Knowledge you can chew on — and swallow slowly
- col-bobbie-randall
- June 22, 2023
- 470
Time is a valuable commodity. People tend to take big bites of food to decrease the time spent at mealtimes. Hours in the kitchen and many dollars spent on food cannot be appreciated by gorging and gulping food.
The act of chewing allows the digestive tract to absorb more nutrients from the food particles. The smaller the swallowed pieces the more accessible energy is from the food. The longer you chew, less is lost in digestion.
It takes your brain twenty minutes to signal to your stomach that it is full. People that chew and swallow their food more slowly end up consuming about 10% fewer calories per meal. They are also never tempted by second or third helpings.
Digestion actually begins the moment food passes through the lips. Saliva contains digestive enzymes making digestion more efficient for your stomach and intestines. Saliva also helps swallowing and makes it easier for the esophagus to get the food to the stomach.
Since digestion begins in the mouth, your teeth also benefit from prolonged chewing. Oral bones stay strong with additional chewing. Extra saliva clears food particles from the mouth and washes away harmful bacteria decreasing tooth decay and plaque buildup.
As the chewed food travels down the esophagus to the stomach, the more chewed and liquefied it is, the easier it is to digest. Smaller pieces of chewed food eliminates any choking on impassable clumps of food. Digestion takes a lot of energy and finely chewed foods allow the stomach to work more efficiently to chemically break food down faster into an absorbable form.
When large particles of unchewed food pass through the gastrointestinal tract the poorly chewed food takes longer to break down and digest. The process of large clumps of food passing through the intestines often causes gas and bloating, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, cramping and nausea.
Rushing through a meal with brief chewing robs you of enjoying the taste and texture of the food. Slowing down and savoring each bite allows you to enjoy each morsel as well as the cook’s time and effort.
There is not a magic number of times that you should chew your food. But there are strict guidelines of where, when, and how to enjoy a meal. Eat in a relaxed, non-distracted place. Eating on the run, watching television or at your desk at work is not conducive to slow chewing.
Take small bites and chew slow and steady. Move the mouthful of food around your mouth until it is liquefied or lost its texture. Finish chewing and swallowing completely before taking the next bite of food. Wait until you have swallowed the food in your mouth before sipping liquids.
When you are in a hurry to eat, more air is swallowed with each bite causing discomfort until a burp erupts. Big bites, large forkfuls and few chews can lead to consuming more food, a possible bellyache and flatulence. Take time and enjoy your food. It is too expensive not to.
Bobbie Randall is a certified diabetes care and education specialist and registered, licensed dietitian. Email her at bobbierandallrd@gmail.com.