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When We Eat We Should Eat…

Years ago, the main meal of the day was a sacred time for the family. It was a time when everyone gathered around for a meal lovingly prepared from local ingredients and to share stories of their day with the family. The body had just one thing to focus on… eating. However, today the story is usually very different, especially here in the UK, and we tend to expect our body to multitask as we sit in front of the TV, phone resting next to us, ready to spring into action at the first notification. Not only that, but family members are often eating different things at different times.

Digestion takes up around eighty percent of our energy. If we are asking our body to digest our food and write an amazing text message at the same time, our brain simply can’t cope, as all our energy is going to digestion. Maybe our body will give it a go, which can result in feeling frustrated as we struggle to do two tasks at the same time, with very little energy, or concentration, being allocated to either.

If we don’t focus on eating, and our minds are somewhere else (such as watching TV), our mind believes we are in that environment. If you are watching a film that is scary, then your body will believe that you are in a scary environment and be put into fight, flight and freeze mode. The first system to turn off in fight, flight and freeze is the digestive system. When your body senses danger, the last thing it needs to do is digest a meal. It needs to focus all its energy to prepare you to get away from the danger. So, when you sit there watching that scary film and at the same time trying to digest a meal with your digestive system turned off – well, then hello bloated abdomen, fermented farts and lack of nutrition! It doesn’t matter how good a meal is – if the digestive system is not turned on, how are you going to absorb all of those vital nutrients? 

So, I’m asking you to start a revolution in your house and bring back Dinner Time, or as we call it here in Wales in the UK, Tea Time. Choose a time and ask your family to commit to having an electronic detox: no phones, no TV, just good food and good conversation. You may decide to focus on one evening a week and give it a theme, such as a Mexican food evening or curry night. The main thing is that it should be all about connecting with your loved ones and eating with your digestive system fully turned on to suck up those amazing nutrients that will turn into amazing you!

Have you tried having a digital detox at meal times? Did you get the family involved? How did you feel? I’d love it if you shared your experiences in the comments below to help inspire others and get this Tea Time Revolution started!

Remember, if this post tickles your taste-buds then please feel free to share with friends and family. 

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