Here’s the latest from CLEVER DOC. Today she’s wondering if you’re eating right. CLEVER DOC is Dr. Linda Hawes Clever, founder of Renew and an internist who specializes in occupational medicine is one smart lady. This is the 6th of 10 questions she asks as a way to help you re-think your life style and find meaning and vitality in your life. Here are the first five if you missed them:

Do you Laugh Enough?
Are You Still Learning?
How Angry Are You?
Do You Feel Trapped?
Do You Talk to People?

Meals mean more than food.

Eating a reasonable breakfast, for example, tends to decrease our total calories for the day. That is why, strangely, a breakfast banana and bagel (hold the cream cheese) can help us lose weight.

A bag lunch discussion in kindergartens established some practical guideposts. The kids agreed that it was okay to share lunches or exchange lunches but it was not okay to steal lunches. They used mealtime to define real time ethics.

Time was when families gathered and settled in for dinner. Now, well, the table is more like an aircraft carrier with landings and take offs as the family hovers, touches down, scoops up and heads out — maybe checking in with flight control or glancing at TV on the way.

That means trouble because eating together develops a sense of belonging. We transmit news, stories, and values. Studies of teenagers show that frequent family mealtimes are associated with a lower rate of drug use, depression and eating disorders.

Knowing this, one working single mom I know takes her daughter out to dinner four nights a week. They choose a restaurant, pick healthy meals and sashay out, chore free. The mom has no retirement savings but believes her investment in her daughter is more important.

Question #6 spotlights a sensitive time of day. Be honest when you answer.

6.  How many sit-down dinners did you have with your family or friends in the past week?

0 (0 points)
1 – 2 (1 point)
3 – 4 (2 points)
5 – 6 (3 points)
6 + (4 points)