Chinese Medicine Nutrition – first things first
1. Eat with a calm mind. Even if your mind is not calm, then just keep coming back to the simple act of eating.
2. Eat like a queen in the morning, a princess at lunch and a pauper in the evening. This pattern of eating follows the natural cycle of your body. Starting with a nutritious meal with plenty of protein, fats and carbs sets us up to have a steady stream of energy throughout the day. Blood sugar levels are more even and we will have fewer energy fluctuations.
If you are intermittent fasting, the best meal to skip is in the evening, when your energy needs are lowest. We can deplete ourselves over time by skipping breakfast, as we can dip into our body’s reserves of energy for our daily activities if we aren’t supplying them with nutritious food.
3. Eat less. In Japan and China, its traditional to stop eating when we are 2/3 full. (Not that everyone does). It takes a while for our brain to catch up to our stomach and realize that we’ve eaten enough.
If we think about it, modern illnesses are mainly illnesses of excess. Looking around, many of us are overweight, have high blood sugar and insulin, too much inflammation and cholesterol (Another important way is to check if you’re sensitive or allergic to things you’re eating. More on that in an upcoming post). One of the best ways to avoid this is to stop eating, wait for 10-15 mins and check in to see if you need more food. If you do, go for it. If not, don’t.