Lenten Season Supports Mindful Eating

Lent is once again upon us, offering the opportunity to be more focused on healthy eating.

Most would associate this historically religious season with fasting and abstinence, a period when we "go without", while we eagerly count the days until Easter when the Lenten season concludes.

Framing it as a period of penance, we fail to see the advantages. 

But there are many.

Biologically, eating foods and drinking beverages rich in chemicals and preservatives gradually builds up a toxicity that fertilizes our internal environment for inflammation and illness.

However, even making slight, but consistent changes during this six-week season could be framed in the context of a cleanse.

For the most part, the guidelines call for meatless Fridays, and only one full meal a day, except on Sundays. Those who participate are also called to give up something they really like ~ in the old days it was TV or candy. Now it could be any of the many forms of digital entertainment, or a whole realm of junky foods we might regularly and mindlessly ingest.

The desired outcome, of course, is to become more in touch with our inner selves.

So while we might resist cutting back on all that stuff that tastes so good, but is so bad for us, we're delivered this golden opportunity to dial it back.

Our bodies are the temples where our spirit resides. To the degree that we clean out some of those pollutants, we enhance both our bodies and our souls!