McKinney's Oven

Eating Commandments

1.       Do eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly.  The process of digestion, which begins in your mouth, is greatly enhanced if your food is mixed completely with your saliva.

2.       Do not drink with your meals.  Excessive liquids dilute the digestive juices, thereby retarding the process of digestion.

3.       Do not overeat.  Stop before you are stuffed.  The benefit you receive from your food does not depend so much on the volume eaten, as on its complete digestion.

4.       Do eat at regular mealtimes.  Two or three meals, allowing 5-6 hours to pass between the ending of one meal before the beginning of the next, is ideal.

5.       Do not eat anything between your meals.  Eating between meals puts the digestion of your previous meal "on hold," to start in on the newly introduced foods.  If you feel "hungry" during this time, drink a glass of water.

6.       Do eat your last meal 3-5 hours before going to bed.  Your stomach should have its work completed so it can rest with you.

7.       Do eat fresh foods first.  This will help you avoid overeating of higher calorie foods.

8.       Do not eat a large variety of combinations at one meal.  Three or four items is ideal.

9.       Do not eat food too hot or too cold.  Very hot foods and very cold foods require your body to delay digestion until these foods are the same temperature as your stomach.

10.     Do relax while eating.  Avoid eating your meals "on the run," while under stress or just right after vigorous exercise.  However, some light to moderate exercise right after a meal is beneficial to the process of digestion.