Welcome to the first series of our mindfulness tips, we have long wanted to address this topic and we are excited to dive into this new series with you.

Today we are going to discuss mindfulness tips that will change the way you eat. It’s not a secret that the mind and body are connected but just how connected they are may end up surprising you. Let me explain by asking a question I’d like you to answer before reading any more of this post: Where does digestion begin?

Many of you may have guessed the stomach or the mouth but what if I told you that digestion starts before you even take the first bite. Do I have your attention now? Good. Because that’s exactly what we are talking about today; paying attention to the food you eat BEFORE you eat it.

The mind prepares the body for digestion by; seeing, touching, smelling and even thinking about food. This is traditionally called the “cephalic phase of digestion” which highlights the importance of the mind and body connection and the importance of staying mindful of the food you are about to eat.

(Bad news for those of us who eat at our desk while working and can’t even realize what food we just put in our mouth!)

The first phase of digestion:

The initial phase of digestion is also referred to as the cephalic phase of gastric secretion. The cephalic phase, which originates from the cerebral cortex of the brain, is best activated when we take the time to think about the food we are about to consume.

The idea that digestion begins in the brain has to do with the olfactory system that kicks in when we smell a delicious food, which then triggers saliva production. We can also simply think about a food and start salivating as well because these repeated experiences get stored in the brain and can be triggered by thought alone. And so if we take the time to really think about the food we are about to consume BEFORE we consume it, we’ve already kick-started our digestive system to start doing its job.

Three mindfulness tips that will change the way you eat:

• Be mindful and aware of the food you are about to eat, give yourself 10-15 minutes to think about what you are about to eat
• Smell and even touch your food before you eat it
• Try to think about what you want this food to do for your body

Trust us, if you follow these three steps, you will jump start your digestion before you even start chewing and it will change the way you eat. Keep in mind that the cephalic phase of digestion is just one of many extraordinary ways which the mind and body are connected and we hope to explore more on this connection in our next mindfulness post!