything we do with joy and attention is beneficial, and everything we do with displeasure and lack of attention generates problems.

Eat only when the stomach is empty, otherwise you interfere with the enjoyment of food. When the stomach is still full or is in the process of digesting food, the taste buds are desensitized to prevent a person from eating. Natural hunger only occurs when the stomach is empty. On the other hand, false hunger or food cravings emerge when the basic natural rules of eating have been violated for a long time and emotional imbalances exist; both these causes override or suppress the normal signals of satiation coming from the stomach and taste buds. The urge to eat food while the stomach is still digesting, is often connected to occurrence of gallstones in the liver and gallbladder and disappears once they have been removed through a series of liver cleanses.

Do not put food into your mouth till the previous bite has gone into the stomach. The process of eating is a unique opportunity to practice mindfulness and patience. By chewing the food until it has been masticated enough to produce a sweet tasting liquid, greatly enhances the enjoyment of food and keeps your attention on the present moment, which is the key to all happiness. Mahatma Gandhi advised people to ‘drink’ their food and ‘eat’ their drinks. Eating and drinking in this way is one of the most powerful methods of overcoming emotional problems in life.

Do not speak while there is still food in the mouth. When you speak while there is food in your mouth, you tend to swallow before it is properly masticated, and you miss out on enjoying your food. It is better to speak only when there is no food left in the mouth. For your first helping, take about two cupped hands full of food. This will fill up two thirds of your stomach; the rest is empty space that is needed to propel the food and mix it with digestive juices. If you are still hungry, wait for 5 minutes. If the feeling of hunger has not subsided by this time, you may take some more food. Leaving the table slightly hungry is a good method to increase one’s will power, determination and self-confidence. Completely filling the stomach leads to indigestion, dullness, lethargy and food cravings. Make certain to have all the six tastes of food at least once a day. This can effectively help to reduce food cravings and prevent nutrient deficiencies. Be careful not to eat more than 3-4 main ingredients in one meal at a time or have more than one type of starch or protein in a meal.