A study from China found that people cut their calorie intake by over 10% if they chewed their food 40 times instead of 15 times. This is because it had double the benefit of allowing those appetite regulating hormones to kick in and saliva will begin to this whole digestive process for you. Another tactic that I think might be a little bit more achievable for everyone is just to put your cutlery down between each mouthful of food. And interestingly there was a recent study that was only published last year that looked at the relationship between eating rate and food texture as well as the level of processing of the food.
We’ve probably all been reprimanded for eating too fast at the dinner table or suffered the dreaded “itis” from eating way too much food at a family gathering. Our society and the systems we’ve developed to feed it have ballooned to such a point that they easily override our natural bodily systems that tell us when we’ve had enough to eat.
When nearly 50% of the United States population is projected to have obesity by 2030, can something as simple as changing the speed with which we eat really be an effective tool for weight loss and sustaining a healthy body?
In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: What is eating rate and does it have any impact on our health?
Studies referenced in the episode:
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Episode transcripts are available here.
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