The hand that nourishes

Eating with hands is an ancient practice. According to Ayurveda and Naturopathy, our body is made up of five elements —air, water, earth, fire and space, and each finger represents a specific element. In Ayurveda, it’s believed that the involvement of these five elements through our hands helps nourish the food, purify it of negative energy and helps make it suitable for consumption.

This acts as a powerful stimulus for our digestive system to secret acids and digestive enzymes, preparing for a successful digestive process. Additionally, it enhances our awareness of taste and texture and allows us to experience the joy of food.

This practice also helps us connect with food through each of our five senses—smell, touch, taste, sound and sight. It increases mindfulness and makes the experience of eating a meal wholesome in addition to satisfying. It helps control weight gain too. It also enhances the satiety factor of a meal, thereby significantly reducing the chances of overeating. Apart from the benefits that Ayurveda offers, there are multiple other advantages of eating with hands.

Here they are:
* Multitasking is difficult while eating with hands, therefore it forces an individual to focus on the act of eating with awareness
* We slow down and appreciate the taste
* It enables portion control
* Scientifically speaking, when we touch food with our fingers, the nerve endings sense the temperature and texture of food. This increases the mind and body connection.
* Our hands contain some good bacteria that help our digestive system function well, improve gut health and build immunity

Eat with your hands whenever you can. The shame attached to it needs to end. It’s understandable that eating with hands in certain situations such as while travelling or dining formally is not feasible, but when we’re at home, which is way more than when we’re out, we can embrace this practice. Start with two or three meals a week and you’ll start enjoying it. 

The author is a Mumbai-based holistic lifestyle coach—Integrative Medicine.