Oh, Etiquette, Where Are You?

Written by Robyn Holder Robyn Holder

Published: 19 July 2017 19 July 2017

My goodness, where have our manners gone?  I recently had a wonderful vacation on a new cruise ship with lots of families -some three-generations traveling together. It was a great trip, but one thing that stuck out for me was the lack of dining etiquette on this big beautiful floating hotel! It’s something I’ve noticed in our local area as well.

Years ago, as a graduate student at Gonzaga University, I developed a leadership project on Business Etiquette that was used at Central Penn College.  A portion of this project centered on business dining, so our students would feel confident during job interviews involving a meal. I’m happy to report these students rose to the challenge – and loved the training.  If only I could have offered this course on the cruise ship – to young and old!

You may be asking, “why does a nutritionist care about dining etiquette?” 

It’s a huge concern!  Dining etiquette is important because a lack of proper eating habits can and does affect your digestive health. 

A delicious meal, eaten slowly - not shoveled into a mouth -  and with proper posture – sitting upright, no elbows on the table, and pulled in to the table, is conducive to good digestion and good health. When seated upright, properly and comfortably, your abdominal organs are spaced out and in the proper position to do their job – not compressed and cramped as when you hunch over the table. 

Years ago, we usually said Grace before meals.  This solemn ceremony was more than just thanks – it helped our bodies segue from the day’s activity to a peaceful meal. We should all continue to say Grace at our meals!  Sitting calmly, upright, with our feet on the floor, puts our body into proper position for maximum digestive power.  If we hunch over, splay our elbows and arms all over the table, and talk with our mouths full of food, we drastically reduce our body’s ability to break down that food for our cells! And probably have stomach distress to boot!

A meal eaten slowly and with proper etiquette can help us eat less, too, rather than until we’re ready to burst!  I admit this might be hard to do on a cruise ship, because everything is so good.  However, if we really savor what we’re eating, our body can savor it…and use it better, too!

And, gentlemen, think about removing that hat while you eat – especially if you are indoors!  This doesn’t have anything to do with the digestive process – I just had to throw this in for my mother, who had wonderful manners.

To Your Vitality!  To Your Good Manners!