Mindful eating with diabetes

Abstract

This article provides a description of mindfulness and mindful eating and addresses the application of mindful eating as a component of diabetes self-management education. Mindful eating helps individuals cultivate awareness of both internal and external triggers to eating, interrupt automatic eating, and eat in response to the natural physiological cues of hunger and satiety. Mindful eating interventions have been effective in facilitating improvement in dysregulated eating and dietary patterns. Through practice over time, eating mindfully can interrupt habitual eating behaviors and provide greater regulation of food choice. More research is needed to determine the long-term impact of mindful eating programs.