1.    When it is time to eat you choose to eat the nearest and easiest thing available that takes no preparation and can be eaten at the same time as doing another activity.

2.    You look forward to eating because you are starving but you eat it fast due to being in the habit of eating quickly rather than to digest and savour the food.

3.    You graze throughout the day so you are never hungry when you eat at meal times.

4.    Emotional eating: rather than eating when you are hungry you reach for food when you feel stressed.  Usually comfort food such as a cookie, ice-cream or bag of crisps.

 Any of the above could lead to symptoms such as bloating, reflux, obesity, fatigue or inflammation.  As well as these symptoms the nutrients from the food will not be absorbed as well as they could be. Remember it is a matter of what you absorb rather than what you eat that will boost your health.

Eating mindfully can resolve digestive issues without changing what you eat.  Here are 3 ways you can improve your digestion by the way you eat:

1.    Tune into your hunger signals, aim for only 3 meals a day without snacks so you are genuinely hungry at mealtime. When you are hungry your digestive juices are released especially when you both smell and think about eating.  The digestive juices include salivary amylase, stomach acid, bile and digestive enzymes.

2.    Sit down and relax to eat without any other stimulus than eating. Take some deep breathes, chew your food at least 25 time and eat slowly. Put your cutlery down between mouthfuls.

3.    Eat until you are 80% full, It takes at least 20 minutes for your mind to send out signals to your brain that you are full. Therefore, you do not need to eat until you feel completely full but aim to eat until you are no longer hungry.

Eating is one of life’s pleasures so eating mindfully can ensure you are living your life to the full!!