2 Ways that Chewing Thoroughly Can Help You Lose Weight
Written by Michele Vieux
Are you eating high quality foods in the proper amount but your gut still isn’t quite right in look or feel? Maybe it’s time to fall back on the nutrition advice that many of our grandmothers gave us of, “chew each bite 30 times”. Besides avoiding looking like an uncouth slob, here’s how grandma’s advice could also help you lose weight.
#1 – Chewing Reduces Bloating
By chewing the food, we break it down into smaller pieces and increase the surface area of those pieces so it mixes with saliva that contains digestive enzymes that start breaking down starch. Chewing thoroughly also turns the food mass into what’s known as a bolus and makes it easier to swallow. Since the stomach is the next stop, the process of chewing triggers stomach acids, mucus, enzymes and bile to be ready to work – the digestive system cannot properly break down the foods while extracting the nutrients without harmony of all of these.
When we introduce large, hard to digest objects (under chewed food) into our digestive tracts, this causes irritation, which leads to inflammation, which inhibits digestion, and ultimately can lead to some sort of disruption of homeostasis in the body. How that disruption presents itself can be anything from acne, to gas and bloating, to excessive weight gain, and more.
#2 – Chewing Allows Leptin Time to Get the Message Through
When we eat too fast or forgo chewing, we don’t give leptin a chance to get that message to the brain before it’s too late. Leptin is a hormone that signals your body to stop eating. It basically tells the brain “hey buddy, let’s shut down this eating thing…all the cells have plenty of nutrients to fill them up and if we take in anymore, we’re just going to have to store it as fat.”
Chew on This Eating Habit
To give your brain time to receive the message, besides chewing each bite 30 times, also put down your fork during this time. The simple act of doing this slows down your pace and gives you a moment to be mindful about what you’re eating, how it tastes and feels in your mouth, and if you’ve actually had enough for one sitting.
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or not, chewing your food thoroughly is of the utmost importance to your nutrition. You can’t reap all the benefits of what you are eating unless it properly goes through the entire digestive process so start your food on it’s digestive journey the right way – it all starts in the mouth!
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Very true, I have experienced this chewing helps to lose face fat as well. Thank you for sharing these benefits.