Food and behavior

HAVE you noticed that you get a little cranky if haven’t eaten in a while? Or when you’ve eaten so much you feel sleepy? These are common scenarios illustrating how behavior is influenced by the food we eat. It makes a lot of sense that the more extreme the food is, the more extreme the behavior will be. Think about one who has had too much sugar and goes buzzing around until that “high” wears off, and he becomes a lethargic slug. Eating an extreme diet makes it harder for us to control our behavior.

Maintaining a balanced diet is the most natural

approach to eating but most people eat an extreme diet (animal foods and plant derivatives like sugar, alcohol, spices, drugs). People usually eat foods that they crave

to satisfy both hunger and  craving. Eating an extreme

diet not only affects a person’s behavior but also limits their performance in every aspect of their lives.

So what should you eat? A healthy balanced diet

primarily consists of plant foods (fruits, vegetable, grains, seeds), preferably organic. Eating an

extreme diet can have an effect that is

unpleasant although not always life-threatening. It’s known to cause hygiene problems such as offensive

body odor and extremely smelly stool. This is especially true for people who eat a lot of meat, dairy and sugar.

Change your palate

Taste in food is very important. We love food that tastes good, but our taste buds have become so desensitized that we can only taste

extreme foods such as fats, meats, sweets and processed foods. For you to taste anything, the flavors have to be stronger. I have a friend who has to add a lot of salt and chili pepper to everything, otherwise he just can’t savor a thing. Or sweets must be overly sweet for him to appreciate the food. Are you the kind of person who automatically reaches for the salt shaker before even tasting the  food? Or add spoonfuls of sugar to

already sweetened cereal?

How you taste food is important to creating balance in your diet.   To change your palate, you have to

eliminate the culprits causing the problems. Get rid

of your salt shaker at the table. Things will start to taste different to you because you will start to taste flavors other than the salt. If you have a sweet tooth, try

cutting back on the sugary flavors that have been

destroying your palate for years. Try less sugar in your coffee and in your cereal, and if you must eat desserts, try picking ones that are less sweet (such as  a plain doughnut instead of a glazed one or skipping the

icing on the cake). As you eliminate extreme flavors from your diet, you will eventually be able to rediscover foods that you haven’t tasted in years.

The art of chewing

The way you eat is an expression of who you are. Eating begins with the simple task of chewing. You might think that you’ve got this one down pat, but many people actually don’t. Do you play “beat the clock” when you sit down for a meal? Do you eat

so quickly that you don’t realize you’re full until

you’re stuffed? Do you notice visible remnants of last night’s dinner in your morning stool? If you said “yes” to any one of these questions,  I’ve got news for you: You have to learn to chew your food.

The best visual I can give you to help remind you of the importance of thoroughly chewing your food is that “your stomach does not have teeth.” Digestion starts the second you begin to chew. You will completely mess up your digestive system by not chewing your food efficiently. Chewing food properly will also help you to taste and disseminate all the luscious and delicious flavors in each and every morsel of food you put into your mouth. Chewing helps break up the food we eat and enables chemicals in our saliva to

begin the digestion process. Chewing also stimulates the flow of gastric juices. Whole vegetable foods and whole grains must be chewed until liquified to release their full nutritional value. If you don’t chew your food properly, you will inevitably feel lethargic, gassy and undernourished. This is why so many people, even though they are eating large amounts of food all day are still hungry. Their bodies are not properly receiving the nutrients from the food that has been eaten

because the food has not been chewed to a form that the stomach can recognize and break down. Your stomach cannot work on whole pieces of food. Therefore, the pieces pass through your system undigested. You should chew each bite of food 20 to 30 times to know that you have effectively chewed you food. Chewing your food well also helps slow you down in the eating process.

Here are tips on how to eat:

* Dine when you eat. Take the time to enjoy your meal.

* Increase your eating awareness. Taste what you’re eating.

* Chew your food well.

* Don’t drink anything with your meal. If you must drink, make sure you sip. Have something to drink 15 to 20 minutes before or an hour after eating.

* Eat only when you’re hungry.