When you’re on the couch binge-watching a TV show, chances are you’re doing something else at the same time — like reading a book, scrolling on your phone or munching on snacks.
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Eating while doing something else can lead to unhealthy habits, though. “We’re not focusing on what we’re eating and how the food tastes or savoring our foods,” says dietitian Maxine Smith, RD, LD.
Yet this kind of idle noshing is common. “Mindless eating is quite easy to do. Food is such a part of everyday life and is so readily accessible,” notes Smith.
But when done on a regular basis, mindless eating just isn’t a good habit. You might consume more unhealthy food than you realize, or get into the habit of eating when you aren’t even hungry.
Embracing a practice known as mindful eating can get you back on track.
What is mindful eating?
Smith says the concept of mindful eating evolved out of mindfulness theory and practices, which encourages people to slow down, live in the moment and pay attention to their actions.
“Mindful eating focuses on the why and the how of eating, versus what’s promoted by many diets, which are more what to eat, how much to eat, maybe even when to eat,” Smith says, “It’s much more of an internal versus external approach to eating.”
Mindful eating is rooted in being thoughtful and analyzing your choices. “Part of mindful eating is to consider the why — what is my intention for eating?” Smith explains. This kind of contemplation is important because it leads to more deliberate — and personalized — food choices.
“You’re really thinking about your values and why it’s important for you personally to eat healthfully,” Smith says. “It may be to improve your health. It may be to improve your energy and digestion. It could be because your clothes aren’t fitting well, and you don’t want to go out and buy a new wardrobe.”
Learning how to eat mindfully also reflects a shift in perspective. “It’s a very empowering approach versus a deprivation approach,” Smith says. “You’re regaining control over food rather than letting it take control of you.”
The benefits of mindful eating
In general, mindful eating leads us to pick more nutritious foods, which has the added bonus of improving our overall eating habits. But embracing mindful eating techniques has multiple benefits beyond just good health.
Promotes better enjoyment of — and appreciation for — food
Remember how good your first taste of ice cream is each summer? Mindful eating can give you that positive feeling year-round — and, as an added bonus, you can achieve satisfaction through smaller portions.
“One of the biggest benefits of practicing mindful eating is that we actually enjoy food more, but in smaller amounts,” Smith says. “If you learn to savor foods, and engage with all of its different sensory aspects, you’ll be satisfied with a kiddie cone versus a double scoop ice cream cone.”
As an added bonus, mindful eating practices can also help you have more gratitude for the food on your table. “The practices include focusing on an appreciation for food and where it came from, as well as appreciating everybody that helped produce that food,” Smith says. “You’ll also develop a sense of thankfulness for all the ways that it’s benefiting our bodies, so you have a more positive appreciation for food.”
Helps curb cravings
Smith describes the practice of mindful eating as being like “reformatting the hard drive of your brain. You’ll start responding differently to different eating cues.” For example, you might notice you’re letting go of unhealthy food cravings and, instead, forming new, healthy ones.
Improves your digestion
Your mouth contains enzymes that help you start digesting food while you’re chewing. When you’re mindfully eating, you’re encouraged to eat more slowly and chew your foods thoroughly. As a result, you digest food earlier — and more effectively. “If someone has digestion problems, eating more slowly can immensely help with that,” Smith says. “A lot of mindful eating practices include chewing foods well, which also helps with the digestive processes.”
Helps regulate eating patterns
In the past, you’ve probably started snacking even when you’re full, or eaten so much at dinner you feel uncomfortably stuffed. Mindful eating is a way to get your eating habits back on track by helping you listen better to signs that you’re hungry or full. “Practicing mindful eating guides us when to start and stop eating based on internal cues,” Smith says. “It also helps with emotional eating and disordered eating patterns.” This includes common eating disorders like binge eating, she adds.
Supports weight management
Another byproduct of listening to your body’s internal cues is developing better weight management techniques. Instead of measuring your hunger by external measures, such as the amount of food on your plate or calories you’re consuming, you’re relying on what your body is telling you.
“Mindful eating can be extremely freeing,” Smith says. “If we say we’re never going to eat something again, it puts the food on a pedestal and makes it even more desirable,” Smith notes. “But if we incorporate some of that into our eating patterns and eat it mindfully, we might find out, ‘Oh, we’re satisfied with just a little bit of that and it’s not all that enticing as our brain is making it out to be.’”
