RELATING TO YOUR FOOD

You and your food have a relationship. Yes. And, like all relationships, you can be caring, accepting, welcoming, empathic, or ignoring of "the other." Your body responds accordingly:"Well, if she/he doesn't care,why should I? I'm just doing my job, no more, no less, and just let each part do its thing. feeling that I'm not very important, nothing really special." You and only you can change that. How? You can have a relationship with your food, that substance that keeps you alive, gives you joy and something "to do" - like eating. How to start this "relationship?" First, caring is to eat slowly. Chew each morsel - (sit down for this one) 21 times. So say the experts. It's like being with a close friend and taking them in. That's what you're doing with that which blesses you to wake up each morning and get through the day. Treat it as the sacred "thing" it is. For it is. Welcome it with your heart. Embrace it for, you chose it, soon to be an essential part of you. Concentrate. To do so, taste each morsel without any distractions. Eating alone is the best way. If not, and you must be with others, listen to them but do not, do not, neglect that which is in your mouth and about to be swallowed. Take the journey with that one piece and follow it through - then the next,and on and on. Feel the taste- recognize it: is it sweet, sour, bitter, chewy, smooth? Give it credit for being what it is and that you have been blessed with a variety. Know that you have a balanced meal if each piece of food on your plate is of a different color- one green, one orange, one yellow- a rainbow. Now, you're eating healthy. More than that- you're aware. YOU AND YOUR FOOD ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP. CONGRATULATIONS. HERE'S TO A HEALTHY, LONG LIFE. (And see my next blogs weekly. Thanks for listening. Dr. Marcella Bakur Weiner