Why chewing your food properly is important for your overall health and wellbeing

Did you know that you should chew your food a minimum 15 times before swallowing. In some cases up to 30-40 times! When it comes to chewing your food a good rule of thumb is to chew till food is well-mixed with saliva; a bite of hard vegetable will take longer to chew compared to a piece of soft fruit.

A few key benefits to chewing food properly that increases overall health and well being.

• Helps to prevent overeating

Research has shown that chewing food slowly and thoroughly can help with satiety. In a recent study, women who ate fast consumed more calories, and felt less full than those who ate slower and chewed their food more. Similarly, in a study by Iowa State University, researchers found that subjects that chewed their food more reported feeling more satisfied.

When your food is broken down before entering the stomach, your body is able to digest it more thoroughly and more efficiently, allowing more nutrients to be absorbed. Leaving you feeling more satisfied.

• To promote optimum digestion

Digestion starts in the mouth, saliva contains enzymes to break down carbohydrates. By chewing your food enough to break it down, you allow the digestive process to start even before your food reaches the stomach. After swallowing, food particles reach the stomach to be digested by the acidic gastric juices. Chemistry tells us that the larger the surface area to volume ratio a particle is, the quicker it is eroded and in this case, digested. On the flip side, large particles may be difficult to break down, which slows down your digestion. and can cause you to feel bloated, have gas as well as some other not so pleasant side effects.

A study was conducted on how the particle size of chewed almonds affected the bio-availability of nutrients. Not surprisingly, the more an almond was chewed, the smaller the particles, the more nutrients were extracted from it.

• Mindfulness

Mindful eating relates to savoring your food through appreciating the way it looks, the aroma, texture and taste. By chewing slowly and paying attention to your food, you can feel more satisfied, it also lessens the chance of overeating.

Mindful eating is not only about slowing down so that you consume less; mindful eating can potentially decrease your stress level and ensure better digestion . Science shows that when the body is under stress digestion is put on the back burner, it regards it as a secondary action to preparing for fight or flight reflexes and slows or halts digestion. Mindful eating focuses attention on the meal and relaxing the mind.

Out of all the health benefits in eating slowly and chewing our food properly, the most important of all is the ability to connect with our loved ones while we eat. It allows space for having a mindfulness about our interactions, not just with our food, but with our friends and family too.

Start to eat slowly and see how it impacts yourself and those around you.

"believe you can, and you're halfway there"

Health and Happiness,

Vicki

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