Modified and translated by CFJA
8) Eating and Rest
Eating is an act of replenishing nutrients. It’s important to ensure that the food eaten is properly digested and its nutrients absorbed. To support this, it’s essential to (A) chew well, (B) eat while seated, and (C) eat calmly.
For (A), when eating rice, for example, it’s recommended to chew white rice about 10 times and brown rice about 30 times to aid digestion.
The purpose of (B) is that sitting stabilizes the pelvis, which in turn stabilizes the stomach, supporting digestion. Eating while standing requires more time to digest and can fatigue the stomach and liver.
An equally important factor is (C), one’s mental state. When stress levels are high, appetite decreases, and rushing a meal only worsens this.
Rest, or taking a break, is also important. Many people see mealtime during breaks as an opportunity to quickly grab food. The desire to rush meals is common in modern life, yet many people don’t realize this can harm health.
It’s necessary to rest after eating. The food in the stomach goes through various processes to be broken down into small nutrients, which are then stored in the liver. A 30-minute rest after meals helps support these processes. Taking time to have tea counts as rest. If you have someone to converse with, digestion is even further enhanced.
Rest is not only needed after eating but also while eating. A study conducted in the U.S. on athletes showed that a group that ate quickly in 5 minutes and then rested for 25 minutes performed worse in exercise tests than a group that took 30 minutes to eat and chewed well, even without additional rest. Taking time to eat slowly while breathing improves physical ability.
In Japan, there is a proverb: “If you sleep right after eating, you’ll turn into a cow.” Cows have weak digestion and need to chew their food multiple times from their four stomachs. This saying means that lying down immediately after eating slows digestion. In North America, older people are sometimes advised to lie on their right side after eating to encourage blood flow to the liver, which processes nutrients. However, as lying flat aligns the heart and brain and promotes sleep, it may be better to rest while sitting upright after eating.
Next>