So, tell us something! When food is served to you, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? You look for a spoon or you just want to take a bite of that food! It’s obvious that you would straight away want to grab a bite and taste the food. This proves it all! Today we are highlighting the benefits of eating with bare hands and how you can practice it in a clean manner. As far as tradition is concerned, Indians have always preferred to eat with bare hands. This is because it is clearly prescribed as a healthy habit in Ayurveda.
Hence, without wasting much time let us talk facts and pass on some knowledge to our sober generation.
What Ayurveda has to say about it?
The text in Ayurveda says that each of our fingers represents one element that we are made of, such as air, water, sky, earth, and fire. When we eat with hands, all the energies combine and consume the positive vibes of it along with food. Also, if you read about the mudras that we make with fingers, you will see that joining all the fingers to lift our food while eating is also a mudra. It keeps all our energies in a balanced state and hence, it keeps us healthy.
Good for digestion
Our body has good microbes all over, and so is the case with our hands. So when you keep your hands clean and eat food with bare hands, some good bacteria will enter your gut. And this, in turn, helps you in improving your digestion and making it easy for your body to assimilate the energies inside.
Apart from this, there is some logic related to the nervous system too. As soon as you lift your food, the nerves from your finger send the signals to your brain which in turn prepares your stomach to receive and digest the food. That’s how it works inside your body. So try to eat using your hands instead of spoon whenever it is possible.
Helps you watch your food
You often stuff your stomach when you like the food, even though you are full. It may be adventurous and worth the stuffing, but deep inside you must realize that it is an unhealthy habit. Spoon is just a mechanical device that helps you lift the food from your plate easily. But when you use your hands, you will not only watch the amount, but also the quality. Be its oil content, some stone or husk, some insects, or anything that is not advisable to be present in food.
When you mix your food thoroughly using hands, you obviously see if there is anything inappropriate present in the food. You touch it, feel it, and observe it and control your diet accordingly. It is psychologically proven that when you closely observe your food, you tend to take care of your diet more efficiently.
Avoids mouth burns and ulcers
Undoubtedly, the human body is a natural conductor of heat and electricity. When you eat using a spoon, the heat gets transferred to your mouth directly. But, when you eat through bare hands, you know how hot your food is and how it will affect your tongue and mouth. You either cool it down for a minute or two or you are prepared to consume it. In this way, you will not get burns in the soft tissues of your tongue and buccal cavity.
Also, when you lift your food in hand, a part of its heat is conducted and it becomes easy to chew it. As we already said, eating with hands make you more aware of what you are eating. You observe its elements and ingredients closely. Hence, when you have a mouth ulcer, it becomes easy to decide what would be better to consume at that point in time.
Exercise for your hands
This might be a silly thing for you because how can those small movements be called an exercise. But yes, it is one of them. The way you mix your food, the way you lift it, and the way you handle it contributes to form a healthy joint. We have seen arthritis patients having pain in joints while doing heavy work with hands. When you mix your food and move your fingers accordingly, it maintains the smoothness of your joints and also maintains the blood circulation in that part.
Controls your diabetes
It is clinically proven that when you use spoon and fork, you eat a little faster. This ultimately affects your blood sugar level and creates an imbalance because your stomach doesn’t get enough time to prepare itself for receiving the food. It could become a load for your digestive system to cope up with faster intake of food. And this, leads to type 2 diabetes. However, this is not the case when you use hands while eating.
Therefore, in the light of all the aforesaid facts we would clearly advise you to eat food with bare hands. We are already busy with loads of work and it would be great if we do things from health’s perspective. These are small things which can improve your lifestyle and keep you healthy. Share your point of view on this because we are all ears! Let us know if you have any unique fact to share with us and other readers. Stay healthy and fit!
