A very practical guide on how to incorporate mindful eating into a mindful living plan which will benefit the mind as well as general health and the waistline. The book examines the effects of unmindful consumption and food production on the delicate eco-systems of our planet and how we can change habitual patterns.

As a primary care physician, many of the patients I care for are struggling with their weight and have poor nutrition.  Taking the time to savor food and eat mindfully is often low on patients' agendas.  SAVOR provides a toolkit (to help patients to overcome this hurdle,) and for health care professionals to guide their patients along the path towards improved health.  Beyond mindful eating, Hanh and Cheung provide the reader with a mindful living plan (to  develop and maintain general well-being.)  SAVOR is well-referenced and provides great resources for further study including books, community resources, websites.  I highly recommend SAVOR to lay public and professionals alike.

With chapters like “Are you really savoring your apple? An apple meditation,” “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life” (HarperOne, 2010, $25.99 hardcover, 304 pp.) is not your average healthy-eating guide. A hybrid of Buddhism and nutrition, “Savor” blends the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings with research done by Dr. Lilian Cheung, the director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition. Divided into three sections, “A Buddhist Perspective on Weight Control,” “Mindful Action Plans,” and “Individual and Collective Effort,” the book introduces Buddhist ideology before delving into specific healthy living tools, including exercises for untying external (and internal) knots, a ten-week sample mindful-eating plan- even a breakdown of fats. ‘Savor’ may have us rethinking every bite, but maybe that’s just what we need.

The past 40 years of nutritional science has provided us with solid evidence on healthy foods to eat.  It is now time we moved beyond the “what” to eat. We need to learn and embrace “how” to eat. Savor offers insight, comfort and tools to address the suffering many people experience when trying to achieve a healthy weight and a healthy life. Hanh and Cheung are masterful in communicating the concepts of nourishing our bodies and our hearts. They offer practical steps of how to adopt the practice of mindfulness and integrate it into our daily lives.

Part 1 offers a new way of examining issues around weight and lifestyle. It moves from the traditional recommendations and guidelines for food and exercise and replaces them with concepts of improving weight and health through the journey of a mindfulness living plan.  The guided tour of Savor focuses on enhancing the awareness of body, feelings, and mind and how they are intimately related to changing eating and physical activity habits.

Part II describes how to eat mindfully each day along with providing practical strategies of incorporating movement into our lives. This section offers readers the guidance to create personalized goals and concrete ways to achieve success.

Part III explores the interconnectedness of the world we live in. It describes how for us to eat healthfully and stay physically active we need support from the people and places around us. It reminds us that we can be a change agent for a healthier world today and for future generations.

Savor is a book that teaches us to cherish each moment. It illustrates how living a mindful life can bring joy, meaning and peace to us all.