Eating food with hands not only fills your body but also the mind and soul. Most people, especially Indians, still believe in the concept.

According to Ayurvedic texts each finger is an extension of one of the five elements. The thumb is space. Children at the age when they are unable to chew tend to suck their thumb, this is nature’s way of aiding the digestion. The fore finger is air, the ring finger is earth, mid finger is fire and the little finger is water. Imbalance of any of these elements can actually lead to many diseases or disorders in the body. When we eat with our hands we normally stick our fingers and thumb together to eat, therefore when we use all the five fingers to eat food that is when we put all the five elements energising the food and helps in keeping all our pranas in balance.

A recent study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition found that people with type 2 diabetes were more likely to be hasty eaters and used cutlery to eat, as compared to people without the condition. If you suspect that you might be eating too fast, ditch utensils and focus on your eating method. You have to deliberately slow it down and see how you feel after eating with hands. You will be amazed by how soon you will get full with less food if you eat with your hands. But do make sure that your nails are trimmed and hands are clean enough to eat food, otherwise you might end up having infection.

Culled from www. indiantimes.com