why do indians eat with their hands? / 为什么印度人在吃东西时总是用手？

Let’s first debunk some common myths about why Indians eat with their hands:

我们先来揭开一些关于印度人为什么用手吃饭的常见误解：

Indians didn't had spoons?

印度人没有勺子？

It’s certainly not for a lack of spoons. Indians used spoons for religious rituals everyday since ancient times and many of them looked very cool.

当然不是没有勺子。 自古以来，印度人每天都使用勺子来进行宗教仪式，其中许多人看起来很酷.

Indians were too poor to afford utensils?

印度人太穷，买不起用具？

Even wealthy and middle class Indians eat with their hands, so it’s not because of poverty.

即使富裕和中产阶级的印度人用手吃东西，也不是因为贫穷。

Indians were unaware of different cultures?

印度人不知道不同的文化？

Indians were well travelled from ancient times with traders trading goods as far off as Egypt, Rome and China so they knew how nonIndians used to eat food with utensils.

印度人远古时代就是远游埃及，罗马和中国的商人，所以他们知道非印度人是如何用餐具吃东西的。

So one can assume it was a deliberate decision. A well thought out decision.

所以人们可以认为这是一个故意的决定。 一个深思熟虑的决定。

Nowadays, it has become a common practice even in Indian households, for people to eat their food with cutlery. It is thought to be more modern, hygienic and convenient, however most people don't realise that there is a rationale behind eating food by hand.

现在，即使在印度的家庭，人们也常常用餐具吃饭。 它被认为是更现代化，卫生和方便，但大多数人没有意识到手工食用背后的理由。

The Benefits Of Eating With Your Hands

用你的手吃的好处

Vedic wisdom

吠陀智慧

Eating food with one's hands is an ancient practice, one that dates all the way back to the time of the Vedas, which are ancient Hindu scriptures. The actions involved in eating have been derived from mudras (hand positions) that are the basis for yoga, meditation and classical Indian dance. According to the Vedas, the digits on our fingers and toes represent the five elements. It is believed that these five elements work on the food, cleansing it of any negative vibes and preparing it for us to eat.

用手吃食物是一种古老的做法，可以追溯到古代印度教经典“韦陀经”的时代。 涉及饮食的行为来源于印度瑜伽，冥想和古典印度舞蹈的基础。 根据吠陀，我们的手指和脚趾的数字代表五个要素。 人们相信，这五个元素在食物上起作用，清除任何消极的共鸣，并为我们准备食物。

These are the representations of the elements:

• Thumb: Fire

• Index finger: Air

• Middle finger: Heaven

• Ring finger: Earth

• Little finger: Water

这些是元素的表示：

•拇指：火

•食指：空气

•中指：天堂

•无名指：地球

•小指：水

Bacteria: Our body is thought to have a certain kind of bacteria that protects us from the harmful bacteria in the environment. This bacteria resides in places like our hands, mouth, throat, intestine, gut and the rest of our digestive system. When we eat with our hands, this pattern of bacteria is maintained and we are protected from harmful bacteria. Of course, it is important for you to wash your hands before and after you eat, to ensure that they remain clean and hygienic.

细菌：我们的身体被认为有一种 37 39818 37 15046 0 0 2958 0 0:00:13 0:00:05 0:00:08 2958菌，保护我们免受环境中的有害细菌。 这种细菌居住在我们的手，口，喉，肠，肠道和我们其他消化系统的地方。 当我们用手吃东西时，这种细菌的模式得以维持，我们免受有害细菌的侵害。 当然，在你吃饭前后洗手是很重要的，以确保它们保持清洁和卫生。

Touch: Unlike when you eat with a spoon or fork, your fingers come in contact with your food before you put it in your mouth. The nerve endings in your fingers sense the temperature and texture of the food, thereby preparing your brain for what you are going to be eating and triggering the release of the appropriate digestive juices and enzymes. Additionally, you will never burn your mouth when you are eating with your hands, since your fingers will be able to sense if the food is too hot to eat. When you eat with a spoon or fork, the food goes directly from the plate to your mouth, so you may not realise if it is too hot. Touch make yours food more enjoyable.

