Have you ever paid attention to how fast you eat?
If you look closely at the people in your life, you will find that everyone eats at different speeds: some eat fast, some eat slowly, some gobble up, and some chew slowly.
In the long run, who is healthier to eat fast or slower?
In medical studies, it has been found that there are differences in the direction of future physical health between people who eat fast and those who eat slowly.
1. Eat slowly and not be obese
A study of 644 residents at Sir Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, found that people who ate fast had a larger body mass index, waist circumference and visceral fat area than those who ate slowly. For men, eating fast increases the risk of abdominal obesity by 104% and visceral obesity by 85%. For women, eating fast increases the risk of overweight and obesity by 59%.
2. Eat slowly to reduce the burden on the stomach
Wei Wei from the Department of Nutrition at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine East Hospital pointed out in a media interview in 2019 that the root cause of many patients with chronic gastritis is irregular eating and gobbling up when they were young. This way of eating makes food enter the gastrointestinal tract without sufficient chewing, causing a burden on the gastrointestinal tract, which will lead to a decline in digestion and absorption function in the long run, and symptoms such as weight loss, gastrointestinal discomfort, and even gastritis.
3. Eat slowly to reduce the three high risks
Studies have found that increasing the frequency of chewing and slowing down the rate of eating can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity pointed out that 11.6% of people who eat fast for a long time suffer from metabolic syndrome, including hypertension, high blood sugar, high blood lipids, etc., which leads to the occurrence of various chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Real-life experiment: Change the eating speed and stick to it for 10 days
In 2022, an institution conducted an experiment that compared the speed at which two participants ate in front of the same meal. One participant ate in 5 minutes, while the other took 30 minutes. They want to see if there will be any difference.
The participants gave the most intuitive feelings of the day:
The results of a 24-hour continuous glucose meter found that people who ate fast had higher blood sugar spikes and a wider range of fluctuations, while those who ate slowly had more slower blood sugar spikes and smaller fluctuations.
In addition, a similar experiment was conducted on a Japanese variety show before, but this time there was only one participant. In the case of a quick meal, participants chewed an average of only 4 times per bite of food, and a meal took only 5 minutes. In the case of slow eating, participants chewed 28 times per bite of food, and a meal took 30 minutes. After 10 days of eating at a slower pace, the participants lost 2.1 kilograms.
Participants also said that eating slower has another benefit: "I used to eat very fast and needed to eat two bowls to be satisfied. But now, if you eat slowly, one bowl is enough. "
If you usually eat quickly, you may want to try this experiment yourself and stick to it for a while. Perhaps this is also one of the ways to lose weight "lazy".
5 ways to slow down your meals
Of course, it's not that the slower you eat, the better. Fu Shufang, a technician at the National Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Diseases, suggested in a 2020 popular science article that breakfast should be controlled to 15-20 minutes, while lunch and dinner should generally be controlled to 25-30 minutes.
1. Consciously increase the number of chews
To slow down your meal, first chew slowly and chew thoroughly before swallowing. It's also a trick to control your portion of food.
2. Ensure regular and quantitative meals
Some people eat fast because they feel hungry. Therefore, it is important to ensure that you eat the right amount of food on time for three meals a day, do not overeat, and avoid overeating when you are hungry. Plan your day ahead of time to give yourself plenty of time to eat. It's also a good idea to snack on fruit, yogurt, milk or nuts between meals.
3. Choose more foods that need to be chewed multiple times
For example, large pieces of food or foods rich in dietary fiber. By choosing foods that require patience and gradually developing the feeling of chewing food in your mouth, you can gradually break the habit of eating in a hurry.
4. Stay focused while eating
During your meal, try to concentrate and enjoy the process of eating. Avoid playing with your phone or doing other things at the same time, so that you can better taste the deliciousness of your food and increase the satisfaction of your meal.
5. Use small tableware
For example, swapping out a large spoon for a small spoon or scooping food a little less at a time can help slow down the pace of eating.