India is full of mystery and ancient traditions that are now forgotten or have evolved over the years. One of these traditions is “eating with hands”. Back in ancient days, this way of eating was adopted by most civilizations including Indus valley, Greek and the Egyptians. Eating with hands has many more health benefits than eating with spoons and forks. But in this modern life-style most of us may have forgotten this healthier way of eating and enjoying food. In many ancient texts (like ayurdeva) we can find some amazing benefits of eating with the hands.
So lets discuss some Vedic and scientific reasons why Indians eat with their hands.
We have five action organs and hands are the most precious organs of action.
According to Ayurdeva this body is made of five elements. As per believed in Ayurveda each finger is an extension of the five elements and many nadis (subtle nerves) end in the fingertips. So when we eat by using our hands and engaging the fingertips its believed to boost digestion and make us more aware about texture, taste and aromas. More importantly eating with hands helps us in eating more consciously.
Now, even modern science has accepted this fact. Now we have seen in many studies how eating with hands can be helping many different ways.
Some researchers say it improves digestion function. Whenever food is eaten with hands we swallow flora (kind digestive bacteria) which is very helpful for our various body parts such as the mouth, throat, and intestine, and it promotes healthy digestion in the gut.
Another benefit of eating with hands is that it helps us to know the proper amount of food needed by the body. Many recent studies say by eating with hands makes us eat less and digest faster.
I personally feel eating with your hands is more hygienic than eating with utensils with the simple fact that you wash your hands multiple times a day rather than utensils which you wash once a day.
Some studies show eating with hands can prevent many diseases like diabetes, over eating, digestive problems and control sugar level in blood are just some benefits.