触摸：与用勺子或叉子吃东西不同，手指在食用前先与食物接触。 手指中的神经末梢感受食物的温度和质地，从而使你的大脑准备好你正在进食的食物，并引发适当的消化液和酶的释放。 另外，当你用手吃饭的时候，你永远不会烧你的嘴，因为你的手指能够感觉到食物是否太热，不能吃东西。 当你用勺子或叉子吃东西时，食物直接从盘子里流到你的嘴里，所以你可能不知道它是否太热。

 Helps Prevent Diseases like Type 2 Diabetes.

有助于预防疾病，如2型糖尿病。

Eating with hands makes you eat slower and hence digest better because you become more aware of the process of eating as you experience it with all your senses.

用手吃东西让你吃得慢一些，因此消化得更好，因为当你用所有的感官体验它的时候，你越来越意识到吃的过程。

All the above advantages and the fact that it helps prevent type 2 diabetes. A new study published in the journal Clinical Nutrition found that people with type 2 diabetes were more likely to be fast eaters that used cutlery to eat, as compared to people without the condition. Eating with forks and spoons correlates with faster eating, which has been linked to blood-sugar imbalances in the body — contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes. Eating by hands help you manage portions easily and slowly for Mindful Eating.

所有上述优点和它有助于预防2型糖尿病的事实。 在“临床营养学”杂志上发表的一项新研究发现，与没有病情的人相比，患有2型糖尿病的人更可能是吃刀叉餐的快餐者。 用叉子和勺子吃东西与更快的进食相关，这与人体内的血糖失衡有关，这导致了2型糖尿病的发展。

Attention and satisfaction: When you eat with cutlery, it is a more mechanical process than when you eat with your hands. When you eat with your hands, you have to actually pay attention to what you eat. Not only do you experience the food more and enjoy it better, you are also more aware of what you are eating and how much. Mindless eating is one of the biggest causes of weight gain, whereby eating carefully is a much healthier option.

注意和满意：当你用餐具吃饭时，这是一个比你用手吃饭更加机械化的过程。 当你用手吃东西的时候，你必须真正注意你吃的东西。 你不仅可以体验更多的食物，更好地享受它，还可以更多地了解你在吃什么，吃多少。 明目张胆的饮食是体重增加的最大原因之一，仔细饮食是一个更健康的选择。

It is More Hygienic

这是更卫生

Contrary to popular belief eating with hands is way more hygienic than with utensils because of the simple reason that you wash your hands multiple times a day while we wash the utensils once a day. We are conscious of the cleanliness of our hands and hence whatever happens our hands will be cleaner at the end of the day.

与流行的看法相反，用手吃饭比用器具更卫生，因为每天一次洗一次洗手的简单理由。 我们意识到我们双手的清洁，因此无论发生什么事，我们的双手在一天结束时都会变得更干净。

Indian food is traditionally served in a thali like a palette of flavors and textures which we can combine in various combinations and permutations and get a different experience every time!

Eating with hands has been around longer than cutlery. A practice that was adopted by the most civilised of the civilisations like Indus Valley, Greek and the Egyptians, it would hence be incorrect to call it barbaric.

用手吃饭比刀叉还长。 印度河谷，希腊和埃及等文明最文明的国家所采取的做法是野蛮的，因此是不正确的。

That been said, for eating liquid food / curry or drinking soup use of cutlery is recommended and beware not to try eating chinese hotpot with hands (I thought its better to mention that). Hope everyone enjoy what they eat and stay healthy.

据说因为吃流质食物或汤用餐具是必不可少的，小心不要尝试用手吃中国的火锅（我认为最好提一下）。 希望大家都喜欢吃什么，保持健康。

Source: Indiatimes.com, spoonuniversity.com,Quora

If your work in china helps our Indian Community in anyways or can be inspirational to others for good, please write to us at [e-mail] . We would love to post and publish about your work.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---

• Editor's Picks

www.IndiansinChina.com

---

Please Scan & Add Official Wechat id of Indians in China to connect with other fellow Indians living in China thru wechat groups. (HaveSpecial Groups for Female only, Business Group, Cultural Exchange , Foodies,Yoga Group, Helping Madad Group, Indian Students Group, FMGE, Dental Students, Mandarin Learning, Music & Medical Assistance / Advice from Indian Doctors )