My wellness community has been working on a healthy habits reset over the past 2 weeks. One of our practices has been to pay more attention to mental chatter. What are the stories that are hanging around in our subconscious that don’t serve us? When it comes to food, do I feel like it’s nourishing me or am I cheating on the rules I’ve set for myself?
What we believe to be true tends to be realized, including what we think about food. Science has shown that our mindset around food affects how it’s digested in our body. Let me give you two powerful examples:
Gratitude and Digestion
We all know chronic stress is bad for your health, and gratitude’s ability to help move you into a parasympathetic state positively impacts digestion, inflammation, sleep quality, immune function, and your ability to regulate emotions.
Specifically, when you’re thankful for your food, your brain signals your body to release digestive enzymes, helping you absorb more essential nutrients. Being thankful for your food literally makes it more nutritious.
The Milkshake Experiment
Psychologist Alia Crum ran a study where she labeled identical milkshakes as either “healthy” or “indulgent”. In the study, participants drank the milkshakes and the researchers then measured the levels of the hormone ghrelin, the “hunger” hormone. (Ghrelin levels rise when you haven’t eaten in a while to signal that you should find food; and drop after eating to signal that it is time for your body to digest food).
What did they find?
“Ghrelin levels dropped about three times more when people thought they were consuming the indulgent shake.”
That’s right, people’s actual hunger were reduced when thought they drank the “indulgent” option.
A powerful shift is waiting for all of us:
When you eat, can you stop, have gratitude for the food you are eating and how it is nourishing your body and giving you energy and health?
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Journaling prompt: How can I change the outdated and unhelpful beliefs I have about food?
XO Tracey
P.S. Here’s my blog post on Gratitude and a great article from The American Brain Foundation for more reasons to be grateful.
