For better health, savor the meal experience as well as the food.

It's not What You Eat, but How

Americans are often told that eating healthy means counting calories, avoiding fats (or sweets or carbohydrates) and exercising iron willpower over temptations.

It’s time for a break from all that, says Erica Oberg, ND, MPH, an assistant research scientist at the Bastyr University Research Institute. She has recently completed a study showing that how people eat — the attitudes they bring to the table — may matter more than what they eat.

As the season of holiday foods approaches, Dr. Oberg and research partner Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH, are offering a free public lecture on “Tips for Healthier Holiday Eating,” at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 19, at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle.

They’ll provide research-based strategies for approaching meals with mindfulness, particularly during the often-stressful holidays. “Some of the most powerful parts of our holiday experiences are eating with family or friends,” says Dr. Oberg. “For people who are trying to diet, that can lead to a lot of tension.” Her research with diabetic patients found that focusing on the positive aspects of meals — traditions, time with loved ones, expressing love through cooking — led to healthier eating habits than focusing on avoiding foods.

“If we approach those holiday meals from a holistic experience, we can understand that coming together and sharing food is a really healthful experience,” Dr. Oberg says. “It becomes much less stressful, and people end up eating fewer calories. They also tend not to have negative self-talk, such as, ‘I’m not keeping to my diet and I’m a bad person.’”

At the November 19 lecture, Drs. Oberg and Bradley will explain the science that shows how eating while stressed — or eating on the run — leads people to overeat and crave empty calories from simple carbohydrates. “When we come to our meals in a rested mode, our bodies are able to receive the food better and receive the signal telling us we’re sated and full,” Dr. Oberg says.

If you’re at a party where the spread is heavy on sugar and fat and light on whole foods, they’ve got strategies for that, too:

• Appreciate the experience, the smells of foods and the people coming together — not just the food itself.
  
  
• Choose homemade goods with a personal connection instead of store-bought treats you’ve had many times before.
  
  
• Slow down and consider the effort that went into preparing the food.

By practicing eating with a sense of gratefulness and mindfulness, people can train themselves to avoid unhealthy behaviors.

“Those become permanent changes that people can take with them into any situation,” says Dr. Oberg.

To make an appointment at Bastyr Center, call 206.834.4100 or submit our quick contact form.