Top Ten Eating Habits

Good eating habits results in healthy digestive system that will improve your overall health. It also makes you free from a number of ailments. Below are top ten eating habits that are very beneficial for maintaining a good health.

- Always be mindful of the wholesomeness of the food combinations – Even alkali-genic and nutritious foods, when taken without regards to the rules of food combinations, can generate toxins in the body.

- If you are not hungry, don’t eat – It is advised by health experts that eating food without hunger is not good for health and may create many digestive disorders.

- Chew your food properly – Thorough chewing mixes saliva with the food. Digestion starts off in the mouth itself with the action of the enzymes present in the saliva. Moreover, well-chewed food is easily digested.

- Do not drink water with meals – Water requires only 10 minutes to be absorbed from the stomach, and in the process it carries the enzymes away. This reduces the digestive process, which may result in the loss of appetite. You can drink water 15 minutes before a meal, half an hour after taking fruits, and two hours after a full meal.

- Do not eat when you are under physical or mental tension – If the body or the mind is exhausted or under tension, the secretion of the digestive juices will not be adequate.

- Do not eat or drink anything that is too hot or too cold – Ideally the temperature of any food should be around 37 ºC (98.6 ºF), the temperature of the body. The enzymes in the mouth and the stomach act best at such temperatures.

- Do not overeat – Overeating is always harmful. The stomach is a flexible bag made up of muscles. Its rhythmic contractions and expansions are responsible for the efficient mixing of digestive juices and enzymes with food. These movements are hindered if the bag is stuffed with excessive food. The enzymes are not mixed properly with the food, which begins to decay. Most people fail to exercise discretion in the amount of food they take. Overeating makes one lethargic and dull. This is a constant feeling of thirst. With time the belly gets enlarged, and one fall victim to disorders of the digestive system. In fact, to keep healthy it is necessary at all times to remain slightly hungry.

- Rest for a while after meal – The body vessels of the stomach dilate just after meals. This stimulates the secretion of enzymes, and thus helps digestion. If work requiring any kind of physical or mental exertion is taken up just after a meal, blood will be diverted from the stomach to other parts of the body like the hand, feet or brain, slowing down digestion.

- Eat only one meal, or take only fruits, one day every week – Giving occasional rest to the stomach is as necessary as giving it its usual assignment of digestion, for maintaining its efficiency. Moreover, when the body is not occupied in the task of digestion, it is free to tackle the poison that has been accumulated in it.

- Do not take any food while suffering from fever or any other ailment – This is essential. It is a fact that we never do feel hungry when we indisposed, and actually feel averse to taking any food. During an illness, the secretion of digestive juices is greatly reduced. As a result, the digestive processes are almost at a standstill.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.