Mindful eating has evolved from an ancient Buddhist practice known as mindfulness that is defined as a “state of being conscious or aware of your senses.”

In the last few years, mindful eating has taken center stage as a technique to control binge eating, emotional eating and even as a therapy for treating eating disorders. So what is it and how can you reap the benefits from it?

For many of us, eating has unfortunately become a mindless act — done in a hurry without regard to any enjoyment. Since it takes 20 minutes for our brain to get the signals from our stomach that we are full, this creates a problem for many of us.

Mindful eating was developed to teach those wanting to learn to enjoy the eating experience, while tuning in to their body’s hunger and fullness cues. It teaches us to not only notice, engage our senses and enjoy the pleasures of eating food, but to nurture a respectful relationship with food.

Becoming a mindful eater gives us more self-control over our eating and food choices. One important lesson to learn is how to stop eating when we are full — not stuffed — to prevent overeating.

Mindful eating helps us manage our consumption in a more health-promoting way. It’s the how part of eating, which is just as important as the what part of the equation.

Research confirms it has many benefits. One study showed it decreases the severity and number of binge-eating episodes from four to 1½ per week. An estimated 70% of those with binge-eating disorder are obese.

Mindfulness can also help reduce emotional and triggered eating — eating in response to external cues like the sight or smell of food — that many of us struggle with.

Can mindful eating aid in weight loss? The research is mixed in this area, but it certainly doesn’t hurt (and may well help a lot) to learn these positive awareness techniques to help you change the way you think about food as you pursue weight loss.

Practicing mindful-eating techniques helps build healthier eating behaviors that lower stress and may ultimately influence your food choices and how much you eat. That adds up to potential weight loss. But note that mindful eating alone is not a reliable technique for intentional weight loss.

Here are six tips to get you started on mindful eating:

■ Choose one place to eat and always eat there.

■ Always set the table before eating.

■ When eating, focus on eating only. Don’t multitask.

■ Eat slowly by putting down your fork between each bite.

■ Take smaller bites, about the size of your fingertip.

■ Chew each bite of food 10 to 15 times.

Disclaimer: This is for information only and not intended as personal medical advice.

Kim Larson is a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified health and wellness coach and founder of Total Health. Visit www.totalhealthrd.com or www.facebook.com/totalhealthnutrition for more.