THE ART OF EATING

To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. If not more important, just as important as what we eat, is how and when we eat. The following are the basic principles for healthy eating:

Chew More

The benefit derived from food does not depend so much on the quantity eaten, as on its thorough digestion. Moreover, the gratification of taste does not depend on the amount of food swallowed, as on the length of time it remains in the mouth.

Digestion starts in the mouth; thorough chewing allows digestive enzymes in saliva to thoroughly mix with food, an essential first step for optimal digestion

Those who wish to avoid indigestion or bloating, and those who realize their obligation to keep all their powers in a condition which will enable them to render the best service to God, will do well to remember that if time to eat is limited, not to bolt down food, rather eat less, and chew slowly. When excited, anxious, or in a hurry, it is better not to eat until we get rest or relief, because the vital powers, already severely taxed, cannot supply the necessary digestive fluids

Chewing gum is unhealthful as it overworks the salivary glands and confuses the digestive system

Bigger Breakfast

It is the custom of society to take a small breakfast. But this is not the best way to treat the stomach. At breakfast time the stomach is in a better condition to take care of more food than at the second or third meal of the day. The habit of eating a sparing breakfast and a large dinner is wrong. Make your breakfast correspond more nearly to the heartiest meal of the day

Eat at Regular Times

Having your meals the same time everyday regulates and controls the internal signals of satiety, appetite and hunger. You injure your health greatly by overeating and by eating at improper times. This diminishes the blood to the brain. The mind becomes confused, and you have not the proper control of yourself. If we would form habits of regularity and order, we would improve in health, in mental attitude, in memory, and in disposition. It is our duty to observe strict rules in all our habits of life. This is for our own good, both physically and morally.

Five to Six Hours between Meals

A second meal should never be eaten until the stomach has had time to recover from the labor of digesting the preceding meal. At least five or six hours should intervene between the meals; and most persons who give the plan a trial, will find that two meals a day are better than three.

Two Meals

The practice of eating but two meals a day is generally found to be a benefit to health. Those who are changing from three meals a day to two will at first be troubled more or less with faintness, especially about the time they have been in the habit of eating their third meal. But if they persevere for a short time, this faintness will disappear. Yet under some circumstances, some persons may require a third meal. If taken, this should be very light, and of food most easily digested.

Eat Only At Mealtimes

Snacking between meals destroys the healthful tone of the digestive organs, to the detriment of health and cheerfulness. One who cannot control his eating habits will not be able to control his feelings and temper.

Three meals a day and nothing between meals-not even an apple-should be the utmost limit of indulgence. Those who go further violate nature's laws and will suffer the penalty.

Eat in Daylight

We are not nocturnal animals-at night our entire metabolism slows down and our body temperature drops. When we lie down, the reclining position causes the weight of the internal organs to press against the very large nerve trunks on each side of the spinal column and shuts off the mechanism that keeps the digestive system working.

Before retiring the stomach should have finished all its work of digestion so that it can join the rest of the body in enjoying its needed rest. But if you eat before you sleep, the digestive organs have to work through the night and sleep is often disturbed with unpleasant dreams, and in the morning you awake un-refreshed.

Many indulge in the pernicious habit of eating just before retiring. They may have taken their regular meals, yet because they feel a sense of faintness, they think they need supper. By indulging in this wrong practice, it becomes a habit, and they feel as though they could not sleep without food. In many cases this faintness comes because the digestive organs have been severely taxed through the day in disposing of the quantities of food forced upon them. These organs need a period of entire rest from labor, to recover their exhausted energies.

When it is a habit to eat before sleeping, the digestive organs lose their natural vigor, and the person finds himself a miserable dyspeptic. And not only does the transgression of nature's laws affect the transgressing one unfavorably, but others suffer more or less with him. Let anyone take a course that irritates him in any way, and see how quickly he manifests impatience!

Vary Your Diet But Keep It Simple

There should not be many kinds of food at anyone meal, but all meals should not be composed of the same kinds of food without variation. Food should be prepared with simplicity, yet with an attractiveness which will invite the appetite. The simpler our diet and the closer we eat food as it is found in nature, the better our digestion, assimilation and health will be. Every food requires a different digestive enzyme combination and mixing too many at one time causes a disturbance in the stomach and renders the digestion less efficient.

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