By It’s simple and easy that you can do every single day
Are you the person who savours their food every time you eat? It’s surprising how many people rush to eat their meal in one inhalation and then wonder hours later why they are still hungry? As much as I love eating my food, I find it quite annoying when people take more than an hour to eat a meal. But, they have the upper hand when it comes to weight loss! Perhaps it’s a good idea to zip our mouths and follow their lead somewhat — and here’s why! Chewing helps digestion — I think we all know that one. But did you know that chewing helps prevent obesity, immensely possibly increasing the thermic effect of food consumption? The factor behind this heat-generating effect that chewing provides is somewhat unknown because it’s not explored as extensively as it should be. A new study has revealed that oral stimuli, which are linked with the duration of tasting liquid food in the mouth, and the chewing period, play a role in increasing the energy expenditure after food intake. Does that sound like a good incentive to start chewing your food correctly? Chewing slowly is the art of eating mindfully and is age-old wisdom that one of our relatives would have tried to teach us at one time or another. Diet-Induced Thermogenesis (DIT) increases your energy levels above the basal fasting level — a factor known to prevent weight gain. Dr Yuka Hamada and professor Nayuki Hayashi, with their team, found that slow eating and chewing increased DIT and enhanced blood circulation in the splanchnic region of the abdomen. They decided to explore this further by conducting a new study excluding chewable food — the effects of liquid food. This study involved three different trials over three days. They asked volunteers to swallow 20 ml of liquid test food every 30 seconds. The volunteers kept the liquid food in their mouths for 30 seconds before eating in the second trial. The last trial had the volunteers chewing and swallowing the test food for 30 seconds. Findings for measurement were; hunger, fullness, gas exchanged variables and DIT.
Takeaways from the study results.
- DIT energy production increased after consuming a meal and expanded with the duration of each taste stimulation and the duration of chewing
- Chewing well-increased energy expenditure can prevent obesity and metabolic syndrome.
- Chewing slowly and mindfully helps us activate our satiety signals faster than eating rapidly.
So, why not try eating slowly and mindfully for 30 days and see what a difference it makes in your life and waistline? It’s worth a try. Here are a few more tips that might help you eat slowly:
- First, try not to eat in front of your computer or the TV. That will distract the art of mindfully and perhaps encourage us to eat more than we need.
- Eat with a knife and fork (remember that one) and put them down every time you chew. It can become your little meditation during a meal.
- Usually, having a meal whilst talking helps aid distraction — but I have found it beneficial. Sometimes my friend and I talk so much, and we forget to eat and don’t feel that hungry!
- Do make every meal a ritual. It’s a special and sacred time to nourish your body.
For more information on this research, please view this link here.
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