Have you ever eaten a meal with concentration?
Meaning, no television programs, no computer documents, no social media, no reading, no small talk. Just concentrate on eating.
You have? Congratulations. You are a rare one.
01 A story about a tomato being eaten
There is a famous artist in Taiwan by the name Ju Ming. His eldest daughter-in-law saw him for the first time when he was sitting by the pond eating tomatoes.
She commented:
“It is the first time I have seen someone eat tomatoes so deliciously, with such relish.”
Focusing on eating is not only a practice, but also a health need because of many health problems originating from the dinner table.
Let us listen to Dr. Yu Hao, the head of Renzhitang, to talk about how to concentrate on eating.
Please turn off the television set and keep your mouth shut during meal time. Many people are now used to watching television programs while eating, and even talking at the dinner table. They think it is a normal thing to do.
In fact, many health problems arise from this activity. We should all develop the habit of “eating without speaking, eating without watching.”
02 The story of a delivery truck driver
There is a driver who has to answer a lot of phone calls when he is out on delivery. Thus he developed a habit of making phone calls while eating.
Once, he felt a little pain in his flank, so he went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor asked him if he was prone to acid reflux and wheezing, and his stomach bloated when he ate a little more. He said yes.
The result of the hospital checkup was bile reflux gastritis with a rough gallbladder wall. He didn’t want to take western medicine, so he went to Renzhitang, a traditional herbal medicine clinic, for body conditioning.
Dr. Yu Hao gave him a traditional prescription called Wendan Decoction. Wendan Decoction will not only lower the fluids from the gallbladder, but also lower the fluids from the stomach and intestines. It is a traditional cure for bile reflux gastritis or bile reflux esophagitis.
No matter if a patient is suffering from acid reflux or bloating, as long as the stomach channel is stagnant and the upper inverse does not descend, this Wendan decoction will work.
After the patient took three doses of the medicine, his flanks were not swollen, and he did not suffer from acid reflux. He thought traditional herbal medicine was amazing.
But a month later, he returned to the clinic and reported that the old problem had reoccurred. What should he do?
Dr. Yu Hao told him that medication can be used to treat an illness once or twice, but for most chronic illnesses, they are inseparable from his usual living habits.
The doctor told him to remember three points, and the body will heal more thoroughly.
“Eat without speaking. Eat without watching. Eat without excessive food.”
The patient hesitated and said, these three are the most difficult things for him to do.
Dr. Yu Hao told him: “Your bile reflux gastritis is a result of you not paying attention to the details of life. A person who is suffering from illness, as long as he reverses his bad habits, he is disintegrating the cause.”
After listening to the doctor, the patient adopted the doctor’s recommendation. He does not answer the phone and talks less when eating. He does not turn on the television set or the computer when eating at home in the evening. He tries to stop eating when he is 70% full.
A week later, he called again and said that these tricks are really effective. He has not taken medicine and has never been sick again. He said he will tell other friends about this method.
03 The story of Confucius
In ancient China, it was considered unhealthy to speak while eating.
Therefore, Confucius advocated： “no words when eating, no words when sleeping.”
Why is eating, talking, and watching television programs so important to our health?
If we don’t speak when we eat, the food will go down smoothly to the stomach and intestines through our concentration, chewing and swallowing, and the food will be completely digested and absorbed.
If we talk or watch television programs while eating, the food will still go into the gastrointestinal tract and the gastrointestinal tract will need to mobilize a lot of qi and blood to decompose, digest and absorb the food. When we talk or watch television programs at the same time, the actions of our mouth and eyes will compete with the gastrointestinal tract for qi and blood. Now the qi and blood that should have flowed to the gastrointestinal tract flows more to the eyes, head and mouth.
In this way, our qi and blood appear as a Shangyue Pulse in the pulse condition of our body. The meaning of the Shangyue Pulse condition is that whatever in the gastrointestinal tract now cannot descend. Over time, the food remains in the stomach and cannot be passed down well, and the stomach begins to show signs of discord.
For the stomach to be in harmony, the content must be allowed to go down, otherwise we will feel uncomfortable. It starts with distention, acid regurgitation, belching, and further it becomes superficial gastritis, erosive gastritis, and even serious gastric cancer. The degree of damage depends on how long we keep this bad living habit.
04 In brief summary
Thus it is very important that we concentrate on eating while we are enjoying our meals.
No more video games playing while eating.
No more television programs watching while eating.
No more talking on the phone while eating.
No more making small talks while eating.
No more newspaper or magazine reading while eating.
Yes, stop everything else while eating.
DO NOT OVEREAT.
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