Your Food Thoughts Affect Your Satiety

Eating is something we do at least three times a day.  Both our personal and societal focus is strongly fixated on food for this reason.  Ayurveda also emphasizes food and its digestion as one of the requisites of good health.  One of the components of proper digestion is one's attitude towards the food and eating experience.  Ayurveda teaches food should be eaten in a pleasant atmosphere and the food should be pleasing to the person who is eating.  This promotes healthy digestion of the food.  Food must be digested properly to nourish and strengthen the body.

New research confirms Ayurveda's recommendation of personal satisfaction with the food.  In a recent study, two groups of participants were given the exact same milkshake.  One group's shake was labeled as sensible and the other group's shake was labeled as more rich and indulgent.  The group with the 'indulgent' shake felt more satisfied after drinking the shake.  Additionally, the hormone levels of the more satisfied group literally demonstrated physical satiety with lower levels of ghrelin.  Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced and secreted in the stomach.  When ghrelin rises, people get a signal in the brain that they are hungry.  The research study showed how a food and a belief about that food creates a physiological reaction in the body.  Feeling satisfied with a meal requires both physical and mental satiety.

The study also confirms Ayurveda's holistic approach to health.  Healthy eating and digestion is a combination of the right food for the right body type, personal satisfaction and a positive eating experience.  Food is how we fuel the functioning of the body and its impact on our overall health.

It is also important to note that many people overeat today because they do not feel satisfied with the food they eat.  This lack of satisfaction causes people to overeat and gain weight.  The Ayurvedic approach to eating and the study's results can be helpful to maintaining a healthy weight.  One needs to address the whole person, both body and mind, when eating.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa