Sometimes It’s Not What You Eat, But How You Eat It
By Amy Denney 8/30/2024
One thing my husband and I fiercely agreed on when our two older children were in elementary school was prioritizing family dinners.
Research has found that children who regularly eat with their families are better off physically and emotionally. We had to make special efforts to eat together after we noticed hectic schedules had our family ties feeling like more ships passing in the night. It took some planning and intention, but dinner became our chance to connect and exhale together.
Family dinners build trust and understanding. They can also improve our digestion so we get more nutrition from our food. That’s in part because of the cephalic phase of digestion—the thoughts and sensory experiences we have before eating which activate saliva and other digestive juices.
“In more traditional times people would sit down together for a meal at the table and they would take their time waiting for all the dishes to come to the table, and in that process, they’re looking at the food and smelling it and having conversations together,” Robin Fillner, a certified functional nutritional counselor told The Epoch Times in a storyabout the cephalic stage of digestion.
It’s a real challenge for the body when we inhale fast food in the car in between appointments or do computer work during lunch, said Fillner. Multi-tasking can rev up the nervous system, which ought to be calm for optimal digestion. Many people can’t even put down their phones while eating, which can also undermine the satisfaction we get from our meals, research finds.
Family dinners can support better eating habits. That includes eating mindfully and paying attention to our food, which gives us more enjoyment and satisfaction. We also tend to eat a little slowly and overeat less.
Vacationing often tunes us into the sensory experiences around meals, according to personal chef James Barry. When it comes to eating, people on holiday have nowhere to go and nothing to do but enjoy their food. “They’re relaxed, they’re feeling connected to this sensorial experience of the food,” he told The Epoch Times in an articlesuggesting ways to incorporate a “vacation mindset” in everyday eating.
Barry shared easy relaxation strategies around meal times, including better lighting while cooking, infusions of color in food presentation, candlelight, and soft music. A 2024 study discovered that listening to slower dinner music resulted in calmer eating and more thorough chewing, according to an Epoch Times article by Susan C. Olmstead.
Our family used to have a box of conversation starters sitting in the middle of our kitchen table. It often evoked laughter and gave our children a chance to work through their emotions. Holding on to stress can contribute to poor digestion.
The Soukup family plays a dinner-time game where each person shares a high, low, and interesting story from their day.
My older children recently moved out—but not until my husband gave them cooking lessons. My motherly prayer is that not only will they fuel their bodies well, but they also find joy at their table—even when they’re dining solo.
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