Eating with your hands, not only fun but it may be the healthier option

Prior to living in Malaysia eating with your hands was reserved for things like sandwiches and Pizza, the thought of eating rice or a curry with my fingers would never have occurred to me and I basically associated it with barbarism for want of a better term.

My first experience of sitting down with people who tucked into lunch with nothing but their hands and rolled up sleeves made me kind of ill, these were all well educated professionals, the elite of Malaysian society so to say I was shocked was an understatement.

I asked why they werent using forks or spoons to eat their curries expecting to told something like it was their culture or because traditionally people couldnt afford cultlery.
What followed was a highly enlightening education on a much more holistic view of eating than what we in the west have.

One of these traditions is the basic practice of eating using our hands, now replaced mostly with the use of shiny cutlery. Though most of us may have turned to spoons and forks, some still like to eat their meal with hands. Back in ancient days, this practice was adopted by most civilizations including Indus valley, Greek and the Egyptians.It is believed that as per the Vedas, hands are the most precious organs of action and that every finger is an extension of the five elements

According to Ayurveda, the nerve endings of the fingertips are believed to boost digestion. In fact, you become more aware of the textures, taste and aromas as you eat using your hands and engaging the fingertips.

Here are some of the benefits proving eating with hands is a healthy habit

1. Eating With Your Hands Helps Increase Blood Circulation Eating with hands itself is an excellent muscle exercise, which in turn increases blood circulation.

2. Stimulates Digestion Our body is believed to have bacteria or flora, which resides in places like hands, mouth, throat, intestine and gut that protects us from harmful bacteria growing in the environment. When we eat with our hands, the friendly flora protects our digestive system from getting exposed to harmful bacteria, further stimulating the digestive system.

3. Believed To Help Lose Weight According to a study published in the journal Appetite, when people ate by hand while simultaneously reading a newspaper or watching television, they were less hungry during snack-time, and opted for a lighter snack. Researchers concluded that eating by hand promotes a sense of fullness and satiety as compared to eating with cutlery. This, in turn, could help lose some kilograms.

4. May Help Prevent Type-2 Diabetes According to a study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, people with type-2 diabetes were more likely to be fast eaters who used cutlery to eat, as compared to people without the condition. Eating with spoons and forks correlates with faster eating that has been linked with blood-sugar imbalances in the body

5. Helps Manage Food Portions Eating with hands makes you eat slower than eating with cutlery, which is a much mechanical process. You have to pay attention to what you eat when you eat with hands, which makes you aware of how much you have eaten.

When I went back home after 6 years I forgot all about eating with my hands but now being back in Asia I have rediscovered it and apart from all the above listed reasons which may or not be true I just find eating with my fingers much more fun.
To all of you who havent tried it give it a crack, it will be odd at first but if you can get past the yuck factor I think you will find it a pleasant experience

Why eating with your hands is a healthy habit
Is everything more delicious when you eat with your hands

Warm and juicy stuff I eat with my hands tends to make me have to go pee. That then makes me have to wash my hands, maybe it is a good thing.

originally posted by: rickymouse
Warm and juicy stuff I eat with my hands tends to make me have to go pee. That then makes me have to wash my hands, maybe it is a good thing.

LOL
Ive not heard of that problem before, I guess it sorta goes along with the thread premise that eating with your hands does in fact stimulate your body in different ways

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff

originally posted by: rickymouse
Warm and juicy stuff I eat with my hands tends to make me have to go pee. That then makes me have to wash my hands, maybe it is a good thing.

LOL
Ive not heard of that problem before, I guess it sorta goes along with the thread premise that eating with your hands does in fact stimulate your body in different ways

When I wash my hands I often have to go pee, I guess that is natural, warm water on the hands has been known for a long time to make you go. Sometimes when I am full of grease from working on the car, I have to wash my hands before going pee and that seems to make going more urgent. It really sucks.

a reply to: rickymouse

Bottom line: Civilized people use cutelry,
primitve cultures use hands.

Having to use my fingers to eat once when I had
no fork or spoon, I used a knife. When no knife
I used some scissors once. It works if the surface
area of the utensil is large enough to pick up food
pieces.

Once we became civilized, food was cut into small
pieces easily eaten in one bite. Spaghetti is perfect
to eat with a fork but a mess when using fingers.

Using fingers gets the fingers all dirty with foodstuff.
I guess that is what the old-fashioned finger bowls
were for - to clean your dirty fingers between
each food group presented on the table. What a
waste of time, cleaning your fingers while having
your repast.

So, to use fingers/hands to eat food in general is
wrong.

Its difficult eating custard with the fingers/hands, and if you do

manage it takes forever.

Living in India as a child I always wanted to ....but never allowed

I'm eating scrambled egg, with a comb, from a shoe!

Nah, I'll have fat unworkable hands before I eat a curry with my fingers. thanks.

originally posted by: ThatDidHappen
a reply to: rickymouse

Bottom line: Civilized people use cutelry,
primitve cultures use hands.

Having to use my fingers to eat once when I had
no fork or spoon, I used a knife. When no knife
I used some scissors once. It works if the surface
area of the utensil is large enough to pick up food
pieces.

Once we became civilized, food was cut into small
pieces easily eaten in one bite. Spaghetti is perfect
to eat with a fork but a mess when using fingers.

Using fingers gets the fingers all dirty with foodstuff.
I guess that is what the old-fashioned finger bowls
were for - to clean your dirty fingers between
each food group presented on the table. What a
waste of time, cleaning your fingers while having
your repast.

So, to use fingers/hands to eat food in general is
wrong.

Yeah, I agree, using fingers and hands to eat is not right, we should just slam our faces into the food like a dog or cat, or basically most animals do. No hands needed, then just rub your face on the curtains or tablecloth.

originally posted by: ThatDidHappen
Bottom line: Civilized people use cutelry,
primitve cultures use hands.

It depends on the food. The food in India and other places is eaten with the hand (right hand), typically using bread to scoop or pinch a mouthful. You could not eat a traditional Sunday roast with your hands, as you need a knife and fork, and while you could use a fork to eat some Chinese noodles, you would not use your hands.

Eating with your hands is determined by the food in front of you, and the people you are with.

In the West fast food (burgers and pizzas) seem to be removing the need for cutlery in some families and circumstances.

Eat with silver cutlery.....
Born with a silver spoon in your mouth is about health... not wealth.

a reply to: paraphi

We could say that using hands to hold food is OK if you live in India.

It might be a throwback to earliers times, as in Indian
restaurants they do use forks and spoons and but in
Chinese places they often have chopsticks as well as
forks and spoon. This shows how the Americanization
of the restaurants has happened.