This remarkable article was sent to me by Liz H in California. It is a MUST READ.
In GT we encourage folks to switch from ‘poo’ – or processed food – to whole, real food. We get a lot of whining about how folks ‘miss gourmet food’ and have cravings for something ‘substantial’ – which is mind bending since whole, real food is not only more substantial than poo, tastier, less expensive, and just even simpler and quicker to prepare. The body responds with vibrancy, clear thinking, deeper sleep and renewed vigor. I keep encouraging folks to change their minds about how they look at real food – asking them to think about it as a CULINARY ADVENTURE rather than yet another exercise in dieting. People have a hard time wrapping their heads around this concept.
This last weekend I was on a boat all day with some old friends. I had offered to bring the food. I made no mention, excuse, or rationalization for what I would be cooking (I don’t talk about my work with my friends and family much – I don’t need the resistance) – so there was no preamble. I brought 5 dishes straight from the GT recipe files – and the meal was throughly enjoyed with comments about how ‘gourmet’ it was – how delicious – how satisfying – and I thought, WOW – showing up, being me, cooking how I cook there was no pre-concieved notion about ‘diet food’ or ‘healthy food’. The food was received as what it was – delicious, colorful, and deeply rewarding.
It was timely to have this experience just days before Liz sent me this article:
Mind Over Milkshakes
Sure, we want to eat healthily. But when given a choice between the French fries or the salad, which calls to us most loudly? An article in the May, 2011 issue of the Health Psychology journal written by my daughter, Alia Crum, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at Yale University, might shed some light.
Ali wanted to explore the role of the mindset on food consumption and to find out if one’s mindset when eating influenced the body’s physiology beyond the actual nutrition and calories. She decided to measure ghrelin, a hormone released in the stomach in response to eating. While eating, ghrelin levels normally change, spiking downwards, basically speeding up your metabolism and telling you that you are full.
Ali gathered 46 volunteers (18-35 years of age) who were told that they were to evaluate the labeling and the taste of two milkshakes: one a “high fat 620-calorie Indulgent shake” (“Decadence You Deserve”) and the other a “no fat 140-calorie Sensible shake” (“Guilt-free Satisfaction”). Each volunteer evaluated the labels and tested both drinks – one week apart. Each time they were given blood tests before and after drinking the shake to measure their ghrelin levels.
What the participants did not know was that they were actually drinking the same 380-calorie shake both times. One would think that the ghrelin reaction would be the same for each. Indeed, when volunteers tested the “Indulgent” shake, they experienced a sharp decline in ghrelin, which is consistent with the body telling the mind that it is satisfied after the shake was consumed. (More specifically, the gut telling the brain that adequate nutrients have been digested and that it is speeding up metabolism to digest the nutrients present.)
But, bizarrely, the ghrelin levels did not drop when they consumed the supposed low-calorie “Sensible” shake – an indication that their bodies did not signal a feeling of fullness or satiety. These findings offer insight into the power of mindset on food consumption: the body reacts based on what you think you are consuming rather than what you actually are consuming. We can literally change the state of our body by changing the state of our mind. But what is more fascinating in this study is that the effect of the mindset is somewhat counter-intuitive. Consuming the milkshake in the indulgent mindset had the more appropriate response. This might tell us why so many healthy eating habits and diets fail: we think that these healthy options are not as satisfying and our gut reflects that mindset in its physiological response.
“People should still work to eat healthily,” suggested Ali on MSNBC. “But, do so with a mindset of ‘indulgence’ – believing that a food will be enough to satisfy and fulfill nutritional needs.”
Wow! Eat healthy, but think indulgently. How do we do that?
Does that mean if we’re having a bowl of lentil soup and a salad for lunch that we need to work at feeling satiated? If it’s a mindset issue that dictates fullness, what might be a healthier form of “nourishment” that could fill us up? How about gratitude? How about getting centered and feeling thankful for nature’s continual abundance in our lives, for our daily nourishment, for the food harvesters and preparers? Perhaps we could fill ourselves up with the present moment – enjoying each morsel of food slowly and mindfully without the distraction of multi-tasking on our Blackberries or i-pads.
I once met a Japanese woman who traveled frequently between Japan and the U.S. She would eat only one rice ball during the entire multi-hour flight – and take the entire flight to eat it!
Healthy eating might be far more satisfying when we add a pinch of mindfulness and a dash of gratitude.
Genesis Transformation's Blog 
Samantha Ray
June 17, 2011
Thanks for sharing this article Sheri!! How nice to hear about research being done of how connected our minds are to our bodies. “The body achieves what the mind believes.”
In mindfulness & gratitude,
Samantha
David Cohen
June 17, 2011
This makes me wonder the obvious; is the converse also true? Can I eat POO and with the proper mental state avoid the negative effects?
I did some reading on the topic and found an interesting story. An author and religious leader Terry Cole Whittiker once taught that the mind was the most powerful tool available to us, and that we may eat whatever we want as long as we prepared ourselves mentally. After some time eating ‘whatever’ she wound up switching to a raw diet – and reported loosing 50 pounds and feeling much better overall.
While I am not convinced that a raw diet was the only available healthy alternative to her ‘mind over matter’ diet, I am impressed with her experience and the conclusion that she came to:
WHY spend all that mental energy when we can just eat well to begin with? If we eat carefully and responsibly we can have more energy – mental, physical, and spiritual – to spend as we like!
To me this sounds WAY more fun than a mandatory hour long meditation just to break down that Big-Mac….
Now – what if we eat well, and keep in a grateful space while we do it – the possibilities are endless.
Sheri Lynn
June 17, 2011
It’s important that when we feed other people, we feed them what we find fulfilling. Good food is good food. So often my clients tell me they make (or bring) one meal for themselves, and then poo for ‘everyone else’ – both socially and at home.
Sure, when we tell people what we’re feeding them is healthy, or diet food, or dairy-wheat free, or sugarfree etc – we SET IT UP to be unenjoyable because we are saying there is a LACK of something. But why feed our loved ones toxic poo because we think that is what they will expect? Why not feed them really good food – as you eat – and let them enjoy it?
We also set up this attitude of healthy food being unenjoyable by making it look hard, complaining, whining, or treating ourselves like we’re on a diet. When we are concerned for the health of our loved ones, then we need to make what we’re doing look FUN. LET the food be DELICIOUS.
I offer to cook for other folks quite a bit when I’m getting together with them. This way I get fed in the way that my body needs, and I am feeling good about the meal we are sharing.
Courtney
June 17, 2011
This also makes me think of how much we wake-up our taste buds when we clean up our food choices. Personally, I think the cleaner we eat….the better food tastes and the more indulgent it feels! Indulging in excellent health is SO much more rewarding than indulging in poo!