A-listers’ secrets to great sleep, glowing skin and glossy hair ...and, weirdly, you should eat dessert as a first course!
By Hollywood’s go-to nutritionist RADHI DEVLUKIA-SHETTY
M Speak affirming words, listen to a meditation or uplifting songs; sing to your food as you cook. It may sound silly, but scientists have compared the effects of music and words on water molecules and found that soothing words and music create snowflake-like structures, while angry words and music create more of a disjointed formation. If they have the power to do that to water, imagine what they can create in your body, which is 70 per cent water!
● Offer gratitude for these ingredients and this moment of being alive on the planet, whether it’s to God or the universe.
● Eat with intention. When you take a moment to be quiet and present with your food, express gratitude for it.
Put down your utensils between bites and savour the individual flavours to create a more uplifting experience. This is called conscious eating.
TIPS FOR LIVING JOYFULLY
1. Cook and eat with love. Picture each element and what it’s doing to benefit your body. Then, before you tuck in, take a moment to say thank you for this beautiful meal.
2. Eat until satisfied, not stuffed. Ayurveda recommends we eat until we are three-quarters satisfied. Overeating increases the production of free radicals, or unstable molecules that build up in the cells. This can inhibit your ability to break down foods and in turn lead to chronic health issues.
3 Chew your food. This breaks it down, which makes it easier for your body to utilise. Chewing also allows you to notice the textures, the sour, the sweet, the heat.
4. Eat (and cook) with your hands.
One of the easiest ways to connect your senses with your meal is to touch your food. Not every dish lends itself to eating with your hands, but many do. This also extends to preparing meals.
5 Eat without distractions. If you are eating while watching TV or working, it increases the chances of overeating and not chewing or digesting your food adequately.
6 Avoid cold and iced beverages. In scientific terms, cold drinks cause your blood vessels to constrict, which can hinder digestion and the process of absorbing nutrients. Try to stick to 120ml hot water, warm water or roomtemperature water at mealtimes.
7 Avoid snacking. Your body needs at least three hours to digest, so eating between meals can disrupt the digestive process.
8 Eat your dessert before dinner. That’s because sweets are always digested first, so if any other food is in your system, your body will stop digesting it in favour of the sweet, leading undigested food to ferment and toxins to accumulate.
9. Go for a walk. Sitting squashes the digestive tract and slows digestion. Instead, go for a 10-15 minute stroll after a meal.
By embracing simple habits such as creating meals that balance all essential tastes, eating with all your senses and cooking and eating with gratitude, you’ll be creating a strong foundation for health and vitality in body and spirit. You will be joyFULL!