I sometimes sit and watch how people eat now and honestly, it makes me feel a little sad.
Eating has become something we squeeze in between emails, traffic, meetings, phone calls, television and scrolling. We eat standing up, in the car, at our desks or while half distracted by something else. Most people barely chew their food before rushing onto the next thing.
And then we wonder why so many people suffer with bloating, reflux, indigestion, fatigue and gut problems.
Food was never meant to be treated this way.
Growing up in Sardinia, meals were slower. People sat down together. Food was simple, seasonal and respected. There was conversation, pauses, laughter and time. Nobody was counting protein grams while eating from a plastic container in the car.
Even the body responds differently when we slow down.
Digestion begins before food even reaches the stomach. The smell, the sight, the act of sitting calmly all send signals to the digestive system that it is safe to rest and digest properly. But when we eat stressed, rushed and distracted, the body stays in a heightened state. Over time, that takes a toll.
I’m not saying life isn’t busy. Of course it is. But maybe we need to ask ourselves why we have normalised treating one of the most important parts of health as an inconvenience.
What if meals became a small act of care again instead of another task to get through?
Maybe better digestion, more energy and a healthier relationship with food doesn’t always start with a supplement.
Maybe sometimes it starts with simply sitting down, slowing down and being present with our food again.
Because health is not only about what we eat.
It is also about how we eat.
And perhaps one of the healthiest things we could bring back into modern life is the simple habit of taking our time.
prevention rather than cure always.
Milvia Pili,
Functional Nutritional Therapist
