Taste

Taste is under-rated. In our hurried world we often forget to really appreciate the flavour and texture of the food we put into our bodies. So many times we fail to remember that food is something to enjoy, savour and have a relationship with. Again, my personal motto of everything in moderation comes to the forefront. If a person consciously eats in moderation, then they generally take their time buying and preparing their food by choosing a healthy recipe, pausing for examination and considering and appreciating the healthy food that they are ingesting, rather than just eating for the sake of energy consumption. If we took a moment to really examine what we put in our bodies and taste the food we eat, we might think twice before scarfing down that bag of processed potato chips or we may refuse the offering of edible oil product, otherwise known as gummie worms. We don't allow our growing children to consume copious amounts of this processed junk, so why do we give ourselves permission to do so?

"But I had a craving".... Research suggests that a less acute sense of taste leads to over-consumption of foods rich in sugar, salt and fat. When taste buds function as they should, we experience sensory-specific satiety- a sense of satisfaction that helps us stop eating long before the stomach registers fullness, says Alan Hirsch, M.D., director if the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. How it works: Taste and smell receptors in the mouth respond to flavour chemicals in food. "The receptors then relay messages to the brain's hypothalamus". "This triggers the release of leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite and revs metabolism. The problem is the changes in food manufacturing have led to numbing of the taste buds that delays sensory specific satiety. "Processed foods are layered with flavours- salt on the top of sweet on top of fat". This overstimulates the taste buds and inhibits their ability to detect flavours.

The good news is that taste buds can be recalibrated by cutting back on processed foods rich in fat, salt and sugar. Since taste buds are so malleable, if you stick to wholesome foods, you will actually prefer less sugar, fat and salt within weeks. I have a friend who has two food rules. First, she only eats food items that have five or less ingredients. This rule makes total sense since, most processed foods contain ingredients well into the double digits. The second rule she follows is that she never buys anything that has a expiration date of more than a month. When I observe this friend eating, she takes her time, she has a small smile of delight on her face and she definitely has MUCH more energy throughout the day, not to mention she looks fantastic with her glowing skin, silky hair and svelte figure.

One of the tricks that I have adopted to improve my taste experience is that I drink a glass of water before my meal. Drinking water keeps me hydrated, and assists in making my stomach feel more full, thus I consume less calories at mealtime (In a study at Virginia Tech, subjects who used this strategy ate 75-90 calories fewer calories at meals- which is enough to lose 28 pounds a year effortlessly). Dehydration or a dry mouth can impede your ability to register flavours because you won't produce enough saliva to breakdown food.

Remember, if you substitute a handful of grapes or an apple for a sugary processed treat, over time your taste buds will prefer the naturally sweet taste of fruit. Not to mention that the fiber in fruit slows down the release of blood sugar to short-circuit sweet cravings later in the day. If you need to add sugar to your food, opt for whole foods and sweeten them yourself by using brown sugar cane or honey, rather than using artificial sweeteners which are 600 times sweeter than sugar, which can make it difficult for taste buds to be satisfied by natural sugars.

On this Friday afternoon, I invite you to visit the local market, drink water and appreciate the taste of au natural.

Time

Happy New Year! It is often this time of year that we think about how fast the last 365 days have gone. We identify what we have accomplished, we make resolutions, we reminisce about the events during the year gone by and wonder what our future has in store. One of the greatest gifts that I gave myself in 2011 is the gift of time. I made a conscience effort EVERYDAY to sit with myself. It is a time I use to quiet my mind. In the silence, I stretch my mind to a place of calmness, less stress, no rush to be anywhere but right where I am. By giving myself time to just "be", it sets the tone for my entire day and I am able to accomplish much more. There is a saying the hurrier I go, the more behind I get. This rings true when a person doesn't give themselves the necessary time to reflect.

There have been moments in my life where I wish I could have reversed the clock. Perhaps it was when I sat through a really bad television program, or spent my precious time with a person who brought me down, rather than lifted me up, or enrolled in a course that I wasn't particularly passionate about. Unfortunately, I can not get that time back. The only thing that I can do about it now is remind myself in everything I do, AM I HAPPY DOING WHAT I AM DOING? As Benjamin Franklin said "Lost time is never found again". Make the most of every minute!

I am reading a book called Bounce by Matthew Syed. In this book he speaks about the importance of practice for success. One of the single ingredients needed for practice, besides motivation is time. I wish I embraced this concept twenty years ago.

Furthermore, if we all gave ourselves the gift of time we would have less conflicts, since we would have time to think rather than react. When you find yourself in a place of panic, anxiety or fear it can be helpful to conjure up a special place that you know will interrupt your train of thought. Take a few minutes to visualize yourself having the time of your life in this special place; laugh, smile, enjoy and feel relaxed. Trust me, it works. I like to set a date with myself in the wee hours of the morning, but you are free to return to that special place anytime you need to instill a calming sense of well-being and just give yourself a little time.

Don't count every hour in the day, make every hour count!