Zen eating, eating more purposefully and in the moment

This is something we need to train our children in, by modeling.

Sent to you by john via Google Reader:

Health Journal - WSJ.com

via online.wsj.com on 5/13/08

Putting an End to Mindless Munching
May 13, 2008; Page D1

Durham, N.C.

First, ask yourself how hungry you are, on a scale of 1 (ravenous) to 7 (stuffed).

Next, take time to appreciate the food on your plate. Notice the colors and textures.

Take a bite. Slowly experience the tastes on your tongue. Put down your fork and savor.

"Most people don't think about what they're eating -- they're focusing on the next bite," says Sasha Loring, a psychotherapist at Duke Integrative Medicine, part of Duke University Health System here. "I've worked with lots of obese people -- you'd think they'd enjoy food. But a lot of them say they haven't really tasted what they've been shoveling down for years."

Over lunch, Ms. Loring is teaching me how to eat mindfully -- paying attention to what you eat and stopping just before you're full, ideally about 5½ on that 7-point scale. Many past diet plans have stressed not overeating. What's different about mindful eating is the paradoxical concept that eating just a few mouthfuls, and savoring the experience, can be far more satisfying than eating an entire cake mindlessly.

ENJOYING YOUR FOOD

• Assess how hungry you are.

• Eat slowly; savor your food.

• Put your fork down and breathe between bites.

• Notice taste satiety.

• Check back on your hunger level.

• Stop when you start to feel full.

Source: Duke Integrative Medicine

RESOURCES

For more information on mindful eating, see these Web sites:

• www.emindful.com -- online mindfulness training courses

• www.tcme.org -- for clinicians interested in understanding mindful eating

• www.mindfuleating.org -- an educational site for consumers

• www.dukeintegrativemedicine.org -- offers a variety of conventional and complementary/alternative medicine strategies

And these books:

• "Mindless Eating" by Brian Wansink

• "Eating Mindfully" by Susan Albers

• "The Zen of Eating" by Ronna Kabatznick

It sounds so simple, but it takes discipline and practice. It's a far cry from the mindless way many of us eat while walking, working or watching TV, stopping only when the plate is clean or the show is over.

It's also a mind-blowing experience: I'm full and completely satisfied after three mindful bites.

The approach, which has roots in Buddhism, is being studied at several academic medical centers and the National Institutes of Health as a way to combat eating disorders. In a randomized controlled trial at Duke and Indiana State University, binge eaters who participated in a nine-week mindful-eating program went from binging an average of four times a week to once, and reduced their levels of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. More NIH-funded trials are under way to study whether mindful eating is effective for weight loss, and for helping people who have lost weight keep it off.

One key aspect is to approach food nonjudgmentally. Many people bring a host of negative emotions to the table -- from guilt about blowing a diet to childhood fears of deprivation or wastefulness. "I joke with my clients that if I could put a microphone in their heads and broadcast what they're saying to themselves when they eat, the FCC would have to bleep it out," says Megrette Fletcher, executive director of the Center for Mindful Eating, a Web-based forum for health-care professionals.

Using food as a reward or as solace also interferes with eating mindfully; if you're eating to satisfy emotional hunger, it's hard to ever feel full. "Ask yourself, what do you really need and what else can you do it fulfill it?" says Ms. Loring.

FORUM

Have you had learned to eat consciously? Has it changed your life? If not, does it sound like something you'd like to try? Share your thoughts.

Chronic dieters in particular have trouble recognizing their internal cues, says Jean Kristeller, a psychologist at Indiana State, who pioneered mindful eating in the 1990s. "Diets set up rules around food and disconnect people even further from their own experiences of hunger and satiety and fullness," she says.

Mindful eaters learn to assess taste satiety. A hunger for something sweet or sour or salty can often be satisfied with a small morsel. In one exercise, Ms. Kristeller has clients mindfully eat a single raisin -- noticing their thoughts and emotions, as well as the taste and texture. "It sounds somewhat silly," she explains, "but it can also be very profound."

Mindful eating also means learning to ignore urges to snack that aren't connected to hunger. And it's critical to leave food on your plate once you are full; pack it to go, if possible.

In contrast to other diet programs, the researchers involved with mindful eating avoid making weight-loss claims; that's still being investigated. But some practitioners say it's life-changing.

"I don't think about food anymore. It's totally out of my mind," says Mary Ann Power, age 50, of Pittsboro, N.C., a lifelong dieter who thinks she's lost eight or 10 pounds in two weeks since learning the practice at Duke. "I think you could put a piece of chocolate cake in front of my nose right now, and it wouldn't tempt me. Before, I could eat three pieces."

One mindful meal at Duke made a big impression on me -- I was satisfied with minimal meals for days afterward. But it's hard to sustain. I find myself eating mindlessly again in front of the TV, or at the computer.

"Try to eat one meal or one snack mindfully every day," advises Jeffrey Greeson, a psychologist with the Duke program. "Even eating just the first few bites mindfully can help break the cycle of wolfing it down without paying any attention."

• Email healthjournal@wsj.com.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to online.wsj.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Strategic Spending on Organic Foods - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New...

Sent to you by john via Google Reader:

Strategic Spending on Organic Foods - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog

via well.blogs.nytimes.com on 5/14/08

April 18, 2008, 12:49 pm

Strategic Spending on Organic Foods

Sweet bell peppers are among the vegetables high in pesticides. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)

I was reading today in The Times that organic food prices are rising. It reminded me of a really helpful list from the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, about how to be a strategic shopper when buying organic fruits and vegetables.

While there is an ongoing debate about whether buying organic food really makes a difference in terms of health, the reality is that some consumers choose organic foods because they want to lower their exposure to pesticides. For those shoppers, it makes sense to know when to buy organic and which conventionally-grown foods are good enough because they already are low in pesticide residue.

The Environmental Working Group tested dozens of fruits and vegetables to determine which foods are the worst offenders in terms of pesticide exposure. Some fruits and vegetables grown with conventional farming methods simply don't absorb the pesticides. Some examples of vegetables and fruits with very low pesticide residues are onions, mangoes, asparagus, broccoli and eggplant. So whether you pick them up from the regular produce section or the organic aisle, your pesticide exposure is going to be low.

So if you are on a budget, focus your organic dollars where it counts — on foods that suck in a lot of pesticides when grown using conventional farming methods. Foods that typically have high levels of pesticide residue include peaches, strawberries, sweet bell peppers, celery and lettuce.

To see the complete list of the 43 fruits and vegetables tested by the Environmental Working Group, click here. The site includes a printable chart of the dozen foods lowest in pesticide residue and those that are best purchased from the organic aisle. And to read the complete story about rising organic food prices reported by my colleagues Andrew Martin and Kim Severson, click here.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to well.blogs.nytimes.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites