Human captivity or freedom depends on the state of mind. Whether a man is healthy or unhealthy reflects not only  his actions but also his thoughts. Over the past few years both offline and online capital market has provided numerous food choices in abundance thereby widening a void between dietary intake and good health.

Human captivity or freedom depends on the state of mind. Whether a man is healthy or unhealthy reflects not only  his actions but also his thoughts.
Over the past few years both offline and online capital market has provided numerous food choices in abundance thereby widening a void between dietary intake and good health, and further making people more prone towards dietary and lifestyle diseases like hypertension, diabetes, stroke, hormonal imbalance, heart disorders and cancer. A drastic change has been observed in eating habits due to the increasing screen time. People have a general tendency to eat with an over occupied mindless mode just to fill the stomach when they have screen in front.
Thus, growing awareness to implement hygienic healthy habits with the passage of time has become an essential desire for the entire human community. Planning a diet is a capstone to manage good health and protect oneself from illnesses.
In Charaka Samhita, an ancient Ayurvedic text ‘Ahara Vidhi Vidhan’ has been mentioned as the dietary rules to keep oneself healthy and prevent the diseases.  Traditionally all these rules were followed by all the people and involved points like knowing the inherent nature of food substance, its proper processing  during preparation, combination of different food items,  their  quantity  and right time for taking  and conduct to be followed while having food. All these factors were advocated to be followed strictly because they lead to proper functioning of digestive juices and enzymes and finally provide the complete benefit out of our meals. Today, there is a dire need to reconcile this concept for a healthy and disease- free living,  particularly the conduct of an individual while taking food.
Eating with mind, having good thoughts about food and with pure attention to relish its every bite and gratitude towards the Almighty is mindful eating. It involves a few of the basic steps like paying attention to food while eating, without being disturbed and eating only up to the point that satisfies our hunger. To learn this process of mindful eating, an individual must be aware and capable of differentiating between physiological and psychological hunger. It is more being process oriented rather than an out-come driven behaviour.
Researches recite that brain takes about 20 minutes for satiety centre (centre for feeling of satisfaction in brain) to send a signal of fullness. Giving time to eat, allows the brain to trigger signals and generate a feeling of fulfillment. 
Mindful eating not only helps in proper digestion of food but also in keeping us satisfied for longer period of time. Without making a change in eating behavior, it’s useless to change the diet. Reveal a change in daily routine by incorporating the change in dietary behavior. It is a method to encourage good care of oneself.
Fundamentals for mindful eating
•    Moods affect the food intake. Grossly people eat when they are tired, angry, upset, lonely or bored.
    Before making a choice to eat something, think for a moment  whether you are hungry in actual or it is out of stressful  and angry mind set.
•    Start the meal with an appetizer like soup and fillers like salad and vegetables and then have grains or cereals.
•    Say no to binge eating that involves eating a large amount of food in a short span of time mindlessly and without control.
•    Pay complete attention to intake and avoid being distracted and try to eat in silence.
•    Engage in eating by noticing colour, smell, textures and food flavours.
 •    Feel gratitude and consider to appreciate each and every thing which was involved in making the food edible viz. the earth, the growing process, ingredients, the person who cooked the food and all factors that helped it to reach in the plate. 
Benefits
Individuals practising the art of mindful eating are seen to have weight loss. Diabetic persons are seen to have improved blood sugar level. Females with menstrual irregularities do get benefits when strictly follow this method of eating. People with thyroid dysfunction also become capable of balancing their hormone secretions.
Certain individuals adopt this behavioural change but are unable to sustain when results are not seen. But continuous efforts in  implementing this diet theory of mindful eating enhances connection between proper food habits and prosperous life.

Dr. Vibhu Khanna
Assistant Professor,
Department of Kriya Sharir
Dayanand Ayurvedic College,
Mahatma Hansraj Marg, Jalandhar-8
Mob.: 8968127031