7 Habits of Healthy Eating - The Chinese Way

This article offers 7 healthy eating habits based on traditional Chinese diet therapy - a habit that YOU can incorporate into your daily life starting NOW. While some of these habits or principles may contradict what you have learned or been told to consider - traditional Chinese diet therapy has been developed and refined and trial-and-error has been tested for millions of people for approximately 2500 years. In short, what works is still in use today - which was never removed long ago. You don't have to be Chinese or eat Chinese food. So start applying some or all of these habits before eating out and see for yourself.

7 Healthy Eating Habits

1. Regular, regular meals: Your body likes and responds to regularity, not only at meal time, but also at bedtime and work. If you doubt this, in the future, you will take long notice of what you eat, your sleep habits and your gut. For optimal health and fitness, it is important to establish and maintain diet, bedtime and bowel movements.

2. Eat cooked foods especially: According to Chinese diet therapy your food should be cooked and eaten warm. Raw vegetables and fruits, when eaten Excessive , colds and weakens your digestive system, causing problems such as bloating, watery stools and lack of energy. Cooking is regarded as Chinese nutrition therapy as a pre-digestive process that facilitates digestion. Cold, raw food on the other hand requires more digestion to break it down. The ideal method of cooking is steaming and stirring while cooking quickly and lightly while maintaining nutrients.

3. Eat slowly, chewing well: Digestion starts in your mouth - eat slowly and chew foods carefully before swallowing to ensure a smooth and thorough decomposition. Also, do not eat when angry or emotionally upset because it is very bad for digestion - wait until you are calm, or skip the meal completely.

4. Don't eat too much: Benefit to your digestive and stomach organs and stop eating when you are 70-75% full. Excessive damage to your stomach and intestines causes digestive problems, bloating, fatigue, constipation, destruction, gas, weight gain and other problems.

5. Don't drink cold drinks: Take a cold drink especially ice at any time, but especially with food, is bad for digestion. The digestive process requires heat to break down what you eat and drink. Cold is, naturally, slow and contracting - hence cold drinks, and very cold foods such as ice cream, slow down and block digestion, causing digestive disorders, stomach aches and discomfort. Instead, drink warm water or green tea. Warm water helps to eliminate toxins and green tea provides a digestive system for food. Drink a cup of green tea 10-20 minutes before you eat - this is especially helpful if you know you are going to eat heavy foods like meat, or fried foods. Drinking green tea after meals also affects digestion.

6. After a slow walk: Every time you leave a restaurant in China staff thank you for coming in and say, "zou man", which means, "walk slowly". A slowly, relax Walking after eating for 10-20 minutes facilitates digestion and absorption of nutrients. Rubbing your stomach with one palm on the other in a slow circle around your belly button towards your colon also helps with digestion. It is also an excellent preventive measure and remedy for indigestion. Do it while standing still, or while walking slowly, relax.

7. Perform Ab Lift: If you want to lose weight, exercise before breakfast. As you don't eat for 10-12 hours, your body relies on fat stores for energy. One of the most recommended exercises before eating, and especially before breakfast, is the Stomach Lift. It's okay. It's easy to do and only takes a few minutes. Basically, it involves using your abdominal muscles to lift your abdomen and toward your spine, and hold on, and then slowly release it. Ab Lift can also be done an hour after meals to help with digestion, absorption and elimination. To watch an Ab Lift video clip in action, see: http://chinese-holistic-health-exercises.com/physical-exercises-for-losing-weight.html

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