Nutrition is an integral piece of overall diabetes management. The nutrition recommendations for diabetes can be very overwhelming. Unfortunately, some people experience a lot of stress related to choosing foods to help manage blood sugars. Mindful eating can be a helpful tool to help alleviate the stress related to choosing foods for diabetes management. Research has shown that mindful eating may be beneficial for diabetes outcomes such as weight and A1c.
According the Merriam-Webster dictionary, mindfulness is defined as “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis”. Mindful eating focuses on the act of eating rather than what foods are chosen. It can allow people to learn how to listen to internal cues related to hunger and fullness rather than focusing on restriction of foods. For many people, eating is a very rushed, unintentional part of life. Mindful eating can help people gain control over eating habits by shifting the focus to intention and awareness. Mindful eating requires a lot of focus and intention and can be very difficult for some people to achieve.
Diabetes educators can help patients navigate the path to mindful eating. A few fundamental pieces of mindful eating are eating slowly with no distractions, listening to physical hunger cues, eating only when hungry, enjoying foods by noticing tastes, smells, colors, and textures and working to cope with feelings of guilt related to eating. There are several exercises that can be done with patients to help them learn the many components of mindful eating. One simple exercise is to have patients eat one raisin or other small food item and pretend that they have never tasted it before. Patients can be instructed to pay close attention to taste, smell and texture before swallowing food item. This simple activity can help patients understand their awareness or lack of awareness when eating. It can also give them insight into their attitudes and beliefs related to eating behaviors.
There are some limitations related to including mindful eating into diabetes education. Mindful eating can be very difficult for people to achieve which can require close follow up by diabetes educator until the practice is mastered by the patient. However, this is true with most lifestyle changes. In addition, diabetes educators are not always equipped with the tools and training to teach mindful eating practices. Educators may need to participate in continuing education related to mindful eating practices in order to feel confident in including this technique into their practice. Lastly, some individuals with diabetes need to have stringent carbohydrate guidelines/intake to manage diabetes. In these patients, mindful eating can still be incorporated along with more specific diet guidelines required for disease management.
In summary, mindful eating can be a very useful tool for diabetes management. Increasing overall intention with eating habits can improve diabetes control in addition to improvement in overall mindset related to food. The focus in today’s world tends to be on restriction and dieting which can have negative impacts on mental and physical health. Mindful eating can help shift the mindset to enjoyment and awareness of eating and food choices.