Pancake day really crepe-d up on me this year! So much so, that I actually didn't make any pancakes at all. Flip.
In the vein of food - and perhaps at a time where people consider giving up various foods or food groups - I thought it might be nice to discuss food a little; I don't think we've done this before on Mindful Moments.
A good friend of mine, Chessie, (incidentally, the first friend I made when I moved to Brighton nearly three years ago - grateful to you, Chess!) recently recommended an episode of the BBC Radio 4 show, Start the Week called āThe food we eatā. It's a short show in which the guests discuss where food comes from, including the environmental impact of various foods and their air miles, as well as nutrition in pregnancy and more broadly in general, too.
āConsider on a daily basis that your food is literally what you are made ofā
Recently, I have been thinking about I can best eat to support my mental health. There are multiple high-quality studies showing the benefits of eating well for mental health, most noticeably an Australian study showing ā remission of moderate depression through diet alone. (You can read more here.)
In this R4 show, the panelists discuss how with a nutritional supplement amongst prison inmates there was an āobjective, significant reduction in violent behaviourā.
Diet is neither insignificant nor inconsequential.
The best diets for mental health are based on the Mediterranean diet and consist predominantly of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, olive oil, unsalted nuts, seeds and legumes with some dairy and fish. (You can read more here if you head to the 'Supplemental' tab.)
āYou can be well-fed, full and malnourished all at the same timeā
Mindful moment: Don't blame yourself. Behavioural economics dictates that āour environment influences and shapes the way we make decisions in ways that are completely unconsciousā. With a little effort and awareness, however, you can override those unconscious nudges from society and advertising. Eating to support your gut health (microbiome) and therefore your brain, heart, systemic and mental health will always be worth it.
curated just for you
In yoga, we reconnect the mind to the body. When we have greater awareness of the body, we can notice what effect foods are having on us physically: foods that make us feel heavy, lethargic, bloated or foods that energise us and aid our digestion.
Mindful moment: Eating when stressed will affect the digestion of the food. Aim to soothe the nervous system to prime it for peak digestion with a few deep breaths before you eat.
Please consider donating to my London Marathon page to help raise Ā£1300 for the Sussex Beacon which provides life-saving HIV care:
Last week, I spoke about the Plum Village YouTube channel and a talk about how to love oneself. I wanted to share with you an anecdote from that:
āOne of my students came up to me and said that he had tried eating mindfully like we had talked about. He said āI ate one of my favourite cookies mindfully and realised it tasted like cardboard"."
Mindful moment: When did you last properly taste something? I tried this test with some Quavers recently and have to agree they tasted like cardboard! We don't realise that at the time, because we're caught up in the dopaminergic appeal of a hedonistic combination of fat and sugar and salt. But when we truly stop to taste what we're eating - even our āfavouriteā foods - we might realise they're not so great after all. On the other hand, really tasting incredible food and savouring the flavour can elevate an everyday, ordinary experience into one of greater enjoyment, presence and wonder.