Have a more positive attitude toward food — and ourselves
Over time, it’s easy to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. Mindful eating helps undo long-held negative habits or attitudes. “Mindful eating is a loving and non-shaming approach to eating,” Smith says. “You’re replacing those dos and don’ts of eating, or applying moral implications to food, with an attitude of exploration and curiosity.”
How to practice mindful eating
Because so much mindful eating involves changing your brain and outlook, there are some concrete steps you can take to begin following mindful eating.
Practice mindful eating exercises
Believe it or not, you can do mindful eating exercises to help get your brain in gear. “We have done classes where a person practices being mindful while they’re eating a particular snack,” Smith says. “They’re tuning out all distractions, paying attention to all the sensory implications and aspects of the food, and practicing savoring it.”
Along with this, developing a non-judgmental approach to what you eat — in other words, food is neither “good” nor “bad” — is key. “You also want to pay attention to how that food may help you feel in the short term,” Smith says. “Does that food provide me with energy, or does it provide me with a strong craving to eat more of that food? But you’re not judging that food as good or bad.”
Change your attitude toward food
Having a positive attitude about eating is also crucial, Smith stresses. “If you have a negative attitude, or if you feel deprived, you are very likely to fail,” she says. “So if you say, ‘I can’t have something to eat,’ catch yourself saying that and change it into a positive statement: ‘I choose not to eat that.’”
Put together a daily food plan
Go into every day with a dedicated food plan that spells out what you want to eat for each meal. Smith says this plan should cover healthy foods, as well as foods that might not be as nutritious. “You can have those occasional indulgences, but they’re planned indulgences,” Smith says. “If you go into the day with a plan, include some of those higher-calorie or less-healthy foods, maybe in smaller amounts or less often.” She adds that this proportion is OK because you can get most of your needed daily nutrients if you’re eating healthfully “about 80%, 85% of the time.”
Just be sure not to put too much pressure on yourself by expecting perfection every day.
“Use that plan more like a GPS,” Smith says. “If we want to get to a place, we’re much more likely to arrive there, and arrive there promptly, if we have that GPS. We may have a few diversions along the way, but the sooner that we get back on track, the better. And having a meal plan going into the day is going to help us get there a lot sooner.”
Schedule smaller meals
Between busy work and family schedules, you might find yourself eating only one or two big daily meals instead of spreading out your eating over a full day. “Your stomach can actually become distended (bloated) and then you require more food to have that sense of fullness,” Smith says.
To undo this habit, schedule smaller meals about three hours apart. “These may be a small mini-meal, such as a yogurt and a piece of fruit and a small handful of nuts,” Smith says. “It doesn’t have to be a formal meal. It’s more having something to carry you over, so you don’t go too long without eating and go into the next meal ravenous.” You may need to schedule more of these meals at first until you get used to this routine, or take snacks with you if you know you’re going to be on the go.
Seek out people for accountability
Smith says in-person and virtual support groups are an invaluable way to help keep you accountable as you go through a mindful eating journey. “Nobody better knows what you’re going through than others that are in the same situation,” Smith says. “Others have experienced and practiced strategies that may have been beneficial for them, and they may pass that knowledge on to you.”
The combination of expert and peer support in these groups is also beneficial, she adds. “There’s nothing more important than feeling understood, that somebody else has been in your shoes before. And, believe me, there are a lot of others that are experiencing the exact same things you are.”
How to stick with mindful eating
It can feel overwhelming to try taking on mindful eating practices by yourself. “As I mentioned before, food is everywhere,” Smith says. “Everybody is trying to get us to eat more.” Having a support system cheering you on — a loyal friend or a family member — and supporting what you’re doing can help.
“There are a lot of food pushers out there,” Smith says. “When you take the time to explain to them why you want to make some changes, if you make it very personal, they can often be very supportive.”
That means instead of saying you’re looking to lose weight or alter your appearance, note that mindful eating can also benefit them. “I have found that if you focus on appearance or just weight, you’ll probably not get that much support because they’re going to start comparing themselves to you and saying, ‘Well, you don’t need to lose any weight,’” Smith says. “On the other hand, if you say, ‘Gosh, I really want to have more energy. I’m getting tired early and then I only want to take a nap when I get home from work. I really want to go out with you and have fun,’ you’re providing some benefit for them.”
Suggesting an alternative gift besides food — like weekly flowers from the store instead — can also help.
“People want to show love towards other people through food,” Smith says. “That’s often one of the biggest barriers. A person doesn’t want to say “no,” because that’s almost like rejecting that person’s love toward them. Let them know that if you want to do something special, this is how they can do it.”
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
