12 most Important Benefits of eating with your hand!
Most southeastern peoples believe that the real taste of
food can be experienced only by eating it with hands. As per Ayurveda, every
finger is an augmentation of each of the five elements. Thus, when a person
gathers his fingertips to touch the food, he possibly kindles the five elements
(earth, water, fire, space, air), making him more aware of texture, smells and
taste of the food that he is about to consume. This way you are not only
feeding your physical body but also your spirit and mind.
Southeastern peoples tend to attach a lot of value to the food,
both while preparing and relishing it. When it comes to eating, most eastern
peoples may do so with hands unlike the Western culture of using fancy cutlery.
And the practice does have its advantages. So the next time you want to relish
food, consider tossing the cutlery to sample the dishes with hands.
Why Should You Eat Food With Your Hands?
Why do southeastern peoples eat with their hands? Some
people may be curious to know this. Here are some of the benefits of eating
food with your hands:
1. Improves Digestion
The minute we touch our food with our fingers, the nerve
endings present in the fingertips signal the brain that we are about to eat.
The message is further transmitted to the stomach which starts preparing for
digestion by releasing enzymes and digestive juices necessary for proper
digestion. Also, the nerve endings of the fingers help in ascertaining the
texture and temperature of the food that we are about to partake, thereby
readying the brain to release appropriate digestive juices even before that
delicious food has touched our lips.
2. Promotes Mindful Eating
When you join your fingers to eat, it may augment
mindfulness for the taste and aroma of the food, thus making the entire event
more pleasant. You are more connected or in sync with your food as compared to
when eating with a fork or spoon. Plus, a more conscious and calm state of mind
may support optimal digestion and better assimilation of nutrients.
3. Engages All Senses
When a person uses cutlery to eat food, he may be limiting
his experience to the food textures felt in the mouth only. On the other hand,
eating with hands adds a concrete dimension to your mealtime by engaging all
your senses.
4. Provides Healthy Bacteria
Many healthy bacteria inhabit the skin of the hands. This
healthy flora can safeguard the body from the onslaught of other destructive
bacteria that invade from the outside environment. Eating with hands can thus
aid in boosting our digestive system’s natural immunity to ecological bacterial
germs. However, be sure to wash your hands properly before eating and also to
trim your nails.
5. Prevents Burning of Tongue
Your hands can work as temperature sensors as well. When an
individual eats with a fork, he may not realise how hot the food is for it goes
straight from the platter into his mouth. In contrast, when you touch the food
while eating it with your hands, the nerve endings of your fingertips convey a
temperature reading to the brain, thus stopping you from burning your tongue.
6. Benefits Our Chakras
As fingers place the food into the mouth, they tend to curve
in a yogic mudra which stimulates the sensory organs that maintain the prana
balance. According to Vedas, the fingertips are correlated to the third eye,
heart, throat, solar plexus, sexual, root chakras. So, when we consume food
with hands, touch and action trigger the chakras and profits us tremendously.
7. It Is Natural
Eating with hands is a common practice in many cultures,
especially Indian because Indian cuisine is such that it feels like the most
natural thing to do. Now imagine having dal and roti with fork and knife? Or
trying to eat a non-vegetarian delicacy consisting of bones with a fork? It is
quite impractical. Thus, hands are preferred over fine cutlery.
8. Increases Blood Circulation
Eating with hands is healthy as it can prove to be a
wonderful muscle exercise that may in turn help in increasing blood
circulation. The hand’s movements may assist in promoting a better flow of blood,
thus positively affecting the overall well-being of the body.
9. Discourages Overeating
Eating with hands may allow you to have your food slowly and
deliberately which can help you feel full even with less food thus preventing
binge eating and likely weight gain. It also encourages a sense of satiety or
satisfaction which is lacking while using cutlery to have your food.
10. Reduces the Risk of Type-2 Diabetes
Research shows that type-2 diabetic patients are probably
hasty eaters. This is because they use cutlery to eat when compared to
individuals who don’t have the condition. Eating fast has been connected to
blood sugar disparities in the body, thus being a factor in the occurrence of
type-2 diabetes.
11. Helps Manage Food Portions
Eating with hands makes you eat slower than eating with
cutlery, which is a much mechanical process. You have to pay attention to what
you eat when you eat with your hands, which makes you aware of how much you have
eaten. Mindless eating is one of the biggest factors of gaining weight; hence,
managing food portions plays a key role. Moreover, using hands makes you
experience food better and enjoyable.
12. Believed To Help Lose Weight
According to a study published in the journal Appetite, when
people ate by hand while simultaneously reading a newspaper or watching
television, they were less hungry during snack-time and opted for a lighter
snack. Researchers concluded that eating by hand promotes a sense of fullness
and satiety as compared to eating with cutlery. This, in turn, could help lose
some kilograms.
One of these traditions is that the basic practice of eating using our hands, now replaced mostly with the utilization of shiny cutlery. Though most folks may have turned to spoons and forks, some still wish to eat their meal with hands. Back in ancient days, this practice was adopted by most civilizations including Indus valley, Greek and therefore the Egyptians. It is believed that as per the Vedas, hands are the foremost precious organs of action which every finger is an extension of the five elements - through the thumb comes space, with the forefinger comes to air, the centre finger is fire, the annualry signifies water and therefore the pinkie represents Earth. consistent with Ayurveda, the nerve endings of the fingertips are believed to spice up digestion. In fact, you become more conscious of the textures, taste and aromas as you eat using your hands and interesting the fingertips.
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