It used to be brat-girl summer. Now, TikTok has spoken and we’re all throwing out the attitude in favor of being very demure, very mindful, very classy and very respectful ready for fall.
It’s a funny trend, but when it comes to nutrition, this attitude can have genuine health benefits, according to registered nutritional therapist Catherine Jeans. It all comes down to mindful eating.
“Mindful eating is about being more conscious of what we put into our mouths and consume, and also, whilst eating, how we eat,” Jeans told Newsweek. “It allows us to be more in tune with when we feel full, how well we are chewing, and when it’s time to put down our forks and stop eating.”
Mindful eating is a nutritional strategy with historical roots. In the past, wellness buffs used to promote chewing each mouthful a specific number of times before swallowing for improved digestion.
The modern iteration of mindful eating has more of its links in meditation, grounding and therapeutic practices. It is related to those strategies that may be familiar to people who suffer with anxiety or dissociative disorders, where individuals engage with the outside world to reach a state of calm.
In a similar way, mindful eating is a nutritional strategy that prioritizes engaging with the senses, eating slowly and focusing on the process of eating food. A mindful eater may ask themselves: What does my meal look like? How does it smell? How does it feel in my mouth? What’s the temperature like, the texture, the taste?
Mindful eating also involves chewing slowly, thoughtfully—perhaps even demurely—and in an environment without screens or distractions, and ideally surrounded by loved ones.
Many of us eat quickly, while distracted or stressed, Jeans explained.
“We live in a fast-paced world and do everything so quickly, including eating,” she said. “It’s one of the biggest problems I see with my hundreds of clients in clinic, and a big contributor to symptoms of IBS [irritable bowel syndrome] and other gut-related distress.
“When we eat quickly, it’s often because we’re doing other things at the same time, often in a highly stressed state. If we’re at our desks, and an email comes in that causes you to feel stressed, your body doesn’t prioritize the need to release digestive enzymes and other substances needed for good digestion. Everything is prioritizing the stress response, diverting blood away from your digestive system.”
The stress response is a physical state when the body is fueled by stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. We may feel more on edge, alert, reactive or tense, and our bodies prioritize sending energy to the muscle groups that could help us if danger arose.
That means our digestive systems can be de-prioritized, so many nutritional experts recommend aiming for a rest-and-digest state when eating. Moving more slowly and calmly can help get activate this state, also called the parasympathetic nervous system.
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Chewing more slowly not only helps us feel calm, but can improve our digestion, according to Jeans.
“When we eat more slowly, we are likely to chew better, and this is the first stage of optimum digestion,” she said.
“When we eat quickly, we often don’t chew well, meaning mechanical digestion in the mouth doesn’t take place, and larger particles of food get down into our stomachs and intestines, making it more difficult to extract all those precious vitamins, minerals and macronutrients.”
This can also cause maldigestion, she explained, which “can contribute to digestive discomfort, such as bloating, wind and cramping.” She added it may “reduce intolerance reactions to foods” and “support a healthier balance in the gut microbiome” too.
Mindful eating may even help with portion control and weight management.
“It takes time for our satiety hormones and signals to kick in,” Jeans said. “If we eat too quickly, we simply may not be able to recognize when we’ve had enough.”
“[With mindful eating,] we may be better at portion control, because we’re more aware of when we are full.”
Eating socially is another component of mindful eating that is both enjoyable and beneficial, Jeans said, adding: “When we eat socially, we’re more likely to eat slowly, because we’re chatting and taking time over our food.”
Mindful eating isn’t for everybody. The research is varied on its effectiveness, with one 2022 review concluding that a personalized approach should be taken when deciding whether to use mindful eating strategies.
Neurodivergent individuals may struggle to eat with these techniques, Jeans said, and may instead benefit from being “more mindful about what you put on your plate.”
For people with an eating disorder or disordered eating behaviors, “mindful eating is not an immediate priority,” she added.
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References
Tapper, K. (2022). Mindful eating: what we know so far, Nutr Bull 47(2):168-185.
