In recent years, considerable research has focused on the health benefits of mindfulness.  Not to be confused with any kind of religious practice, “mindfulness” is simply the process of becoming aware of and attentive to the present moment.  In mindfulness meditation, you focus on your breathing while being aware of thoughts and emotions that arise without attachment.  Most people find it initially very challenging to stay in the present, without automatically drifting into thoughts of the past or the future.  The benefits of persevering are significant, though.  Research has shown that, in addition to psychological benefits, mindfulness meditation improves immune function, helps the skin clear faster in psoriasis patients, and reduces chronic pain.

Mindful eating is of particular interest in weight-related issues.  Like mindfulness in general, mindful eating involves bringing your full attention to the sensations of eating in the present moment.  Most of us are not very mindful when we eat.  Particularly in these days of fast food drive-throughs and eating on the run, we are more likely to be unconsciously shoving food in our mouth than mindfully noticing what we are eating.

Mindful eating can be a wonderful experience.  It starts with noticing how your body feels before you even put the food near your mouth.  Are you actually hungry?  Do you feel tired, energetic, rushed?  Then as you get ready to eat, you engage all your senses in appreciating the food – how it looks, how it smells, and how it tastes and feels in your mouth.  Finally, you notice how you feel after you’ve eaten the food.

Although I try to eat mindfully as often as I can, one of my favorite ways to practice (and teach) mindful eating is with a piece of really good-quality dark chocolate.  (Note: Since dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, relatively low in fat, and studies have shown that it reduces blood pressure, insulin resistance and inflammation, I consider it a “health food”!)  Recently, one of my coworkers brought back some dark chocolate from a trip, so several of us decided to do a mindfulness experiment.  It took us several minutes to really appreciate the chocolate with all our senses, and then let a small piece melt in our mouths before swallowing.  It was amazing how you could detect the various flavors – sweet, bitter, even tangy – when you really stopped and focused on the experience of eating a piece of chocolate.

A big advantage of this approach is that when you mindfully enjoy a small piece of a food like chocolate you rarely want to eat any more.  You are satisfied and nourished on many levels and the desire to keep eating more than you need just melts away.

Another advantage of mindful eating when you are eating something that maybe isn’t so tasty (a greasy fast food burger that’s been sitting under a warming lamp for 10-15 minutes, perhaps?) is that you may realize that you don’t actually want to eat it.  Not surprisingly, studies at Duke University and Indiana University have shown that mindful eating reduces binge eating in overweight women.  Further research is ongoing at a number of other universities (including, now, UCSF) to see what benefits this approach has on weight loss.

So, the next time you eat, take a few moments to become aware of your experience in the present moment.  You’ll be amazed not only at what you learn about your food and your body, but how much more satisfying and pleasurable food can be.