Chewing

Adapted from "A Guide to Chewing” by Lindsay M. Mullholland, Alive MagazineLife today is busy and fast. We do everything quickly. While the process of streamlining has made us quicker, some things have fallen by the wayside, such as taking time to be mindful of our eating habits. Unfortunately, when we pay less attention to what we are eating, extra calories tend to sneak into our meals. As a result, we end up eating more than we have planned, without even noticing.Taking time to chew our food properly can help us to eat more mindfully; and studies demonstrate that chewing has other health benefits. When we chew our food thoroughly, our mouths produce saliva, which primes our body for nutrient absorption and digestion. Studies show that when we increase our chewing during a meal, the amount of calories we consume decreases. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated that chewing decreases hunger and increases nutrient absorption. In this study, patients were asked to chew 2 oz. of whole almonds either 10, 25, or 40 times. They were asked to rate their hunger before and after eating the almonds. The group with the most chews (40) reported feeling more satisfied after their snack; even more interesting, the participants within this group also had lower blood insulin levels (associated with less hunger). This study also demonstrated that as chewing increased, the amount of fat excreted into the stool decreased; in other words, amongst the thorough chewers, there was better absorption of the nutrients.Chewing may seem like too simple a task to really have an impact on the way your body digests food, but in fact, chewing allows time for your body to prepare for the incoming food. As you chew, salivary amylase is released in your mouth where it begins the process of carbohydrate digestion; at the same time, your stomach, pancreas and small intestine are triggered by the saliva and prepare to receive the food. Unfortunately if we don't chew enough, we rob these systems of sufficient set-up time, thereby minimizing the effectiveness of our digestion.In addition to digestion, studies have demonstrated that chewing can have an impact on our waistlines. Especially among young adults, increasing the number of chews can decrease the number of calories consumed in a meal by a significant amount. In one study, participants who were instructed to slow their chewing by 50% consumed 70 less calories in a meal. While 70 cal may not seem like a dramatic decrease in calories, consider the following: decreasing caloric intake by 70 calories at one meal, would result in a net decrease of 210 calories in a day (given 3 meals per day), 1, 470 calories per week and 5, 880 calories per month. That's about 1.5 pounds worth of calories in a month!So how do we implement this knowledge? We can start by being more mindful of our eating. When possible, take time away from a busy work schedules to savour food. Practice chewing each bite more; try five chews per bite to start. As this becomes more natural for you, increase your chewing. Make 35 chews your goal! While increasing chewing may sound like an odd way to manage weight, it will force you to be more aware of what you are eating. Lastly, chewing more will help you to enjoy your food – giving you time to appreciate its unique textures and flavours.So good luck this week. Chew lots, and savour your food!Dr. Doug