Enjoy Your Food

Because it is wrong to eat merely to gratify a perverted taste‚ it does not follow that we should be indifferent in regard to our food. It is a matter of the highest importance. There is a class who seem to think that whatever is eaten is lost‚ that anything tossed into the stomach to fill it‚ will do as well as food prepared with intelligence and care. But it is important that we relish the food we eat. If we cannot‚ and have to eat mechanically‚ we fail to receive the proper nourishment. For food to be properly digested‚ each enzyme and digestive juice must be secreted in the right amount‚ at the right time. If we are not hungry‚ have no appetite‚ or if the food does not taste good‚ the digestive juices will not flow properly‚ and the food will be poorly digested.

Food prepared and served with love is more nutritious‚ because it is not what we eat‚ but what we assimilate that counts. Assimilation is enhanced if we enjoy the meal. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is‚ than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” Proverbs 15:17

Ask the Lord’s Blessings‚ Then Eat with a Grateful Heart

At mealtime we are to cast off care and anxious thought; and not to feel hurried‚ but eat slowly and with cheerfulness‚ with our heart filled with gratitude to God for all His blessings.

The most desirable foods in the world may rot in the stomach of one who is mentally perturbed. The body-mind relationship cannot be separated. These depressing emotions are a great injury to them health-wise‚ for by hindering the process of digestion they interfere with nutrition.

Neurophysiologists have found that people who eat with a grateful heart experience more efficient and complete digestion than those who are distracted when they eat. Being thankful for the food increases gastro-intestinal mobility‚ digestive enzyme and acid production. Eating with a grateful heart does not only entail saying grace before the meal and then eating while watching TV‚ reading a magazine‚ or having an intense discussion with a companion. It means being grateful for our food one mouthful at a time.

So what is the summary of perfect table manners?

Importance of chewing Eat a good breakfast Two meals better than three Five to six hours between meals Avoid eating before sleeping Eat at regular times No snacking between meals More variety in diet but less variety in each meal Proper food combining. Do not mix fruits with vegetables Do not have fruits after the meal Balance between raw and cooked food‚ alkaline and acid food Drink between meals Not too hot; not too cold Enjoy your food Ask for the Lord’s blessings‚ then eat with a grateful heart